Crafting: Five Recycling Greeting Card Projects

Before your toss your old greeting cards into the recycle bin, or store them in a drawer or box, give them a new life.

Supplies:

• Gently-used greeting card
• Picture frame
• Needle-nose pliers

To create wall art from an old greeting card:

1. Cut the card on the fold, set aside the back portion of the card for another project at another time.
2. Use one of your extra picture frames, locate a gently used frame at a thrift store, or buy new.
3. Gently remove the back of the frame, without destroying the frame tacks or brackets.
4. Insert your greeting card.
5. Replace the frame back.
6. Clean off your fingerprints and you’re done.

You now have a new piece of wall décor, or a perfectly beautiful gift.

Supplies:

• Gently-used greeting card
• Recycled paper
• Glue
• Binding tape

To make a notepad from scrap paper and greeting card:

1. Cut the greeting card
2. Trim the card front and back to the size you want the note pad; generally based on the card art.
3. Using paper from your recycling bin, cut paper to the size of the cover.
4. Place the cut paper between the front and back cover of the pad.
5. Glue across the top and cover the glued top with binding tape.

Supplies:

• Adhesive dots
• Gently-used greeting card
• Two Butterfly (or other) press-ons
• Tissue Paper

Greeting Cards can transform and ordinary, plain gift bag into a work of art. You can make this bag in less than five minutes. To make a greeting card bag:

1. Cut an old greeting card in half; used the front side of the card, and recycle the backside.
2. Place one adhesive dot (or double-back tape) in each corner of the card. Using the adhesive dots adds dimension.
3. Affix the card front to the center front of the gift bag.
4. Attach the two butterflies, diagonally.
5. Add tissue paper; two colors are best.

BEAUTIFUL, INEXPENSIVE, AND DONE!

Supplies:

• Scrapbook paper (a page the size of the scrapbook your are creating)
• Gently-used greeting cards and appliqués
• Glue or glue dots
• Cutter

Gift cards and scrapbooks are an excellent use for old greeting cards. When you design your scrapbooks, keep the recipient in mind. If this scrapbook is for you, then you will probably put more personal items, like the baby’s birth bracelet, etc. If you are making a scrapbook for your high school graduate, then you’ll probably want some concert ticket stubs, etc. Designing scrapbook pages is best left to your imagination.

1. Start with a theme in mind. (I chose a boy Baby Shower).
2. Choose several contrasts. Here you see four different colors of papers, two surfaces suitable for two photographs.
3. Use press on lettering, or if you are fortunate enough to own or have the use of a "cricut expression", you can create the scrolls and buggy you see on this scrapbook page.
4. Glue items onto the page. NOTE: You don’t have to go heavy on the glue since the page will be encased in the plastic protective cover of the scrapbook.
5. Add the photographs. NOTE: You can crop or decrease the size of your photos. You are not stuck with any particular size.
6. When you complete your first page, consider using one of the contrasting colors for your next page.

Supplies:

• Gently-used greeting card
• Card stock
• Linen paper
• Craft cord
• Laminating machine
• Cutter

Gently-used greeting cards make great book mark cards. To make a book mark card:

1. Cut a scenic section from a gently-used greeting card, (approximately 1 ½” x 5 ¼”).
2. Cut the card stock, approximately 5 ¾” x 6 ¼”.
3. Fold in half.
4. Laminate the scenic section; leave a ¼’ border extending past the picture.
5. Punch a small whole in the center of the laminated piece.
6. Insert the cord.
7. You can use glue dots, or slide die cuts into the card stock to secure the book marker to the card.
8. Cut a piece of linen paper (or paper of your choice), approximately 5 ¼” x 6”.
9. Fold in half.
10. Glue one side of the linen paper to the inside of the book mark card.