12 Creative and Unconventional Ways to Reuse Greeting Cards
/I would be willing to bet that anyone reading this can be split into one of two categories- you’re either a greeting card keeper, or a greeting card thrower-away-er. I would also argue that there’s a subcategory of the traditional card keeper that only keeps select cards. The ones with meaningful messages, maybe on milestone occasions or other important life events, or from cherished friends and family members.
I am a part of the sub-keeper category, and have a decorative box tucked under the bed that collects new, sentimental cards worthy of adding to the collection (it also collects dust and pet dander, to be quite honest).
In the past few years however I have been trying to make better use of cards that I am given, or have collected, so that they can be enjoyed. I did make an intentional choice to keep them after all. Below is a mix of some of my tried and true methods, as well as some very experimental possibilities that might work for you.
12 ways to reuse your greeting cards (from most to least practical):
Frame them: Choose cards with a beautiful design, and place them in frames that complement either the card or the space that they’re in. Have a bunch that you love? Use them as smaller fillers when planning a gallery wall.
Bookmarks: Easy peasy, and you’ve probably done it already. Cut your favourite card to size, either the front or the special words inside, and enjoy it again and again when you start and stop your reading.
Gift tags: instead of throwing cards away, why not cut out any images, graphics or funny text and use them for themed gift tags. Works especially well for last year’s holiday cards.
Refrigerator magnets: choose your greeting cards with the most pleasing illustrations and smack ‘em onto some adhesive magnetic sheets from the dollar store. Use your new magnets to hang more cards onto the fridge and the cycle can repeat for all eternity.
Birdnest Building Supplies: If you’re just going to recycle them anyways why not shred them into strips for local birds to find? It’s a win-win scenario- you get to gaze in awe at a first of colourful nests and they'll appreciate the touch of whimsy and the extra reading material.
DIY Party Hats: Cut greeting cards into cone shapes and secure them with tape or glue to create festive party hats. Decorate them with ribbons, sequins, and glitter and your best markers for added flair.
Sailboats: Fold and assemble greeting cards into miniature sailboats and set them afloat in the nearest swamp, moat, or bayou. Extra points if you write a soggy message for someone to discover on the other side.
Miniature Hat Collection: For the fashionistas. Craft pieces of your fanciest greeting cards into teeny chapeau masterpieces. Create a stylish collection for your pet cat or that pesky garden gnome that keeps staring in your kitchen window.
Emergency Paper Airplane: When boredom strikes, fold that old greeting card into a makeshift paper airplane. Perfect for work from home escapades or impromptu paper airplane competitions.
Suit of Armour: only for the most serious of card collectors. With your huge stash of cards gather them together with glue - or duct tape perhaps, for colour accuracy - to assemble a makeshift suit of armor. Embrace your inner knight, or procrastinator, and embark on epic quests around the house.
The Full Send: worst case just scratch out your name, replace it with the name of someone who is in need of a card, and hope the message (originally intended for you) is a good fit for their occasion.
*A bonus, actually helpful, 12th option:
I have not yet used this product but have seen so many of their videos and think this is a super neat concept. Cards by Artkive has a service where you can order one of their boxes, fill it with greeting cards, and send it back to them. They then photograph, edit, and make an archive of your cards and send it back to you in the form of a hardcover book. I wish I was getting paid to share this, but that is not the case- it just seems like a really cool alternative to the aforementioned dust and dander covered keepsake box under the bed.
If anyone has experience using it or ends up using it in the future, please comment to let us know how it is, and I promise I’ll do the same. In the meantime enjoy making better use of your greeting card collections!