Crafters - clever way to display holiday greeting cards?

[Miss Mary]

I'm gathering ideas......if you have a clever, unique way of displaying your xmas or holiday greeting cards, would mine sharing it? Thanks!

Usually I display mine in red/green basket with a nice bow, on our foyer table. Angled this way, that way but after a while, the early to arrive ones get buried. Each year I've said I must find a better way. Friends of ours take a large archway in their home and tape the cards up. I'd rather not do that, since I'm about to repaint the room I'd hang them in. But that is a good idea.

Here are the two ideas I'm considering:

1. Buy a large juice can, removing both top and bottom lids. Remove the label and either leave silver or cover/paint the can. Begin wrapping yarn around can, but start inside by taping it down. Then wrap the outside, going around can completely, ending up where you started. What your cards arrive, you slip each one in a piece of yarn, displaying this cylinder on your table top. Trouble with this idea is 1/4 or more of our cards are photo types - one sheet, not the fold out greeting card shape.

2. Buying pre-quilted xmas fabric, roughly 3 foot wide by 4 or 5 feet long. A small print, so as to not take away from the cards. Enclose raw edges in pre-seamed, finishing edging. Begin hand or machine sewing on small O rings, used for curtain tie-backs, maybe brass colored. I'll either stagger the shape, first row would have say 8 across, next 7, back to 8 for the third. So when you look at the cards, the lower row won't be directly under the upper card. Or another idea I had was to sew the rings on, in a xmas tree shape. Can't decide I want to waste space on the quilt that way. Then I'd simply hang this quilt where I have a small Amish made one in my family room. As each card would arrive, I'd punch a hole in the left hand card corner, slip a piece of twine, raffia, or narrow ribbon, pre-cut and knotted already, using a snip-knot method, attach each card thru the ring.

I saw a neat wire tree shaped card hanger at Pottery Barn, but cha-ching it's $39, not including shipping! Didn't buy it......yet, maybe I'll wait for it to go on sale, but it's pretty cool:

http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm? ... =&flash=on

Share your ideas! And Bill, don't say you give them to Annabelle to shred.....LOL

Mary

[alicia-w]

i saw this in the October issue of Southern Living yesterday.

Take apples, a variety of colors is best. Line them up. Put an attractive twig in the apple where the stem is. Glue a miniature clothespin to the twig and when the glue dries, use the clothespin to display the photo.

[Miss Mary]

Thanks Alicia - what a quick response. That is a clever idea. I'l consider it!

What I want to avoid this year is bunching them all into one basket. My family doesn't even see half of them that way. I'd rather assemble them all in one spot, but separately, but close to the others. If that makes any sense. I'm seriously leaning towards the quilt idea.

Mary

[arkess7]

i like both of yalls ideas........i need to do something different this year too!!!

i usually tape my cards with a piece of clear scotch tape along my wooden fireplace mantel and have some fake holly leaves and berries running along top of the mantel.......it looks good but i need to try something different!

[streetsoldier]

We place ours on a wide (4") red velvet ribbon trimmed with gold side edging, each card pinned at the upper corner so that the cards will overlap...this allows for many, or few cards to be displayed all at once.

This ribbon is placed at the top of the 7-foot pole which begins at the bottom of the staircase (ribbon is tacked at the top and bottom), but facing the living room to the left; visitors and friends can view the cards if they desire, w/o upsetting a more fragile display.

[Miss Mary]

Well, now here's something I did years ago, but only once. We loop fake greenery up our bannister. That year I punched a hole in each card and we looped a piece of ribbon thru, attaching it to a piece of the greenery/garland, bending that part back, keep the card hanging. You couldn't walk up to each card to read it, but you could see them from our family room. I had lots of compliments on this display. Our girls were very little and they really got into hanging the cards. I could barely read them, and suddenly a hole was punched in the corner and each one was hung up. Don't know why didn't do that the next year....

Bill and Amy, I like your ideas too. And Bill, you didn't comment on my Annabelle joke......LOL Hope would shred them, she loves to shred paper.

Mary

[O Town]

Well I really like streetsoilders idea, it makes sense. Instead of taping or tacks cards up, you can place a ribbon wherever, weather it be on a door frame, or banaster or anywhere you can hang a ribbon. I also like the last idea you had Mary. The one about making a special blanket and adding the O rings. But it would seem easier if instead of punching holes in each card, you could get the mini clothes pins and decorate those. It seems it would be much easier to attach cards and also look just as nice.

At my old house we had wood frames around doors, so I would thumb tack in green and red the cards around the frame of the door, kinda like a garland effect. This house has no room to diplay cards really so they end up in a pile like yours.

It seems like you could make one of those tree things though, if you really like that look and don't want to pay. But you could take some heavy wire and bend the circle loops at the tops, and then stick them into some sort of styrofoam, or florist foam in a basket and put garland over the foam part to hide it, or the middle of a reef on a table, hide the styrofoam in someway. Then you slip your cards or pictures in the loops at the top of the wire. Hey I like that idea, never thought about it, I just may do that. That way it doesn't take up to much room either.

Whatever you do, you should take a picture and post it so we can see your craft in use. Good luck.

~Kelly

[Miss Mary]

Kelly - lots of good ideas there......I can tell, you're creative!

Okay, I've decided what to do now. After a very helpful, nice older sales lady at Hancock's walked around with me. She gave me so many, many ideas! At first I thought they'd sell simple, xmas type prints that are quilted already. Well, they are but they're patterns you cut out and sew, such as a tree skirt. So we moved on. Then she suggested just quilting my own, just running straight stitches up and down, my own design. I glanced at the xmas fabric prints, immediately liked 5 at least. Then she said come look at our fleece! Whoa nelly.....there are a ton of fleece prints out there!!!! She said look up all along the walls by the ceiling, I did, never looked up there before, until today. Huge prints made into bed quilts, couch throws, etc. Sure enough, there was one with two Golden Retrievers....well, you all I'm crazy about our Golden. No I didn't buy that fleece print but boy was I tempted. She said use fleece, you can knot your ends! I considered that.

Then finally she said, well you know we carry simple quilting in plain colors, we have red and green. Voila! Bingo! Shazaammmm!!!

I chose a darker red, if you'll notice there are almost two shades of red, when it comes to xmas candles and decorations. I have more of the darker red, but it's not a burgundy either. Hoping you ladies know what I mean.

Bill, wake up....he's snoozing at this point, God-almighty Mary, get to the point!!!! LOL

I'm going with the darker red, with small wooden O rings sewn on and twine to tie the cards on. For edging, I chose a light tan, to compliment the wooden ring color and twine.

There, I'm set. Not assembled yet mind you....it will be, hopefully within a week.

The sales lady and I thought a plain colored backing was better, to show off the cards better. And I had one more idea, each year I've saved everyone's photo cards, the type you buy at any drugstore. I might attach their older ones behind this year's....if I get real-Martha like!!!! To show how much their kids have grown, etc.

Mary

[O Town]

Sounds like you got a nice lady at the store to help you along. Time to get craftin'. Sounds like it won't be to hard either. I like the idea of keeping the old ones behind the new ones, sounds like a good idea. Please take a picture and post it I would love to see it.

That fleece you are talking about, well last year I wanted to make all 3 of my girls a blanket for X-mas presents to wrap up on the couch with. I knew I wanted fleece because the girls came home with a pillow they made at church and I saw you could knot the ends. When I saw the amount of fleece patterns and solids I was overwelmed as well. They do have alot of good animal ones, very cute. Well I ended up not knoting the ends, instead ran a zig zag stitch around the edges about a inch in, and then came back and cut to the stitching all the way around so it looked frayed, or like it would if you knoted it kinda like built in edging. They loved them and ended up using them year round. It was such an easy project.

Hope the quilt card holder works out well for ya, it was a really good idea.
Maybe I will get around to doing my idea for the cards. LOL.

~Kelly

[Miss Mary]

Kelly - that is a good way to finish the fleece edges. We have several Biederlack blankets to cover up with on the couch but I can see where this fleece is tempting to make gifts out of!

For example, my girls exchanged gifts with friends at school each year. Last year Nina walked in the door with a scarf a friend made her, blue with white snowflakes, narrow, only about 5 inches wide but knotted fringe. Something so simple but so creative!

Mary

[O Town]

My mother in law made those scarfs with my girls last year, on the ends they put letter beads that spelled thier name on and then knoted. A very good gift idea indeed, they are old enough now they could do that for sure for thier cousins. Never thought about that, cheap, easy, and made with love.

[streetsoldier]

No, I haven't been snoozing...Annabelle (she be a ho') LOVES to watch the pretty colors when the door opens! And no, she doesn't shred cards or other papers..we have a "Fellowe's" shredder for that.

Actually, I KEEP all of the cards, year-to-year, in an empty Danish butter cookie canister; when one fills up, I eat a 3-lb. can full, and start again.

Oh, and the red velvet ribbon we have is that "darker" red Mary mentioned..."cardinal" is what it's called ("scarlet" = bright red, "crimson" = mid-shade, "cardinal" = dark red).

[Miss Mary]

Well, now Bill I am impressed......Cardinal Red - yes this is the red color I prefer to holiday candles, ribbon decorations, etc. There is a slight difference between the other red, it's just too bright if you ask me.

Emailed Nina the fleece scarf gift suggestion and she thanked me for reminding her. What a great idea. So now she and a friend who has a car on campus, will probably make them. Nina's roommate goes home every weekend so even better she said, she can secretly make hers while she's back home. I picture a craft/sewing scene in her dorm now. When I suggested this idea to my youngest daughter Laura she said and I quote - Mom, no one wears scarves up here! I am NOT doing that!!!! he he

Bill, I keep former photo cards, can never part with them. But we cute out designs from old cards, for gift bag or box tags, punching a hole and inserting ribbon. Now if I could be very Martha like I would remember who gave me what card/tag and put that on their gift next year (if they recieve gifts from us, some are casual, card exchanging friends only). But I never do that!

Mary

[Miss Mary]

Udpate - can't find wooden O rings. Found of course the white plastic type and also brass. I'll probably go with brass. I'm going to keep looking though. Never realized Holly Lobby has a fabric dept. now! I was all over that store, looking for simple wooden O rings. They carry the alphabet in wood, large and small letters. No O's available, but the large letter O wasn't an exact circle or oval, it had a curly bottom part to it. Dang. That could have been expensive though. I'm going to keep looking!

Mary

[Stephanie]

I do tape mine around the entry way to my hallway from my kitchen and down a banister that separates the kitchen and family room. Actually, I can tape the cards around the banister so that leaves me alot of room for cards.

[Miss Mary]

Well, my xmas card craft idea got shelved for Halloween! As it should be....LOL Hoping to get to it soon.

Still can't find wooden O rings! You'd think someone would carry them. You watch when I least expect it, I'll see them for sale somewhere.....next July!

Mary

[O Town]

Thats the way it always is Mary, or you'll find a pack of them at a yard sale for 20 cents. LOL. Don't you guys have a Jo-Anns or Micheals? Seems like they would have them there. Or some other fabric store may have them, it would seem. Thats kinda lame that you got the fabric you wanted and the idea all in your head, and now can't find the rings. You could just adjust and put different ones on, but I know once you got an idea for something, you hate to change it. Anyways good luck hope you can find them.

~Kelly

[Miss Mary]

Kelly - that's your name....I asked you on another thread what your first name is O Town!!! Drumming it into my head now....

I checked Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's. Have yet to hit Michael's, try not to venture in that store. Our local Michael's is very much like our local Wal-mart - poorly laid out and organized. You can never find anything in either and the aisles are very narrow. You're not only tripping over weekly sale items but customers, stumbling around looking for their unique item too!

I almost always walk out of either store, with a headache!

But I do like Hobby Lobby - very well organized. I usually forget they're closed on Sunday's but if I need anything from this store, I do have 6 other days to shop there!

I even went online, thinking I'd find them. No luck, in the size I want.

I will find them. It's a good thing I don't have time to assemble it, I have time. And really, I could make the entire quilt hanging, waiting to sew the rings on Dec. 1st.

Mary

[Miss Mary]

We got our first xmas card already.

Guess we should skip that Thanksgiving Day dinner now? LOL

I'd better get cracking on that quilt.....

Mary

[Miss Mary]

Well, guess what? The bag this fabric is in from Hancock's keeps getting moved around the house - here, there, until I can get around to sewing it into a xmas card quilt. I've been repainting 3 rooms before hosting a T-giving Day dinner. I think this quilt might have to be used in 2006! Should have made it long before Nov. 1st. Dang it - note to self, never think there will be time for all you want to do before xmas. So much to do, so little time.......~if~ I manage to sew it I'll let you know how it turned out. That post may have to wait 12 months...he he.

Mary