What Can I Do with Used Greeting Cards?
I used to send my used greeting cards to
St. Judes Ranch for Children. They would take the used cards and recycle them into new ones to sell as fund raisers for the Ranch. However, they recently stopped accepting the used cards.
If you have some vintage greeting cards from your grandmother's attic, you may want to think about selling them on e-bay - there's a large market for them there. Or you could frame them for a nice wall grouping. Another idea, tried and true, is to decoupage them onto a tray, table or other decorative element. Be creative and, as always, have some fun with them.
But if you just have everyday used cards that you would like to recycle, here is a great idea - make decorative boxes and gift boxes from recycled greeting cards.
Recycled Greeting Card Box
Craft supplies you will need:
greeting cards
ruler
scissors
pencil
white glue (optional)
glitter, ribbon, rick-rack or other embellishments (optional)
Printed templateGreeting Card Box InstructionsNote: This project is more difficult to explain than it is to do; once you have made one box, the next ones will go together more quickly and easily.
First print out the full size pattern You can use the pattern many times as you don't need to cut it.
The smaller pattern is the bottom of the box, using the back page of the greeting card. Don't worry about a verse or two, or any other small amount of printing; usually it's invisible when the box is folded up.
The larger pattern makes the box top. There are fold lines indicated, and two cut lines - you will assemble both the top and the bottom of the box in exactly the same way.
Begin by placing the pattern on the back of your card. For the top of the box, try to position it so that the most colorful or interesting scene of the card front will be centered in the middle of the pattern.
Working on the back, transfer 12 dots, as shown on the pattern, to your card. Place 4 dots at each corner of the square, and two more on each side, where indicated.
Now join the dots, copying the pattern. It isn't necessary to draw coloured lines; the colours are only to help with the instructions for the box -- you'll find, when you're done, that it sounds much more complicated than it is!
Next, cut into your card template where indicated on the pattern by the green lines.
It's time to start folding. Work from the blank side of the card, which will be the inside of your box. Begin by folding the four corner triangles outwards, so you're folding toward the printed side of the card.
Figure 1
Now take a box side and fold it in half to crease it so the green corner line will meet the red line of the inside square, as shown on the paper template. Repeat with the other sides. See Figure 1.
Figure 2 On the two longer sections, you will need to fold in the ends, as shown in Figure 2.
These form two flaps which hold the box together in the last step.
Figure 3
Fold up the sides to form your box.
Figure 4
Last step is to fold the straight sides over the flaps that were made in Figure 2.
Push all the triangular ends into place at the bottom of the box. Usually no glue is required
to keep the box together, however if you find the folds coming open, use a small dab of glue to fasten in place.
Use the same method to make the box bottom and the box top. You will find the top fits over the bottom fairly snugly, so the box when assembled does not fall apart.
Now you have made a tiny treasure box from a recycled greeting card. These are suitable in size to hold small treats, a few coins, candy, earrings or other small gifts.
For Halloween, add treat gifts or a small assortment of stickers, an eraser, pencil sharpener etc.
And for Christmas, embellish with thin ribbon and hang from your Christmas tree as ornaments to be opened on Christmas Day. They can also be added to wreaths, table settings etc. as a colourful little addition that holds a nice surprise.
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