The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Kristin at The Gold Project.
Last Christmas, I was organizing pictures and ran across several family Christmas cards that we had sent out in the past. So, I placed them all to the side and decided to see if I could find every Christmas card that we had given out since the beginning. My husband and I started mailing Christmas cards to friends and family in 2006.
With a little help from my family, I was actually able to locate every Christmas card. It took me several months, but I was excited to find them all.
Now, I had to decide how to store them.
Family Christmas Card Storage:
I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a black scrapbook album at 50% off (one that I could add inserts to the back when needed). In addition, I purchased a 2″ Paper Studio scalloped circle punch. I felt the punch was a nice investment because I could use it for future projects.
To start this process, I got all of my supplies together and made sure I had all of my family Christmas cards.
Then, I used the following steps:
Step 1: Cut the Cardstock.
The scrapbook album that I used was an 8 x 8, so I cut nine sheets of cardstock to that size. I used four different colors that I felt matched my album and screamed, “Christmas!”
Step 2: Attach the Cards to the Cardstock.
Using double-sided tape, I attached each Christmas card to a sheet of cardstock. I made sure that my cardstock colors were in an pleasant order. I didn’t want two sheets of red cardstock beside each other.
Step 3: Create Date Labels for each Page.
Using my 2″ scalloped punch, I made two different labels for each page that I would overlap; a plain white one and a fun Christmas printed one. Then, using my label maker, I created and attached dates to each label on each page.
Step 4: Create a Label for the Front of the Album.
Using Microsoft Word, I created and cut out a label for the front cover of our album.
Step 5: Insert the Pages & the Album is Complete.
I inserted all of the pages in the album according to the year and then, my album was complete.
Now, we have a family Christmas card album that we can add to every year.
My name is Kristin and I am a middle school career education teacher by day and a mommy/wife/blogger by night. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have two loving children. We recently made a life-changing move to Arkansas, so our new house is always under construction. I get excitement out of finding new creative, functional, and cute ways to organize things! I also enjoy writing and documenting life as it happens. So, I put these loves together and created The Gold Project. With the help of my husband, I am attempting to turn our house into a home. So, check out this special place of mine and take this journey with me!
The Lady Kay says
This is such an awesome idea! I have been thinking about a way to display our family cards with all the visit with Santa photos of the kids too! I could put them both on a page! Thanks for the inspiration!
Be Well–The Lady Kay
Kristin @ The Gold Project says
I am glad I was able to help you. XOXO 😉
Havok says
This is awesome! It seems a lot of effort are put into Christmas cards, it just makes sense to keep one for yourself to remember by! And to make an album out of them makes that even easier! Came out lovely!!
Kristin @ The Gold Project says
Thank you so much! 🙂
Margie says
This is a great idea. I just pulled out my holiday album and have 23 years worth of cards. It is always a fun time to look over the cards and see how our family has grown. Just keep it simple, so it is doable in even the crazier years.
Kristin @ The Gold Project says
Now, that is amazing! I love that you kept them all and know where they are. I was so scared that I wasn’t going to be able to find all 9 years that I had sent out. There is no telling if I could’ve found 23 years worth. It took me awhile and several family members to find the 9. So, thumbs up to you for your organization. But, now, for me, it will be no problem keeping up with them all. Your album will be awesome.
Becky L says
I like your idea! I have a lot of our old Christmas letters I had printed. I need to file those. A good memory through the years. I did alot of clearing out of stuff while working on my little office space. Came across old baby photos of people I don’t have contact with. Those photos are gone. I can only keep so much. Albums are great memory boosters.
Kristin @ The Gold Project says
Thank you! I need to print out pictures. I take them and save them online, like on Shutterfly, but I rarely print them. And, I definitely need to go through and throw away pictures that aren’t relevant to me and my family. Thank you for the reminder.
Whitney @ Come Home For Comfort says
That is a great idea!! Thanks for sharing!
Kristin @ The Gold Project says
Thank you so much!!! 😉