Don't Toss Your Holiday Cards!

One of my favorite parts of December, besides Christmas Day, is getting the mail each day.  I get so excited to open Christmas cards from our friends and family, and quickly put them on display in our home.  Every year, around this time, it would pain me to throw them away.  Those were memories - pictures - and I was just recycling them.

Until 2012.  I started saving them, making them in to little books.  I put our card on top, and every year I lay out books of years past.  It's so fun to look through them and remember our friends and family then, and see how far they've come - with wedding pictures, new dogs, babies, new houses.  It's such a fun keepsake and I wanted to share it with you.  It's so easy, you can have this done in ten minutes - I promise!

For supplies, all you need are:

-A copy of your Christmas card
-All of the cards you recieved
-A three hole punch
-ring clips, found at any office supply store

STEP ONE.
Organize your received cards by size.

STEP TWO.
Starting with the largest size, line up 4-5 cards (depending on thickness), and punch two holes.  Try and center them as best as possible.

There is no math here - just eyeball it!

Continue with the next largest size, working your way to the smallest.

Don't forget to also put holes in your card!


STEP THREE.
With the largest size on the bottom and the smallest on the top, put your cards in a pile.  Make sure the holes are all on the same side.

STEP FOUR.
Begin on either the top or bottom holes, and wiggle the ring clip through.

Repeat for the other side.

STEP FIVE.
Be sure to add your card to the top, and you are finished!

I hope you have fun looking back on cards from the past.  We do every year!

Linking up with Ash and Anne.

DIY: Artwork Photo Book

This past year was the first year of school for E.  As a preschooler, she did a lot of coloring, painting, and creating things with her hands and feet.  I loved seeing the masterpieces she created each week, but quickly got tired of having piles (and piles!) of artwork sitting around the house.  So, like any person looking for a solution, I went to Pinterest.  What I found was an app called Artkive.  Basically, you take a picture of the painting/drawing, then they will put it in a cute little book that you can order at the end of the year.  Great idea, yes?  No.  The prices were outrageous!  So, I decided to make my own with Snapfish.

I began by downloading the Snapfish app on my phone.  Then I got to work taking pictures of everything, trying to keep them in calendar order.  (This helps with the book creation).  At the end of this year, I had over 60 pictures of E's artwork!

Last month I logged on to Snapfish from my laptop - you can make a book from your phone or tablet, but I liked being able to see it larger so I could really customize it.  I chose a 8x11 Classic Photo Book with a Linen Cut-Out cover, and got to work. 

I went in order, and added the name of the months, along with other images through their huge collection of embellishments.  It was so fun picking the layout for each page, adding my photos, and embellishing her already amazing artwork.  (Every preschooler's artwork is amazing, right?)

 

 

The last page included her report card and the picture we took on her first day.  I then added some blank pages, that I added printed photos that were sent home with her throughout the year.  Pictures of her with her classmates, on field trips and with her teachers.

 My total price?  Under $30. Beat that Artkive!  (I did have a coupon for 20% off and used Ebates, but without those two things it still would have been under $40!)

I love that I started this during her first year of school and plan on making one for each year after this.  She has shown everyone that comes over and I hope that we continue to look at each masterpiece for years to come.

FYI: Snapfish had nothing to do with this post, I was not compensated in any way.  Just wanted to share the better way to save your child's artwork without the clutter!