One More Seasonal Tradition: Scrapbooking Holiday Cards

You are brilliant!

I haven't tried this, but was going to do it this year...donate to St. Jude's Ranch for Children
http://stjudesranch.org/help_card.php
I didn't get any real cards, but will incorporate this as part of our Camp Charity summer camp...since they do it for any occasion.
love the photo page...and I may do it. I usually post the photos on my wall (frames wallpaper) until the following year cards arrive.

I generally save the photo cards and since this was my first year of doing a December Daily I thought I would make a pocket on the inside of my back cover and slip them in there. I saved some of the actual cards to use for pages for next years December Daily. I love your idea of make a page out of them, I might try that with the remaining cards that I decided not to save.

I have have done my cards like you do Ali when I first read what you do with them. I think I started in 2005 doing this. I use a different style punch each year or at least a different cut and try to keep it to one or two pages. Thanks for the inspiration!

I really love this idea...I have saved MANY cards of the past years.....OK, I just used my 2" circle punch & did this for our 2009 cards, & also added some rough collaged greetings (like the christmas greetings from my family in German& the airpost form the envelope)
Thanks for the inspiration!~

i love all the layouts!
a square punch always inspires me
i use my bind it all and make a book of all the cards and photo greetings sent from the year. just punch them, bind them, and make a fun cover with the year on it. it works for me.
thanks for sharing with us!

I do a LO similar to yours, and recycle mine (and a few friends'!) and use them to make my holiday cards for the next year.

I cut mine down a bit and tape them inside my kitchen cupboard. Everytime I go to set the table or get a glass, I'm greeted with the smiles of friends and family. Every year I replace the new with the old, it is part of my Christmas pack up tradition.

We keep the cards out all year long in a basket so we can pray for a different family each week. When the next Christmas season comes around, I put the photo cards into an album that is just for Christmas card photos. It's fun to watch the different families grow and change over the years! And then the cards get used up in my scrapbooking and tag making. I love your idea of making a page or two out of the photos and cards ~ I may do that in November '10 with the cards/photos we received this Christmas. Thanks for sharing your creativity and for all your inspiration!

I love that you get so many cards with photos in the US. Here in Australia and in New Zealand where we are originally from few people seem to send cards let alone photos. I always send a photo of my husband and myself (our daughters are adults) with our cards, especially to those back in NZ. This year I really noticed the lack of cards and an increase in emails, which I personally regret. Having said that I do have a scrapbooking friend who sends me lovely cards each year, usually handmade. Those I keep and display each year as decorations as they are so beautiful.

I've cropped them to use as gift tags and made some larger ones into gift card envelopes for giving- especially the ones with really great patterns or papers.

Each year, I would cut off the fronts as long as there was no writing on the inside cover and mail those to St. Jude's Children's hospital in Tennessee as they recycle and reuse them. But this year, I feel a bit like trying something new. I love your idea and will give it a try at the crop tomorrow night.
Thank you for sharing.
sharon
california & bend, oregon

Awesome idea! I will do so with my cards that we have received this year!

What a great way to save those photo Christmas cards! I will have to do this next year for sure. I donate our Christmas cards to my son's school, the preschool teacher uses them for crafts for the kids during the holiday season.

Oh Ali, what a fantastic idea!!! I already have mine out and am cutting away! I have saved the cards from previous yrs. as well and think I might go back to include those in my books. You are such an inspiration!

Do you just do one 12x12 LO Ali? Do you try to vary the people you include from year to year?

this is such an awesome idea, i'll definitely be doing this this year. In the past, I've cut out the "christmas-y" part and have hung up the rest on a corkboard in my kitchen. I like this idea much better!!

I keep all of my photo cards and create a little flip book for every year. When I'm decorating my house, I pull them out and place them throughout the house. Inevitably, it is conversation starter and something every visitor checks out. I blogged about it several weeks ago..
http://persnicketypeacock.blogspot.com/2009/12/holiday-cards.html

Another fabulous idea Ali! I have had last year's cards sitting here in my scrap pile, just waiting to have something done with them and now, I have this year's too. Love it! I think in the years prior, I have just kept a select few and threw them in behind a layout - I will have to check for them and see! :-)

We donate our cards to the local Senior Center in the town my mom lives. They in turn cut any signatures that are on them and take the sentiments only and attach them to new card stock for new cards. They sell them to make money for the center itself. I've collected from a couple of business that would have just thrown them away and taken those along.