There are probably hundreds of ways to display Christmas cards, but I have a new favorite. Since I receive so many photo cards, I want to enjoy them for most of the year. I hate putting them away, never to be seen until some day years down the road. And throwing them away would seem irreverent. So leaving them up allows me to recall memories, pray for them, and think about how old I'm getting (because would you look at how old their kids are now!!).
I had my husband make this semi-rustic rack for me last Christmas season which hangs in our laundry/mud room all year long (we go in and out this door most of the time so it's an ideal location to seem them often). I got the idea from some magazine, but they used the mattress springs from an old antique crib. Well, I have just that sort of antique crib, but I wasn't about to cut it up to make a card holder, so we improvised. The wire I used can be purchased at a farm supply or hardware store (sorry I can't remember what it is called - if I find out, I'll edit this post with an update). My husband made a simple wood frame, added the wire, and a couple of hangers.
Being the perfectionist that he is, the wire was inserted into a slit just like a real frame. You can kind of see the groove in the above photo (He wanted to fix the miter joint that you see above, but I put my foot down and told him I wanted RUSTIC, not Pottery Barn! I still need to take some sandpaper to it and a bit of antiquing.). If you are doing this yourself, I certainly think applying the wire directly to the back of an old frame would work fine. Wouldn't it be cute to make one of these with an old ornate thrift store frame repainted and with some chicken wire? Very shabby chic! Mmmm... now my mind is thinking of all kinds of styles this can be adapted to.
Since this hangs in my laundry room, I used clothes pins to secure the pictures to the wire. The photos can be easily moved around as more arrive. Sometime later in the year (much later), this gets converted into a message board for birthday invitations, reminders, and notes.
So, how about sharing how you display your cards?
That's very neat! This year I'm using Christmas string & paper clips (only because I can't find my mini-clothespins). We have a hat box for pics, and with 3 kids, the pics come out often.
ReplyDeleteIs that hardware cloth?
Great topic!
ReplyDeleteEvery year I agonize over how to display mine. I don't want to buy a contraption to hold them and I don't want to put tape directly on my walls or molding. What I've come up with this year is to take two long strands of ribbon, tacking the top of each one into the molding at the top of one of our windows in the dining room (the tack goes down into the very top, so it's stuck in vertically). I've been making tape donuts and sticking the cards to the ribbons. So far it's working well and as long as little fingers can't reach, it should stay secure. Maybe I'll get around to posting pictures sometime. I'd love to hear others' ideas!
Amy, this is a wonderful idea...and the perfect place to look up and remember those precious friends.
ReplyDeleteBe blessed!
M.
Great idea, and so wonderfully made! My cards are in a stack this year, but on a few of my more organized Christmases in the past.. :) .. I hung them on yarn with special Christmas clips in a wide doorway we have. The look, ever so quaint and nice, but tall hubby and son complained a bit.. lol. -Tammy
ReplyDeleteLOVE this idea! I have a large cork board in my kitchen that holds the many photos we receive at Christmas. But it is such a chose to rearrange anything. I think this project would be far more versatile. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGina
I have always put mine on the refrigerator but by the end of the season it looks so messy. I love your idea here.
ReplyDeleteI believe that's deer wire (2"x4"). But chicken wire would be fun, too. A few days ago I bought tiny clothespins at WalMart (in office supplies) just for hanging Christmas photo cards, but wasn't sure how I wanted to hang them. I just might build one of these. THANKs Amy!
ReplyDelete