Upcycled & Repurposed Greeting Cards

This post is a more of a think-ahead post, because you probably don’t need a tutorial on making cards.  What do you do when you get cards of any kind?  Do you read them and recycle them right away?  Do you keep them forever in a box, never to be looked at again?  When you receive a card or get a great magazine, why not put it in a box or a file so you can reuse it in some way?  If someone has put a lot of time and effort into making a beautiful product, it’s great to be able to reuse it again.  More tips after the jump. I keep a sturdy envelope full of old cards that I really like.  If you see something you’ve given me, re-purposed into a new card. Consider it a compliment!  I also keep a small bag of stamped paper and printed-out words that work for card-making, like Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Happy Graduation, Happy Anniversary, etc…ready at a moment’s notice.

Since Christmas when I thought about using letters from ads and cards to make tags for Christmas presents, I’ve been looking at ads, cards, and magazines differently.  I don’t keep ads around for the sake of making cards or tags, but when I need to make a card, I might look at the ads to see if I can find some key works like “Valentine.”

Making cards is a great thing you can do with kids, because if they can’t cut, they might be able to paste and pick out stickers and glue glitter.  Abbie here really enjoys the whole creating process.

Scrapbook paper brings me joy.  It’s really fun to la yer different coordinating papers.

If the back of the front page of a card isn’t written on, you can cut off the the front, and reuse it.  I’ve taken the “Thank You” from one card, the red card stock from a separate card, and the Mary Engelbreit card top from a different card.  It’s so fun to cut and paste to come up with a new creation!!

The paper on the left is actually part of a box that held scrapbooking items.  I was able to cut and fold it to make a card because the cardboard was light, similar to a cereal box.   The rose paper on the right was actually from our wedding program (Awww…), and I am using it to make a Valentine’s Day card for my hubs.  Under it is someone’s wedding invitation out of a nice sturdy card stock.  Repurposing is so fun!!

Here is a graduation card that I cut in half.  I recycled one side, and the other side I covered the writing and made a card out of it.

I have gotten envelopes at WalMart, Michael’s, and our local craft store, Craftmart.  I like to keep stocked up on those for when I need a card.  Usually when I make one card, I make several since it takes time to get out all of the materials (time saver=money saver).

Possibly What You’ll Need:

• Card Stock, new and/or from old cards
• Magazines/Advertisements
• Printed Out or Stamped Greeting Words
• Scrapbook Paper
• Scrapbook Glue
• Scissors
• Ribbons, Bows, Buttons, Stickers, Glitter, etc.
• Envelopes

So what I am forgetting that I could use?  Teach me!  I love to get your ideas!!  Here I don’t show myself using any bows, but I do have a small bag of bows and ribbons I use to attach to my cards.

The Finished Products:

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Sonja

Have you read…?

• Homemade Foaming Hand Soap and Body Wash Recipe
• Recycling & Repurposing Part 4: Table Cloth to Wrapping “Paper”

• Upcycled and Repurposed Snack Bag Tutorial

   

  

  Upcycled and Repurposed Snack Bag Tutorial

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