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Hello, My Name is Charlotte and I am a hoarder of holiday cards! 

Ok maybe I am not that bad but I hate throwing cards away – birthday, Christmas or otherwise! after all of the time and money people spent thinking, writing and sending them to me I can’t face just chucking them! Holiday cards often have really pretty and intricate designs that just go to waste otherwise. So with that in mind, I thought I would share some of the ways you don’t have to throw them away and turn them into useful and pretty projects worthy of the time and attention that went in!

Holiday Keepsake ornament

I found this great idea on Scoutie girl but is originally by Nicole from Lillyella and it’s an excellent (and frugal) way to decorate next years tree! (or even your house near easter/birthdays!). Go and check out the fantastic tutorial and you can make ornaments that look store bought!

Lovely Placemats for a family keepsake

In school when I was younger you created artwork at school and in some cases they would then offer to turn it into all sorts of things such as; teatowls, aprons and placemats which is where I got the idea of creating a mashup and laminating old cards into keepsake placemats that are inexpensive and perfect for different times of the year. You could create a set of the same or you could have personal mats with the message on the reverse side! (These would make excellent stocking gifts for next year!) Junk Mail Gems can show you how to do it!

Scrapbook Backgrounds

I like to use my cards in my scrapbook, my favourite ones or ones with special additions always make it in, I try to use the leftovers as best I can and I wrote about it in my “Easy Scrapbook Background Ideas” post where I showed some of my inspiration for my favorite pages!

Christmas Card Puzzles

You know I am a sucker for anything frugal that keeps the toddler entertained and this idea from Motherhood on a dime ticks both of those boxes! Her tutorial shows how to create puzzles out of cards so that you can pop them in the bags to keep them quiet for a few precious moments! (I bet these would be great at a restaurant!) Make them easier or harder by cutting them into fewer or more pieces!

Bookmarks

I am an avid reader, I am forever picking a book up and down and I used to dogear the pages (much to everyone’s chagrin!) So now I use my old cards as bookmarks. You can trim off your favourite pattern or even do something more structured like The Crafty Mummy!

Christmas card notepads

If you are like me you will take notes all day every day (and as a blogger you never know where inspiration might strike so you should always have a notepad handy) Hope Studios has a great tutorial for turning your leftover holiday cards into mini notepads! Which is perfect for the handbag or shopping!

Gift Tags

I got this idea from Milo Made who is extra organised and makes gift tags for holidays and presents. Go check out the post and there is a fab design you can use! This is such a great way to save money and be frugal and see your beautiful birthday or winter cards go to use.

What do you do with your leftover cards?

I would love to find new projects! Speaking of which: If you are looking for inspiration for your next project why not follow the “Project Ideas” Board on Pinterest.