Frugal Babe

A rich life without a lot of money

Homemade Ornaments From Recycled Cards

November10

Every year, I make Christmas ornaments for our five nieces.  I love making them, and the girls tell me they love putting their own ornaments on the tree.  Some years I’m stumped for ideas, but last week I came up with an idea that I really like, and I’ve made three ornaments so far.  Here’s a picture of the first two:

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In my craft stash, I had kept a pile of old Christmas cards (this goes against my new clutter-free lifestyle, but my craft corner is exempt).  To make these ornaments, I cut squares and rectangles out of the cards, used a needle to punch small holes all around the edges, and then stitched them together with embroidery floss.  Each one took me about an hour to make, and they are a thoroughly enjoyable project. 

Overall, we’re planning to skip Christmas this year.  Our son is only 18 months old, and gets just as much pleasure out of a drawer full of wooden spoons as he would from a tree piled with presents.  So we plan to skip the tree and all the craziness this year.  But the ornaments for my nieces is a tradition that I enjoy, it’s stress-free, fun, and in this case, turns old Christmas cards into something new and pretty. 

posted under family, gifts, hobbies
10 Comments to

“Homemade Ornaments From Recycled Cards”

  1. On November 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm Saph @ frugal wife blog Says:

    That is so neat!! I’ll have to try that if I can find some cards. :)

  2. On November 10th, 2009 at 3:29 pm mc Says:

    Great idea. That would also look cool with playing cards from an incomplete deck

  3. On November 10th, 2009 at 4:30 pm Kelly Says:

    I might have to steal that idea! I have tons of old cards saved. I had originally seen the idea to turn them into cute bookmarks. I have also recycled them into cards. But this sounds like a great idea for a gift to send to my and my husband’s grandmas!

  4. On November 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm Alissa Says:

    What a great idea! And good for you for skipping Christmas… that’s something I would love to do but I’m not sure I’m brave enough. :) At the very least we’re going to have a very scaled-down one. I read this online somewhere and thought it was great. Each person gets 4 gifts: Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. Nice and simple. :)

    Alissa

  5. On November 11th, 2009 at 12:31 pm Kelly Says:

    Thanks for the reminder Alissa! I couldn’t remember how it went…couldn’t remember the wear part! I think this is perfect and how I am going to shop for my daughter and any future kids…and probably my husband too!

  6. On November 11th, 2009 at 1:06 pm Notes From The Frugal Trenches Says:

    Those look fabulous!

  7. On November 11th, 2009 at 7:37 pm julie Says:

    love those ornaments–might have to try a few…………

  8. On November 14th, 2009 at 1:24 pm 10 Current Money Savings - Financial Blog Article Carnival #1 | MaximizingMoney.com Says:

    [...] And finally the Frugal Babe shows us how to make Homemade Ornaments from Recycled Cards, and what a great picture, these really look [...]

  9. On November 14th, 2009 at 9:48 pm gorillabuns Says:

    i do have to say, this year we ARE skipping our traditional Christmas just due to our circumstances.

    i so love your idea. i must use this idea to get rid of my hording tendencies!

  10. On November 18th, 2009 at 11:20 pm Kelly Says:

    These are absolutely adorable. What a great way to recycle Christmas cards.

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