More Greeting Card Crafts from Catherine Castle

More Greeting Card Crafts from Catherine Castle

The Christmas rush is over, all but the putting away: Trees, ornaments, wreaths, lights. There’s a lot to do. Why not take a few minutes and do something creative as the New Year starts?

By now you have a new stack of Christmas cards. I know I do! J

If you’re like me, you keep them. It might be the artist in me, or maybe just the collector that causes me to keep old greeting cards. Whatever fuels my fetish, I’m always looking for new ideas to recycle greeting cards.

Today I’m showing you a super easy recycled craft you (and the kiddies) can do in just a few minutes. All you need are:

• Old greeting cards
• Pen or pencil
• A round glass (for a circular coaster) or a cardboard template for a square coaster. (I used an old square paper coaster for my pattern)
• Scissors
• Rubber cement
• Empty tissue boxes (optional)
  
  
  
  
  Here’s the craft we’ll be making.  Holiday Coasters!

Why would you need to make paper coasters, you ask?

• Thy make a sturdier coaster than a napkin does.
• They dress up plain placemats.
• They make a fun gift.
• They’re an inexpensive way to protect your furniture when you need a lot of coasters for holiday parties.
• They recycle items you would normally trash
• They’re an easy craft for the kids on wintery school’s out days.
• They’re just plain fun!

Here’ the instructions:

• From your card stash choose images that make a complete picture. Looking at the coasters pictured above, you can see how the snowman, the stockings, and the kitten make a more complete picture than the ornament coaster. While the ornament is okay, it doesn’t show as well. If you aren’t using a glass that you can see through, make an open template the size you want your coaster to be. Place it over the greeting card, positioning it until you have the desired scene.
• Trace the shape of the coaster onto the greeting card. For my square coasters, I traced the rounded edges, but you could trace and cut the coaster into a square and round the edges using a scrapbooking tool that cuts curves on square edges.
• Cut out the coaster.
• If your greeting card is fairly thick, this is all you have to do. In a few minutes you have a durable coaster that will last for several uses.
• However, if your greeting card is thin or you want a sturdier coaster, cut another coaster shape from one side of the empty tissue box. Trim as necessary to match your greeting card coaster. If you place the decorative side of the tissue box face up, you can flip your coaster over and use it all year long!
• Apply a thin coat of rubber cement to the two pieces, following the cement instructions.
• Adhere the pieces together.

Do you have a stash of greeting cards? Have you ever made crafts with them? If so, I'd love to know your favorite  things to do with old cards.

Make Do and Mend

During WWII, one of the many slogans seen on posters and in brochures was “Make Do and Mend.” Making rag rugs (also called peggy or proddy rugs) was a way to do this. These type rugs are often confused with latchhook rugs that can be purchased as kits from many hobby and craft shops.

Latch hooking uses a hinged hook (a bit like a crochet hook with a short hinge piece on the shank) to form a knotted shaggy pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn on backing material that is stiffer and has larger holes than used in traditional rug hooking. Latch hooking emerged as a craft long after rug hooking was well-established. Latch hooked rugs are also generally “shaggy” and appear like the shag pile carpets popular during the 1970s.

Proddy rugs use fabric, and the backing material is typically linen or burlap or other open weave fabric. The hooking material is cut into strips and pushed through the fabric from the back with a blunt pointed tool, called a prodder, an implement that resembles a short knitting needle with a ball handle. By working from the back, the rug maker can easily see and manage the design.

During WWII, rug makers often used burlap grain or feedbags for the backing fabric and whatever was available – leftover scraps from worn out clothing, towels, blankets or other fabric household items – for the hooking material. The size of the rug depended on the amount of material at hand. Despite the utilitarian aspect of these rugs, the variety of fabric used allowed the rug maker to create a beautiful work of art.

As someone who is “craft impaired” I find the idea of these rugs fascinating and seemingly easy to do. I may just give it a try. Have you ever “prodded” a rug? Or perhaps you have a make do and mend story...

A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Matchett also writes historical fiction. She is currently seeking a publisher for her series about war correspondent Ruth Brown. Visit her at www.lindashentonmatchett.com

Recycled Crafts--Greeting Card Placemats

I don’t know about you, but I love greeting cards, and I save everyone I get, not for sentimental purposes, but for crafting.

One of the simplest uses of greeting cards is making placemats. I can’t take credit for creating this craft. I saw it over 30 years ago on a PBS station. Advertised as a quick easy craft that you could do with children, I decided that it would make a great gift for my then-young daughter to make as Christmas gifts for her grandparents. We enjoyed the craft so much we made placemats for our family, too.

 

Here’s what you need:

 

            SUPPLIES:

·       Heavy, colored cardboard stock.

·       An assortment of used Christmas greeting cards.

·       A circle template (we used the open end of a clear drinking glass), but you could use a plastic quilt template, too, or a different shape. The main thing is to be able to see through the template so you know what the cut-out shape will look like.

·       Glue.

·       Clear, heavy plastic or vinyl that has adhesive on one side.

·       Sharp scissors (for parental use), or scissors that your child can use if you decide to let them cut out the shapes.

·       Pen or pencil.

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.     Cut the cardboard to a desired shape. Oval or rectangles work well for placemats. You can use a cloth placement for sizing.

2.     Choose your greeting cards. You can theme them or make the choices eclectic. We chose to center each placemat with a theme and go eclectic around it.

3.     Place the glass or template over the section of the card you want to highlight, trace around the outside of the glass and cut out the shape you’ve traced.

4.     Arrange the shapes on your cardboard placement in whatever design you choose, then glue them to the cardboard. If you don’t have enough cards to fill the placemat, just space them out on the cardboard in a pleasing pattern. There are no hard and fast rules here.

5.     Cover the placemat on both sides in the plastic adhesive and trim the edges so it ithey are just a touch wider than the cardboard. Press the edges down to seal the paper inside the plastic and protect the placemat from spills.

6.     Enjoy your new creation!

 

 

This craft can be duplicated with any type of greeting cards: birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Valentines. You can make a whole set, or just a single placemat to honor that special person on their special day. It’s simple, easy, and child friendly.