Christmas Card Display

Trying to decide how to display all those Christmas cards?  This has been something I've wanted to get creative with for years.  The last few years I've created a faux Christmas tree with the cards, which was fine, but getting the right shape was not always easy.  I recently saw a Christmas card holder on the Anderson Crew blog that inspired the change.  Thank you, Pinterest.  :)

So here's the tip/idea to use:

Hang a grosgrain ribbon vertically and attach the cards to the ribbon.  I chose a red grosgrain ribbon with white polka dots for this project then hot-glued the ribbon to a Christmas plaque I found.  You could certainly hang the ribbon as is, like this photo from Life on Mars clearly demonstrates.  Note: At first, I used mini clothespins to hang the cards, but it began to feel cluttered once all the photos were hung, so I switched to reusable adhesive putty (sticky tack).

Here is the full-length view:

After attaching all of our horizontal photos to our card holder I ran out of room for the others, so I moved the vertical ones to a door frame and displayed the folding cards using the slats of our louvre doors.

This was an inexpensive, easy project with a huge payoff for me.  Our cards finally have an orderly display!

Play-Doh. Organized. And Pretty.

photo courtesy of lovelihood on Flickr.com

My kids love play-doh, but it is sometimes difficult for them to open the containers.  We also have a hot mess of play-doh and tools in an over-sided big plastic storage bag.

Carisa over at 1+1+1=1 came up with this tip.  Create a play-doh kit with the dough and  accessories/tools all stored in one organized box.  Carisa also created play-doh letter formation  printables for a tacticle way to work on A, B, C's.  (Please click here to view her photos and to download her free printables.)

Now, I can store the play-doh container-free AND create a system for the chaos.  Grin.  (Thank you, Carisa!)

I purchased this 17-compartment storage box at Ace Hardware today with a $5 off coupon.

Here is a picture of our bin all filled up:

I was amazed at how many play-doh items I was able to store in this container!

My next project will be making our own play-doh with scents and glitter.  Check out Tradewind Tiaras and her glitter play-doh recipe and jelly jar gift ideas.  So pretty!  And I love the 1+1+1=1 ideas for adding scents to different colors.

NOTE: Do not toss your play-doh containers!  I'm posting an upcycling idea soon.