Upcycle Christmas Cards into Ornamental Memories

Hola, ya'll.  At the Deco Verde household, we are very into reusing what we have and creating memories as a family.  I like to take all the Christmas cards we receive and make them into ornaments to enjoy for years to come.  It's pretty simple but there are a few steps, so let me know if I need to clarify anything.

First, you need to gather your supplies.  You'll need a 2'' circle template (stencil or something circular to trace), a equilateral triangle template( should fit into the circle exactly (you could just use a ruler, my triangle wasn't perfect), pencil, scissors, hot glue gun, a bit of ribbon (around 8"), and several Christmas cards. 






First, you need to take your circle template and center the circle on a focal point on the card. Examples include, a tree top, an animal's head, a snowflake, a person's face on a personalized photocard, an angels face and wings, a present, etc. Draw your circle on the back, so that your pencil marks won't show.  Notice my little sweetie helping out.  We love to craft together.  She is tracing the 2" circle on the inside of the card.

I cut out the circles.  Make sure you stay on the line or the circles won't fit together to make your ornament. 

Next, draw your triangle on the back of the circles (the white not the pretty cover).







Now you fold the lines of the triangle toward the front of the circle.  The flaps will partially cover the pretty pictures.  This is completely fine.  You'll unfold them a bit when putting the ornament together.  Once, you folded all the circles along the lines of the triangles, you now are ready to begin hot gluing the flaps together.




 Now, glue your flaps together, back sides together.  Make sure the flaps match and one isn't overlapping the other.  You can use white glue but need to give more time to dry.  When you are gluing, glue five circle/triangles together to form a point in the middle.

Important note:  Make sure you have five triangles around each point or your ornament will become mishapen.  Just continue, gluing until you have used all twenty circles with five circles around each point.  You should end up with a nicely rounded icosahedron (twenty-sided, three-dimensional polygon)


Now you're ready for the easy final touch, your ribbon.  Take your ribbon and tie a knot at the end.  Your ribbon needs to be fairly narrow to slide into one of the points in your icosahedron.  Once it's in, put a bit of glue on the point to hold your ribbon in place.

Let it dry, and voila' a upcyled masterpiece.  I love looking back at the family Christmas photos each year.  You can include your own pics and cards for a bit of change.  Enjoy your cards next year without taking up any table or closet space.  Just put them on your tree!!!

I hope you enjoy this craft.  Please let me know with a comment and don't forget to follow my blog if you're interested in more. :-)

C.