Crafty Christmas

So last year I was inspired to get crafty for the future Christmas. If you clicked on the link, you know that I had ambitions to recycle my Christmas cards to use for gift tags, as well as to make a scrapbook for my photo Christmas cards. 
Well the future is now, and folks, I've actually done it. 
No, I didn't make the cookie cutter ornaments (maybe next year), but the gift tags & the scrapbook are done.

I made the scrapbook this summer, simply by picking up a large one at Hobby Lobby and arranging the photo cards within. I actually think I'm going to need to buy some extra pages to include the ones I get this year. I'm happy that they're now all in one place and easily accessible. Plus it's fun seeing how my friends and family members have changed over the years.

I kept the other Christmas cards that I received (the ones without photos) all year and finally busted them out. I used the dye cut machine at school to cut out the first initial in each of my family members' names for their respective gifts.

Each card was selected for a reason, of course, 'cause that's how I roll. The penguin card for my sister, the pink & sparkly card for my sister-in-law, the cardinal for my mom, and the cute snowman & little girl for my McNugget. The dudes got the cards that I thought would work best for their letters (and let's face it: it will be a miracle if they even notice the letters at all). I don't have Pete's yet because I was hoping to find a pug card to use for his. 

At any rate, here is the finished product and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself.

I do think these would look better on brown parchment paper or a solid color wrapping paper, but overall I still think they look precious! Not only are they better for the environment and for my bank account, I love that they make each gift that much more personalized. This is a tradition I will keep up for future Christmases to come!