A Martha Christmas Project - Card Wreath

I may have mentioned one or a thousand times how much I'm enjoying my Martha Stewart Living December 2010 issue. It is so full of great ideas and projects I could stay busy crafting, cooking and fussing every day between now and Christmas.

One of the projects that caught my eye was this card wreath. I am forever trying to figure out how to best display Christmas cards I receive. In years past I have used mini clothes pins to hang them from pretty strands of string hanging down the two very narrow vertical wall spaces in my front entryway. They make for a very festive welcome into my home.

I have always run out of space and considered making or buying a card display piece of some sort. Then I saw this and knew I could whip it up very inexpensively and I loved the look of it. I purchased bamboo clothes pins (48 pack) at a local 99 cent store and the embroidery hoop I purchased at Michaels for $2.

Then I went through my ribbon collection to find something nice to tie it up with and instead of wood glue I used a tube of super glue we had on hand. My total cost specific to this project were $3.

I loved the natural wood look but can imagine it looking splendid painted silver, gold, dark gray or bright green. I'm doing very little traditional red and green this year. The dark red and green aren't really colors I love that much on a daily basis, so I'm enjoying going with blues, silvers, grays, bright reds and greens when I have a choice.

Here is some feedback after completion. You have to have small cards for this to work well. I would move the clothes pins a little farther apart. It definitely needs a bigger ribbon. I'm going to continue playing with it, styling it and see what else I learn.

This would make a great little craft project for a family activity and a lovely gift for friends and neighbors.

Have a great Wednesday. Hope you're enjoying some creative time this holiday season.

all photos by kalanicut