One More Seasonal Tradition: Scrapbooking Holiday Cards

2009HolidayCardsPhoto

One of my last holiday traditions each year as I am cleaning up & putting away is to get out my square punch and attack our holiday cards.

My goal is simple: create a collage of faces and designs from the various cards we receive throughout December. I grab my punch and go for it. Over the years I have used different sized square punches depending on the number of cards. This year I used the Extra Giga from Marvy Uchida.

I did a little searching in my archives and found this post talking about the process back in 2005. Here's an excerpt:

Since I am all about simplifying I came to the conclusion that I do not need to keep all the Christmas cards I received this year. I loved getting them. I celebrated each one that came through the mailbox. And now that Christmas is over I would still like to have a bit of a record of the cards from this Christmas, but I certainly don't need to hang on to them all.

It is ok.

How do I decide which part of the card to punch? I think what I have always loved about punching is that I am taking a bit of something and bringing it together with other somethings to create an entirely new something. When I was punching I tried not to think too hard. I laid my punch with the metal side up, slid the card in, and moved the card around using the window as a guide. When I saw something that looked just fine and I punched. Some of the photos were too large to get everyone in the square and that was totally OK. My vision was to bring together a bunch of bits of this year's cards - not preserve each one in its orginal state.


One thing I noticed this year is that people had their photos on all different kinds of papers: metallic, shiny, canvas, etc. This was definitely more of a trend than in years past.

And as much as I love doing each layout individually it is almost more fun to see all these layouts here together. Here's a look at the past card layouts from when I first started this process:

2004:

MerrychristmasBOTH

2005:


2006:

Christmascards06_low

2007:

2007HolidayCards_Low

2008:

I found 2008's layout in need of a little assistance. When I found it in the 2008 album last night it was two pages with only the top two rows of photos on the second page. I decided to trim that off and attach it to the top of the full page (and use the Fiskars Apron Lace punch along the bottom).

2008HolidayCards_Low

2008flipup

2009:

2009ChristmasCardsLayout
What do you do with your holiday cards? Keep them? Toss them? Make something with them? Donate them? If you do donate them I would love to hear more about it.

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246 thoughts

  1. Peggy says…
    01/07/2010

    Each year, I pack away the cards with the rest of the Christmas stuff. When I unpack next year, I look at the cards from the previous year, toss the ones without pics and save the ones with pics. But that changes this year. I'm making a layout!!! Thanks for the great idea, Ali. Once again, and as always, you ROCK!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. JosieK says…
    01/07/2010

    AAAAHHHHH...fabulous idea!
    I'm so excited...I'm going to do that right this minute..
    Thanks Ali..you're so inspiring...I'd give you some banana bread I just made if I lived near by..
    xoxo

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Karen says…
    01/07/2010

    wow! what a great idea! I had been feeling guilty because i'd gone through the trouble of making a december daily but didn't keep up with it. Now I can take parts of my christmas cards and photos and use them for that purpose. thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. JanineBoyd says…
    01/07/2010

    There isn't so much of a tradition of photo cards where I live so I don't feel the need to keep them. I tear the fronts off the cards and donate them to the playgroup across the road where they use them for art. The rest goes in the recycle bin where it might become a card that pops through my letterbox next year!

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Just a girl says…
    01/07/2010

    Ae...
    love that the Asletts made it into several years of layouts...It markes how long we have been friends...
    What a great idea...
    I may use this idea in the Christmas Journal I add to each year...
    loves friend...
    kiss kiss
    m

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Marsha says…
    01/07/2010

    I usually toss them (and feel guilty about it for a short while), but this year I included a pocket page in my Dec. Daily & stored them there.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Barb M. says…
    01/07/2010

    My cards are still hanging in my entrance way and will probably stay there until Valentine's day. I have all my decorations put away but I love the cards and they stay for a while. Then they will go in a basket with the ones that I had from the last three years that we have lived in this home. Hey, the basket isn't full yet! Great ideas on this thread!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Ali Ross says…
    01/07/2010

    Thanks Ali! What a fabulous idea! Here in Western Australia the post office supplies large envelopes that are postage paid until the end of Jan to recycle old cards to Planet Ark. That is what i usually do with my cards. I am a teacher and I usually get cards from all my students as well as family and friends so I have way too many to keep. But I love the idea of capturing part of each card. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  9. sarah says…
    01/07/2010

    I have taken my old cards to my kid's school and used the Ellison die cutter to cut out shapes--trees/snowmen/stars/snowflakes. With the shapes, I have then made layered wreaths to adorn my house. Or, I will take fishing line and put 2 stars or snow flakes back-to-back and affix them together. I then hang them over my kitchen island, along with crocheted snowflakes, during the holidays. I feel like I am in a winter wonderland for a few weeks!
    Ali--I love your collages. Your creativity is amazing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. catherine s. says…
    01/07/2010

    You can also donate to St. Jude's ranch. A fellow blog-friend (Kimba from A Soft Place to Land - http://asoftplace.net/2009/12/reuse-those-christmas-cards/) pointed this out to me just recently - we were both elated upon learning this:
    http://stjudesranch.org/help_card.php

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. shaunapilgrim@shaw.ca says…
    01/07/2010

    You are brilliant!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. ali gitt says…
    01/07/2010

    I haven't tried this, but was going to do it this year...donate to St. Jude's Ranch for Children
    http://stjudesranch.org/help_card.php
    I didn't get any real cards, but will incorporate this as part of our Camp Charity summer camp...since they do it for any occasion.
    love the photo page...and I may do it. I usually post the photos on my wall (frames wallpaper) until the following year cards arrive.

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  13. Barbara P says…
    01/07/2010

    I generally save the photo cards and since this was my first year of doing a December Daily I thought I would make a pocket on the inside of my back cover and slip them in there. I saved some of the actual cards to use for pages for next years December Daily. I love your idea of make a page out of them, I might try that with the remaining cards that I decided not to save.

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  14. Heather says…
    01/07/2010

    I have have done my cards like you do Ali when I first read what you do with them. I think I started in 2005 doing this. I use a different style punch each year or at least a different cut and try to keep it to one or two pages. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Jeannette says…
    01/07/2010

    I really love this idea...I have saved MANY cards of the past years.....OK, I just used my 2" circle punch & did this for our 2009 cards, & also added some rough collaged greetings (like the christmas greetings from my family in German& the airpost form the envelope)
    Thanks for the inspiration!~

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. emmamason says…
    01/07/2010

    i love all the layouts!
    a square punch always inspires me
    i use my bind it all and make a book of all the cards and photo greetings sent from the year. just punch them, bind them, and make a fun cover with the year on it. it works for me.
    thanks for sharing with us!

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. stephanie c says…
    01/07/2010

    I do a LO similar to yours, and recycle mine (and a few friends'!) and use them to make my holiday cards for the next year.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. HeidiB says…
    01/07/2010

    I cut mine down a bit and tape them inside my kitchen cupboard. Everytime I go to set the table or get a glass, I'm greeted with the smiles of friends and family. Every year I replace the new with the old, it is part of my Christmas pack up tradition.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Patricia says…
    01/07/2010

    We keep the cards out all year long in a basket so we can pray for a different family each week. When the next Christmas season comes around, I put the photo cards into an album that is just for Christmas card photos. It's fun to watch the different families grow and change over the years! And then the cards get used up in my scrapbooking and tag making. I love your idea of making a page or two out of the photos and cards ~ I may do that in November '10 with the cards/photos we received this Christmas. Thanks for sharing your creativity and for all your inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Pilbara Pink says…
    01/07/2010

    I love that you get so many cards with photos in the US. Here in Australia and in New Zealand where we are originally from few people seem to send cards let alone photos. I always send a photo of my husband and myself (our daughters are adults) with our cards, especially to those back in NZ. This year I really noticed the lack of cards and an increase in emails, which I personally regret. Having said that I do have a scrapbooking friend who sends me lovely cards each year, usually handmade. Those I keep and display each year as decorations as they are so beautiful.

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  21. allison says…
    01/07/2010

    I've cropped them to use as gift tags and made some larger ones into gift card envelopes for giving- especially the ones with really great patterns or papers.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Fletch says…
    01/07/2010

    Each year, I would cut off the fronts as long as there was no writing on the inside cover and mail those to St. Jude's Children's hospital in Tennessee as they recycle and reuse them. But this year, I feel a bit like trying something new. I love your idea and will give it a try at the crop tomorrow night.
    Thank you for sharing.
    sharon
    california & bend, oregon

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  23. Huyen Lindsey says…
    01/07/2010

    Awesome idea! I will do so with my cards that we have received this year!

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  24. Christine D. says…
    01/07/2010

    What a great way to save those photo Christmas cards! I will have to do this next year for sure. I donate our Christmas cards to my son's school, the preschool teacher uses them for crafts for the kids during the holiday season.

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  25. Jill Tracy says…
    01/07/2010

    Oh Ali, what a fantastic idea!!! I already have mine out and am cutting away! I have saved the cards from previous yrs. as well and think I might go back to include those in my books. You are such an inspiration!

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