Upcycled cards: Christmas

I apologize that this is my only blog post this week -- and that I'm getting it in just under the wire. Work has been keeping me busy of course. And yesterday our landlord had work done on several of our windows, so I had to spend time rearranging my craft space and carrying bins of stamps back and forth from the garage.

But I'm going to try to make up for my lack of posts by sharing a whole bunch of cards: upcycled Christmas cards. I often receive cards, tags and even small gift boxes that I like too much to just recycle. Instead, I stash them away with the intention of using them someday. Well, last weekend was that someday, so I pulled out those items and made them into new Christmas cards.

Here is what I started with:

And here is what I created:

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Paper: Crumb Cake card stock
Accessories: Corner rounder, linen thread, Glue Dots

I love the scene and saying on this card, so I wanted to keep that the focal point. (There is also glitter on the snow, but I had a hard time capturing that in the picture.) I cut the card front down to 4" x 4", rounded the corners and adhered it to a 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" Crumb Cake card base. The great thing about that size is that it will still fit in a standard A2-size envelope. Or you can make your own square envelope. To add one extra detail I adhered a bow made with linen thread at the bottom of the wreath.

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: 110-lb white card stock (Recollections), snowflake vellum
Accessories: Silver metallic thread, Frosted Sequins, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen (ZIG), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

For this card I used two different pieces: the top of an old gift box became the background, and the Santa die cut is the focal point. To soften the background a bit I added a layer of snowflake-printed vellum between the pieces. To add some sparkle, I placed loops of silver metallic thread behind the Santa, scattered a few silver sequins around the card, and painted the brim and tassel of Santa's hat with a clear glitter brush pen. The finished size of this card is 5-1/4" x 5-1/4", so I will need to create a special envelope for it.

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Shimmer White card stock
Accessories: Filigree Frame embossing folder, gold sequin trim, Wink of Stella gold glitter brush pen (ZIG), Dimensionals, Glue Dots

I pulled the die-cut poinsettias off the tall card and used them as the focal point on an embossed shimmer white card base. I added gold glitter in the centers of the flowers and a few sequins for simple embellishment.

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Grateful Greetings
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Deco Labels Framelits dies, felt poinsettia and leaves (Hero Arts), Basics Glimmer Brads, metallic art pencils, Dimensionals

With the poinsettias removed from the tall card, I cut a piece of the sparkly card front to use as a background on a Cherry Cobbler card base. To cover the pre-printed greeting, I stamped a sentiment on Very Vanilla card stock and cut it out with a Deco Labels Framelits die. I traced that same-sized die on Cherry Cobbler card stock then hand cut it to make the mat. To dress up the focal layer a bit, I used a gold metallic pencil to draw a border and added a felt poinsettia with a gold brad center.

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Paper: Marina Mist, Basic Black card stock; silver glimmer paper
Ink: Marina Mist
Accessories: Frost White Shimmer Paint, sponge dauber, Dimensionals

This cute snowman needed some snowflakes, so that's what I stamped on the background of this Marina Mist card. The flakes are stamped with Marina Mist ink, and the groups of dots are stamped with Frost White Shimmer Paint. This is a gate-fold card, so instead of scoring the base in the middle (4-1/4"), it is scored 2-1/8" from each end, and then the sides are folded in. I placed a piece of silver glimmer paper down the middle to hide the seam and used Dimensionals to adhere the snowman, matted with Basic Black card stock, in the middle of the card. Note: Be sure to adhere the focal image on just one side so the card will still open.

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Hardwood
Paper: Watermelon Wonder, Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Frost White Shimmer Paint, sponge dauber, natural trim ribbon, Dimensionals

This is another 4-1/4" square card. I didn't want to detract from the beautiful colors and shimmer of the poinsettia tag, so I matted it with Watermelon Wonder card stock and attached a tab of natural trim ribbon to the upper right side. I applied Frost White Shimmer Paint to the Hardwood stamp and stamped it on the Very Vanilla card base. It's both subtle and striking -- the perfect background for this image.

You can find materials to upcycle in unusual places. I received a box of Trader Joe's Candy Cane Green Tea a few years ago, and I loved the cute animal images on the package. So I saved the box and turned it into a card:

Additional supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Christmas Story (Penny Black)
Paper: Smoky Slate card stock, Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit
Ink: Smoky Slate
Accessories: Real Red 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Frosted Sequins, 3/4" circle punch, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Crystal Effects

I cut the two main images off the box and rounded their corners. I wanted to use red as an accent color on the card, so I matted the narwhal image with a piece of snowflake-printed Real Red Designer Series Paper (DSP) from an old Simply Scrappin' Kit. I punched three 3/4" circles from the same DSP and adhered them behind the left side of the polar bear image so they overlapped, creating the look of scallops. I adhered the images on a stamped Smoky Slate card base and added a ribbon and sequins.

I had a lot of fun re-purposing old tags, cards and packaging to make cards. This is also a great project to do with kids because all you really need is paper, scissors, glue and a little creativity. I'm working on a few upcycled all-occasion cards now, and I hope I'll be able to share those in a few days. Until then, thanks for stopping by!