If your family is anything like mine, Christmas day meant a garbage bag filled with wrapping paper, ribbons, tags and bows after all the presents were opened. Here are some simple craft ideas for reusing those holiday trimmings!

Origami Lucky Stars: I'm partial to these, and they're so simple to make. Cut your paper into strips, then follow the directions on Foldastar.com. Once folded they can be used to make a garland, or fill a hollow ornament. They look great in jars too! I made this garland for my sister , it uses Sephora holiday catalogs, delica seed beads, green ribbon and beading cord.

Greeting Card Garland:

For this project I used a 1" circle hole punch (any symmetric shape will work), ribbon, a glue stick, 2 greeting cards and an envelope liner (the pretty silver paper).

Punch out your cards, or alternately draw 1" circles and cut them out. Apply glue to one side of

each circle.

For the first circle make a little loop with the ribbon as shown.

Glue the ribbon down the center of each subsequent circle. I used a ruler to space them out evenly.

Glue additional circles on top of the ribbon, pressing down firmly to get a good seal. Finish with another loop, let dry and hang!

Greeting Card Gift tags & notes:
Using blank greeting cards, scraps and bits of ribbon create thank you notes, or tags for next year. Use what you have on hand- rubber stamps, calligraphy pens, ribbons, glitter, specialty scissors, etc.

Geodesic Paper Ornaments are a little more advanced, but the result is beautiful. You can also try this tutorial from ZenCrafter for larger origami stars.

I hope these ideas have inspired you to make Christmas a little greener, Happy Holidays!

~Lauren

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