Christmas Card Saver

 How many years worth of Christmas cards do you have? My mom told me she has years and years worth, from when my college-age cousins were in elementary school. My husband and I began receiving cards as a couple in 2007 and I have the cards to prove it. Our friends have gone from singles to engaged and married and now their dogs have been replaced by children in their pictures.

I decided it was time to do something with our cards, and I came up with a pretty simple six step idea shown in the photos below.

1. Sort

2. Stack

3. Cut

4. Punch

5. Decorate

6. String

1. Sort. I did this by size and put 4x8 photo cards first then other photo cards (by size) and then all non-photo cards sorted by size.

 

2. Stack. I stacked all greeting cards by size so the smallest was on top and largest on the bottom.

3. Cut. Cut pieces of cardboard slightly larger than your largest card for the front and back cover.

4. Punch. Using a hole punch, punch a hole in the same corner of each card. To make sure mine were all in the same place, I inserted the corner of the card as far as it would go into the hole punch.

5. Decorate. Using scrapbook paper I already had, I cut sheets to cover the front and back cardboard covers (four sheets per year). 

I used Mod-Podge on the cardboard to adhere the paper to the cardboard and then used another layer of Mod-Podge on top of the decorative paper to seal it.

I used more cut paper and some alphabet stickers to label the books.

Front and back of my 2009 and 2010 books.

6. String. I used thin holiday ribbon to string the cards and covers together. Make sure to pull the ribbon tight before tying it off so there is less stress on the holes in each card and it all stays stacked better. I originally planned on using metal binder rings, but cannot find them sold loose anywhere.

I put our Christmas cards as the first card in each book and plan on putting out these books each year to see how much everyone has changed and remember those who are no longer with us. I think it will be fun to have out with the album of old Christmas pictures I made earlier this year.

Linking up: Making the World Cuter Mondays, Just Something I Whipped Up, Craftastic Monday, Motivate Me Monday, DIY Holiday Showoff, The DIY Showoff, Mad Skills, Get Your Craft On, Tip Me Tuesday, Blue Cricket Designs Show & Tell, We Did it Wednesday, Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop, Hookin Up with HoH, Paisley Passions, It's So Very Cheri, Craft Catwalk