Thursday, December 5, 2013

Quick Recycled Christmas Cards

Hi Crafters,
Practical Scrapper Karen here today to share my tips for how to recycle last years Christmas cards into handmade creations. Cards without a large central image are not always easy to recycle into new projects. For cards with complex scenes or pretty backgrounds, these ideas work well.


1. Circles & Strips - I used a circle punch to selectively punch out the focal point of the card. Then I cut the remaining image into vertical slices. I varied the width of the strips and then reassembled the scene leaving a 1 cm space between each strip. For a variation, you can tear the edges or use decorative edge scissors. Finally, embellish the images with gems, glitter, ribbons, gel pen detailing, a sentiment, or rubber stamp a background etc.



2. Triangle Tree Puzzles - I cut a simple triangle tree shape from a Christmas card. Then I sliced diagonally through the tree and reassembled it leaving 1 cm gaps. This technique works well for a card with a focal image (like a nativity scene) or with a background (such as a frost covered holly bush.)

3. Ornaments – Another technique for intricate images (aka: too hard to fussy cut) is to use a circle punch and turn them into festive ornaments by adding a cap and a bit of thread. Because my ornament is not attached and is free to swing, I put my secret Christmas greeting behind the ornament.

Happy Crafting!

2 comments:

ANITA said...

The prettiest cards special for Christmas!

Lisa P said...

Very pretty cards. Great recycling!