Every year, as the holiday season approaches, our mailboxes start to fill with cards--each like a tiny gift, thoughtfully chosen by friends and family members. But what do you do with them once they arrive? A few cards on the mantel look festive, but a crowd looks like clutter.
Rather than relegating the overflow to a box or drawer, incorporate the cards into your holiday decorating scheme. With just a little preparation, you can turn those greetings into charming keepsakes.
Give your favorite cards a place of honor each year by hanging them on an elegant ribbon beneath a mantelpiece.
Choose a selection of cards in a single color or complementary shades and graduating sizes. You'll need a piece of wide ribbon that is long enough to drape beneath the mantel with trailing ends, a piece of 1-inch-wide ribbon of the same length and a piece of 1-inch-wide ribbon for each card.
Wrap a ribbon around the spine of each card so that it is not too loose and not too taut and knot at the bottom. String the long, thin ribbon through the ribbons at the top of each card. Hang the wide ribbon and card garland from the mantel (with the garland in front), and space the cards evenly. If you use satin ribbon and the cards slide toward the center, use pins to keep them in place.
Welcome holiday guests with a "tree" of dried branches arranged in a bucket or vase and adorned with cards instead of traditional ornaments.
Collect the branches from your yard or buy them at a local garden center; no water is necessary.
To make hangers for the cards, punch a hole through the top of each closed card and string a length of ribbon through the hole. Thread the ends of the ribbon through a bead or two, and then tie the ends in a knot or bow. If you have trouble threading wide ribbon through a small bead, try this trick: Bend a length of 28-gauge wire in half and send both ends through the bead so the ends are exposed on one side and the loop on the other. Put the ribbon through the wire loop and pull on the loose ends of the wire, bringing the ribbon through the bead.
Turn the back of a door into a gallery of cards with wide satin ribbons.
Cut streamers of ribbon long enough to hang down your door, then mark points on the ribbons from which you want to hang the cards. It's a good idea to mark alternating 7- and 10-inch intervals; then you can attach alternating vertical and horizontal cards and they will appear evenly spaced.
Tie thin ribbons to circular, double-ring paper clips (available in crafts stores or office-supply stores) and stitch the clips' ribbons to the marks you made on the large ribbons.
To hang the streamers, fasten the ends of the large ribbons to the top of the door with flat thumbtacks. Slip a card into each clip once the streamers are in place. The cards can be removed to be read again or to be changed as new cards arrive, and the ribbons can be reused each year.
Martha Stewart welcomes letters. She cannot reply individually, but you may write to her in care of the Chicago Tribune, Home&Garden section, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Or send e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org.