DIY Christmas Card Recycling
Every year I get and save my Christmas cards so that i can reuse them for packaging and tagging gifts. This year I found a handy gadget for quickly making tag-shaped tags here Uchida LV-SJCP74 Clever Lever Super Jumbo Craft Punch, Merchandise Tag
How to Make a Gift Box out of a Greeting Card
from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
This is a great way to recycle old greeting cards and make little boxes for small gifts (or for storing small objects). This box is different from an origami box because it includes a top and a bottom. It requires only a few simple tools and supplies, and the result is charming and eco-friendly. Click any image to enlarge it.
Steps
- Gather your supplies and tools, listed below.
- Cut the card in half along the fold. The easiest way to make the top fit over the bottom is to make sure both halves of the card are the same size, so you may have to trim a little. You will use the colorful front of the card as the box lid.
- Decide how tall you want your box to be. This may depend on the design on the front of the card, or on how big the item is that you want to enclose. This demonstration uses 1 inch (25mm) for the top, and 1 and 1/16 (27mm) for the bottom. Add a little to the measurement for the bottom, so the top will fit over it.
- Draw a square in each corner of the top and bottom of the card, the size of your measurements. You can mark just the corners, making a square so you can see where to cut.
- Score the card all the way along all four sides, using the squares to give you the distance from the edge.
- Cut along the score line from the edge to the next, perpendicular score line in each corner, but do so for only one side of the square you drew. Leave one side of the box uncut to make a tab. Do this for all four corners of the card.
- Fold the sides up, and fold the tabs in.
- Glue each tab and paper clip it into place until it dries.
- Repeat the marking and scoring for the other half of the box.
- When your box is dry, place your gift or other small objects inside.
Tips
- It is important to add a little to the measurement for the bottom, so the top will fit over it.
- To score the card, take your dead pen or other instrument and draw along the ruler from edge to edge on the paper, pressing down hard enough to mark the paper but not hard enough to cut through.
- Alternate the way the tabs fold on the top and bottom, so they fit together a little better.
- If you have trouble getting glue to stick to the glossy surface of a greeting card, help it out with a little tape on the inside. Or use an emery board or small piece of fine sanding paper to very lightly rough up the paper to take the glue better.
- Greeting cards are available for all sorts of occasions. Use a greeting card that suits your occasion.
- Reuse is a great way to recycle.
Warnings
- Be careful with the compass, if you’re using an old metal version with a sharp point.
- Use scissors and other cutters with care.
Things You’ll Need
- a greeting card
- a ruler
- a pencil
- a pair of scissors
- something to “score” the card stock (the point of a compass, an old ballpoint pen that is out of ink works perfectly, as does the tine of a fork, a butter knife, or a small-gauge knitting needle)
- glue
- paper clips
Related wikiHows
- How to Make Placemats from Greeting Cards
- How to Fold a Paper Box
- How to Make a Greeting Card Envelope
- How to Make a Word Search Greeting Card
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Gift Box out of a Greeting Card. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Craftstylish: Spray Stencil Printing
CraftyStylish has a great article on how anyone can easily use a spray bottle, some fabric paint and a stencil (with lots of recommendations on items that you can use from your garage, basement or local thrift store). I love texture and pattern and am excited to try this at home. Here’s a link to this great DIY tutorial on Spray Stencil Painting by CraftStylish.
Fabric paint options at Amazon:
Dupli-Color High Performance Vinyl & Fabric Spray – Desert Sand
Stencil Spray Opaque Fabric Paint 2.5 Ounces-gold Glimmer
Simply Spray Soft Fabric Paint 2.5 Ounces-Deep Purple
Spray Fabric Paint 4oz Pump/Card-Grape
More ideas for Fabric Paint:
Handpainting Fabric: Easy, Elegant Techniques
Transforming Fabric: Thirty Creative Ways to Paint, Dye and Pattern Cloth
Sun Paint: Use Sunshine to Make Colorful Fabric Prints : With Book, Paint and Sponge Brush (Klutz)
T-shirt Madness: Megan Nicolay has a new book!
Everyone who knows me knows that I love, love, love making things out of old t-shirts. It’s the most comfortable fabric that I can think of and everyone looks good in a t-shirt. We get so many freebies, and buy so many that remind us of places we’ve visited, bands we’ve seen, and other great memories that I always seem to have piles of them laying around. I also have a habit of destroying my clothing in any number of creative ways, so I love refashioning them into all sorts of things like skirts, tote bags, etc. Luckily for me, my favorite t-shirt recycling queen has a new book out called Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt
which I purchased from Amazon and has already arrived in the mail. I’ve begun to skim through and noted that even though there are a few similar pieces to her first book, many of the ideas are fresh and inspiring. I’m most excited about making a shrug and a necklace based on her ideas; I’ll of course post my attempt to recreate some of the projects in the book.
Quick Update: What I’ve been up to
Hemming jeans, altering t-shirts, mountiain biking, summer concerts, and visiting friends and family have all been keeping me very, very busy. I hope to have some new projects/content up for you soon as I just purchased a great new book by Aimee Ray called Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners
I also have a great new stash of fabric to work with from the clothing swap so stay tuned…
Current Project Books:
Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners
Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt
