Making Recycled Cards

Read through the tutorial before starting.

Step 1: Select a card

It's nice to keep a selection of old cards on hand for card making. Being sure to remove any personal messages or signatures, cut the card fronts from the old cards and snip out the verses. Keep the old card parts in plastic zipper bags for easy access.

From your stash of old cards, select a card front as a basis for a new card. Keep in mind who will receive the card and the occasion when making your choice. Make a card blank by cutting letter-size (A4) cardstock in half then folding to make a quarter page card blank or by folding letter-size (A4) cardstock in half to make a half page card blank. See Tutorial #1: Four Patch Cards for more details on card blank and envelope making.

Step 2: Gather materials

Read through the card recycling techniques and select one to use.

Find paper to use for mats and punches that match the card front. For tips on selecting mats, see the previous tutorial #2: Matted Clip-art Cards. Depending on the card recycling technique you choose, get paper punches, coordinating rubberstamps, stencils or decorative scissors, along with appropriate supplies for each.

Step 3: Make card front

Using one of the techniques below, use the recycled card parts to make a new greeting card.

Technique 1: Embellished card front

This is the simplest technique for making cards from recycled card fronts. Just cut the card front to the exact size of the new card, glue in place, and decorate with message strips, paper punches or rubberstamps.

Materials: White cardstock for message strip, colored cardstock for mats and rubberstamps

1. Select a card front and trim to size of new card.
2. Stamp a greeting on white cardstock for the message strip.
3. Cut the message strip and a mat for the strip. Size them to fit the greeting message and the width of the card.
4. Decorate the message strip with additional stamped images. Glue the message strip to the mat.
5. For the card's inside, select a recycled verse and coordinating colored cardstock. Decorate the verse with the same stamps used on the messages strip. Cut the verse  and mat to size and glue the verse to the mat.

In this example, a matted message strip is glued to the card front and a matted verse is glued inside the new card. The message strip is 5/8" by 4 7/8" with a green mat that is about 1/8" larger in both dimensions. The strip is stamped with MERRY CHRISTMAS in red and decorated with small snowflakes stamped in blue. The matted strip is glued on the card front, near the bottom, in a place that doesn't obscure key elements of the card's image.

The inside verse is matted in red and decorated with the same snowflake stamps used on the message strip.

Tip: Your card will have a more finished look if the inside elements include colors and images that appear on the card's front.

Technique 2: Matted card front

In this technique for making cards from recycled card fronts the card front is cut down and matted. Just trim the card front in a rectangular or square shape smaller than the card, cut a mat, glue in place and decorate.

Materials: Colored cardstock for mat and rubberstamps

1. Select a card front and trim to a rectangle or square that's ½-inch or more smaller than the card in both dimensions.
2. Select colored cardstock for the mat that is in a coordinating color. Cut a mat that's bit larger than the cut image and a bit smaller than the card.
3. Glue the cut image to the mat and glue the mat to the card.
4. Decorate the card front with rubberstamps and/or paper punches.
5. For the card's inside, select coordinating colored cardstock for a mat and stamp a message on white cardstock. Cut the verse and mat to size, glue the verse to the mat, and glue the mat inside the card.
6. Cut an image from the remaining portions of the card front to decorate inside the card.

In this example, the bird is cut from the card front in a 3½" by 4" rectangle. A 4" by 5¼" mat is cut from brown cardstock. The brown mat is stamped on the right side with Merry Christmas in gold. The bird is glued to the mat and the mat is glued to the card.

The inside verse is stamped in red and green, matted in the same brown used on the front, and decorated with a cutout from the recycled card front.

Technique 3: Fussy-cut shapes

This technique uses motifs that have been closely trimmed. In quilting this is known as a fussy-cut. Fussy-cut an image or images from a card front, arrange on the card along with mats or strips of cardstock, glue in place, and decorate as desired.

Materials: Colored cardstock or foil for mats, rubberstamps, and metallic pens

1. Select a card front with motifs to fussy-cut. Cutout the motifs with a rough cut, then closely cut the motif to its outline or leave a small margin.
2. Cut mats and/or colored cardstock strips to enhance the cutout motifs.
3. Arrange the motifs and other cardstock elements on the card front. Glue in place.
4. Decorate the card with rubberstamped messages or words cut from the recycled card front.
5. For the card's inside, use leftovers from the recycled card front to mat a printed verse.

In this example, a butterfly on a gold square is fussy-cut from the recycled card front along with a 3½" by 1¼" rectangle in mottled green. The mottled green rectangle is stamped with Thanks in black and edged with gold ink. A 4" by 5¼" mat is cut from green cardstock and a 3½" square mat is cut from gold foil paper. The gold square and mottled green rectangle are glued to the green mat and the mat glued to the card. The fussy-cut butterfly is attached to the card with foam tape to give a 3D-look.

Inside the card a printed verse is double-matted with the same green cardstock used on the front and a mottled green rectangle cut from the recycled card front.

Technique 4:  Feature a message

In this technique words or verses from recycled cards are featured on the new card. Cut words or messages from a card in a round or oval shape, cut a slightly larger mat from colored cardstock, glue in place and decorate.

Materials: Colored cardstock for mats, scraps of cardstock for punches and/or paper cuts, and markers.

1. Select words, a phrase or a verse from a recycled card. Cut the message out in an round or oval shape.
2. Cut a slightly larger circle or oval mat from coordinating colored cardstock. Print Aunt Annie's oval patterns for templates to trace.
3. Glue the message to the mat and glue the mat to the card.
4. Decorate the card with paper punches or paper cuts that enhance the theme of the message. Add embellishments with markers.

In this example, orange cardstock is used for the card blank. Words with a white daisy are cut from the card front in a 3¼" by 4" oval shape. Another oval that is ½" larger in both dimensions is cut from red cardstock. The message oval is glued to the red mat and the red mat is glued to the card. Daisies punched from white cardstock, flower centers punched from yellow cardstock, and leaves cut from green cardstock are glued to the card. Flowers stems are drawn with a gold marker along with a circle of little dots in each flower center.

Step 4: Finish card

Add a message to the inside of the card using a verse cut from an old card that is matted in a coordinating color of paper or cardstock. You might also use cutouts from old cards to decorate the inside.