If you’re like us, you probably have a few Christmas cards you’re trying to figure out what to do with since Christmas is over.  These are just a few ways we’ve reused cards over the years.  I’d love to hear your ideas, too!

Five ways to recycle Christmas cards:

1)  Save the cards to create simple crafts next December.

Search for recycled Christmas card crafts, and you can find a plethora of ideas for using the fronts of old cards.  We made this Nativity ornament.  You could also make:

• Gift tags
• Bookmarks
• Wreaths
• Magnets
• Puzzles
• Puppets

Also, Martha Stewart has a great photo gallery of ideas for recycling Christmas cards.

2)  Make a “Wall-of-Fame” with the photos you’ve received.

I have a special bulletin board in my office where I hang the pictures I’ve received.  It’s nothing fancy–I just cut-out the photos and tack them in place.  I enjoy seeing photos of family and friends and remembering them throughout the year.  When Christmas rolls around next year, I’ll take down the old photos and replace them with new ones.  You could also make a nicer display with a fabric-covered board, photo frame, etc.

3)  Send them to St. Jude’s Recycled Card Program.

St. Jude’s accepts used, all-occasion greeting cards and uses the front of them to make “new” cards.  Children and volunteers create these cards which are then sold to support St. Jude’s programs and services.  You can find out more details about the St. Jude’s Recycled Card Program here.

4) Create a “Stay-in-Touch” Basket

Place all the cards in a basket.  Each week, you can pick a card and do something special for the chosen family or person.  Send a handwritten note, make some cookie, call, or visit them.  The ideas are limitless!

5)  Create a Prayer Basket

Just like in the idea above, put all the cards in a basket.  Each week, pick a card and pray specifically for that family or person.

What do you do with your old Christmas cards?

After a crazy week with my sister visiting and working on her house (it’s definitely a fixer-upper) and my brother getting married this weekend, I woke up this morning and realized we had no almond milk in the house for my oldest daughter.

I remembered an article I had seen in KIWI magazine last month about a quick way to make your own non-dairy milk in a pinch, so we gave it a try.

Simple Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups very cold water
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1)  In a blender, combine the ingredients.  Blend for a minute until the mixture is completely mixed.

You can either serve this immediately or store it in the refrigerator for up to two days.  I personally thought it was slightly bland, but I don’t drink almond milk very often.  You might try adding less water if you don’t mind a higher calorie content.

It tasted better to me once we refrigerated it.  I just stored it in the blender, so I can easily mix it back up again before we use it.

Find more “Make Your Own” projects here.

One way I save money is by picking up inexpensive bottles of soap with a coupon and “extending” the life of them.  The main way I do this is by making foaming soap.

Frugal Soap Tip #1:  Make your own foaming soap.

However, a few weeks ago, our foaming soap dispenser broke, and I needed another idea because the girls were using a ton of soap from the pump (I think they used up half of it in two days, and I can normally make one bottle of soap last for at least a month — if not more when we make foaming soap)!

Frugal Soap Tip #2:  Use a rubber band to slow the flow of the soap!

When I was teaching, one thing I did was wrap a rubber band around the top of the soap dispenser –  kids can go through a bottle of soap in a hurry!  This makes less soap come out with each pump (but still plenty for washing hands, of course).  It doesn’t look pretty at all, but it worked great in a pinch.

Guest Post, Jessi Snow

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If you’re into crafts or DIY and haven’t yet heard of Pinterest, you might want to clear your schedule. The newest member of the social sharing craze is taking the world by storm and people like me are rejoicing. I’ve always been interested in reducing my garbage by putting old items to good use, but with Pinterest things are getting a whole lot more creative. You see, the site gives people the ability to store, share and showcase their favorite crafts, DIY projects, quotes and more, not just with a link, but with a picture! I know Stacie is on board with the fun – check out her pins here.

Motherhood on a Dime is a great resource for finding cool project ideas you can create on your own, like this neat magnetic menu board, so I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite repurposing or upcycling projects that I’ve recently found on Pinterest. Some of them will make great gifts, others are just really useful, but I think they would all look awesome around the home!

Source: ilovethisandthat.blogspot.com via Stacie on Pinterest

Mason jar candles:

There are so many things you can do with empty mason jars, from canning to creating snow globes. I come across a new idea almost daily, but this one sticks out in my mind as one of the sweetest. While I haven’t taken this time to create one just yet, it’s high up there on my to-do list. Everything from the heart to the twine just makes me smile. I found a helpful tutorial over at ilovethisandthat for anyone who feels like they need some extra direction.

 

Source: bhg.com via Stacie on Pinterest

Baking Tin Magnet Board:

Like Stacie, I’m always looking for ways to get and stay organized and one of the things that works for me is keeping my to-do lists visible. I do use traditional cork boards, but I also love this cute upcycle of an unused baking sheet into a magnet board (and I already have those cute magnets on top!). All you need is an old baking sheet and some self-adhesive paper with a cool design – I recently found some at the dollar store for less than $2 and there’s enough for many projects. This would also be a great space to display your magnetic menu, like the one I mentioned earlier.

 

Source: shineyourlightblog.com via Stacie on Pinterest

Wine Cork Herb Markers:

We’re a pretty big fan of wine in our house so there are often a lot of lonely corks lying around. Putting them to good use as herb or flower labels is a very functional idea, and would make an awesome gift for the gardeners in your life. If your penmanship tends to be a little shaky, try using stamps instead of writing the names out yourself.

Source: decorhacks.com via Stacie on Pinterest

Drawer Hangers and Hooks:

Not only is this a great example of repurposing, I love the way it looks. If you have an old dresser that’s not being used, or are able to pick one up second hand from a thrift shop or yard sale, I would definitely recommend giving these drawer hangers and hooks a try. It’s a little bit more difficult than the others, but the end result is totally worth it.

As you’ll notice in the pictures, these drawers are mounted on a piece of wood just slightly larger than the piece itself. This is a good idea to give the hooks a little extra space off the wall. With a quick change of the hardware, a coat of paint and an application of the leftover self-adhesive paper from the magnet board, you should be good to go!

Source: norestforthecreative.blogspot.com via Stacie on Pinterest

Sleepover pillow mattress:

Even though I don’t have kids I was still blown away by this idea. I remember slumber parties as a kid where I’d end up on couch cushions awkwardly slid together beside my friend’s bed. Why no one ever thought of sewing some old pillows together is beyond me, because clearly this is genius. With some kid-friendly fabric and a sewing machine, these adorable mattresses should probably come together in less than an hour.

Jessica Snow is a Pinterest-addict, internet-lover, dog-owner and writer from Eastern Canada. As a Community Coordinator at this place, she spends her days trying to encourage homeowners to tackle household repairs on their own and promising that DIY is not as scary as it sounds! If you’d like, you can find out what she’s pinning here.