Recycle and Upcycle This Year's Christmas Cards

Don't throw your cards away! Make things like other cards and gift tags for example!
Such an easy craft and you'll spend less money, you use things you have on hand. I make tags for birthdays too! So Easy!

I'm down to the last thing to put away from the Christmas decorating season, I hope you are too. What to do with all the Christmas cards that got sent to you? That's easy, recycle them into something else or upcycle them into new and different cards. Don't throw anything away!


As many of you know, I barely ever buy and cards anymore (this includes birthday cards, unless, the card or the event is very unusual), and I never buy gift tags ever!  This year I did not make my cards for the first time in many many years as I was ill just after Thanksgiving and just before Christmas this year. This made it difficult to start and worrisome that I wouldn't finish making them in time, I decided to buy them. I usually start just before Thanksgiving and finish that same week. I usually make up to 50 different cards, each one a unique handmade card; no-one receiving the same card. I will share with you the card-making post this upcoming November. It's so easy.

Today's post is going to center on making gift tags for Christmas presents for next year. I will point out some larger types of cut out cards that I may use for Christmas greeting cards next year.

Cut out things you may find interesting to reuse

Gift Tag Craft

This is the easiest thing yet. All you need to do is sift through all of your cards and find the covers of Christmas cards that can make this very simplest of crafts, and you'll be ready for next year.

I make Christmas cards too, but that will be a post this coming November

I cut out things I find that can either be a tag or a card. Words and borders too.

Below are some other Ideas I had made that were leftover from last year, again these took about five minutes to make.

These are a couple of tags I made prior to this year's cards. I used tag shaped (tags)and die-cut, little trees out of card stock, little ribbons and glue dots. I made antlers and glued wiggle eyes for the kid gifts

Things You May Need For Gift Tag Craft

*Some type of decorative ribbon,  Christmas string, or twine, yarn or even raffia
*scissors (or paper cutter)
*hole punch
*embellishments if desired, you might like them fancy, (like glitter, rhinestones, gem or charms)
*Fancy writing pen or marker for writing To:  and then  From: on them

If you ever have noticed a child's excitement, they barely look at the tag or card anyway, they will tear through the packaging to get to the gift because that's what the kids want is the gift. So I cannot justify spending money on simple gift tags, so I make them!

Literally, the gift tag can just be simple like a cutout of Santa's face or a Christmas tree. When looking through your cards, you need to look at the back of what you want to cut out to make sure there is no unwanted writing already on it. Those types of things can be glued on to make a card then, rather than a tag.

I chose this snowman card

These three came from that snowman card to the left

For this post, I have chosen this card front, because it meets all the criteria I need: It can be made into more than one tag, the back is completely blank, and it's great for general packages for kids and adults.

These two were from a very small card, I was able to get two tags from it.

shows the blank backs of tags just made, this is where you write the to and from on.

This is how I tie the string on.
Find the center of your string, fold, stick loop through hole punch,

then string the loose ends and pull! Very nice.

Here are six tags I made while posting, 3 are from the snowman card shown above, 2 are from a very small card, and lastly one was a border on either side of a card.

You can get so creative with these, and I do promise you that once you do this, you will not ever buy tags again. You'll see ideas on bags, boxes and so many other places.!  I hope this post leaves you with your own creative juices flowing!  Let me know if you too make something like this!  Share your photos and ideas here!

Thanks for reading! Have fun crafting, recycling and upcycling your way to organization and this can even be a fun craft for kids!

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