Christmas card hanger using things you've never known what to do with

Not strictly recycling, but it could use up some stuff that you have had for years.

This will work if either (a) you have a piece of furniture with a lip at the top where the top piece of wood overhangs the main unit or (b) you have a tall piece of furniture, a picture rail or door where you would be happy to put a drawing pin in the top where it doesn't show.

Go through your ribbon stash and take out any of those wide ribbons that we all have but never know what to do with, as they're too wide for cardmaking. If you have short lengths, stitch or pin them together to make pieces long enough to hang down as far as you need them.

Drawing pin method: fold over the end of the ribbon a couple of times to give it strength and put two or three drawing pins in the end to pin it to your furniture, door or picture rail. Make sure your door will still shut with the drawing pins in the top of it before you start.

Other method: use a door wreath-hanger and hook the square end over the lip on the side of the furniture where you are not hanging any cards. Use pins to fix a piece of ribbon (only has to be long enough to get near to the other side of the piece of furniture) to the rounded end, or tie the ribbon on. Take a strong garden cane, no deeper than your furniture so it doesn't show, and wrap the other end of the ribbon around the middle of it, pinning the ribbon it to itself. Then take your two or more hanging ribbons: wrap one end of each of these round the cane and pin them to themselves. Take two elastic bands and wrap round either end of the cane, to prevent the ribbons slipping off. Let the ribbons hang down the side of the furniture and adjust to give width for the two or more rows of cards.

Go through your odds and ends and take out the plastic or wood mini-pegs that you've never known what to do with and use them to peg cards to the ribbon. Don't worry about how naff the plastic ones look: if you make sure the next card is pegged underneath the bottom of the previous one it won't show.

Lynda

I like the idea of ribbon as a card holder, have done it before. The house we are in now I tend to bluetack them to the doors LOL. until I run out of space that it.

Definitely better than a bit of wool Lynda.