by Melissa Raissa

Created on: December 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 14, 2010

Christmas cards come in beautiful images that are used to symbolize the season. Nativity pictures, pine trees, hollies, poinsettias, snowflakes, wreaths and plenty of other images are reserved just for this occasion and most of these images can only depict the Yuletide season. The distinct symbolism that they convey makes them very recognizable as Christmas images which makes them difficult to reuse as decorative materials for other events other than those that have Christmas themes.

However, this is no hindrance for us to create some beautiful yet easy-to-make items which can instantly remind us of the love and  generosity of the people around us even after the season of giving has passed. Below are some ways to reuse old Christmas cards which will allow us to further pass on the generosity of others and at the same time retain the value of their thoughtfulness in our everyday lives by keeping their messages with us through simple yet personalized items.

Digital Christmas Cards

There are some cards that are wonderfully made that sometimes you can't think of taking them apart in order to recycle them. Fortunately, with the availability of graphics programs, you can recreate these images by scanning them into picture files which you can take a glimpse of now and again to give you some creative inspiration. You can also do this for any kind of paper decors such as wrappers, gift tags and other items that have one or more images that you might be able to use later on for other projects.

Once you have your cards scanned, you can also send them as e-cards to other people through their emails or social networking sites. You can overlay your message on top of the picture card using an imaging software, like GIMP which you can download for free at their site. Although, if the images are copyrighted it would be best not to mass-reproduce it and make sure you don't take away the signature or watermarks made by the designers in order to retain the intellectual property of the original creators.

You can also create your own card designs using the same graphics software. Open your own photos and image files via your graphics program. Open a blank file as well specifying the template size for your card design. You can now start copying your photos and image files and lay them out accordingly onto your blank canvas. You can manipulate your existing photos using the available tools of your graphics program. You can also add messages using the Text Tool under GIMP's Toolbox

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>