Recycled Ornaments
Ever wonder what to do with all those cards you save every holiday?  
How about making a Christmas ornament with them.  You can use all
types of cards, not just holiday cards, and photos would work well
too.

I originally saw this idea on the Carol Duvall show, but I understand it
has been around for years.
The first step is to cut out circles
in all those cards.  I chose cut out
solid colors too.  I decided to use
a circle cutter as the shape is
extremely important.  I went with
a 2" sized circle, which makes
about a 4" finished ornament.

You will need to cut out 20 circles
for this style of ornament.
Once all the circles are cut, you  circle will be used to make the
equilateral triangle template.  There might be an easier, more precise
way of making the triangle, but all I did was eyeball it.  I did use a
geometry tool to make sure my angles were 60 degrees each, but
other than that, I winged it.

Trace the triangle inside each circle making sure the triangle was
centered in each circle and so that the points touched the edges of the
circle.
Now you will need to score the triangle
so that it bends easily to form the flaps
that will be glued together.  It's best to
use a straight edge and a craft knife or
stylus for this.
This is a great project to do in front
of the TV, just make sure you don't
cut your finger off while
scoring...LOL.

Once they are all scored, I like to
bend them back so that they are
ready for gluing.
Now comes the tricky part.  You need to make a top and a bottom.  They are each made the same with five circles each.  I'm not
sure how to describe it, but what you need to do is to glue the flaps together, going in a circular motion, so that they form a sort of
cap when finished.  I used tacky glue for this as it requires a short amount of setting time.  White glue would be too messy and two
sided tape would not as well.
Now, you need to make the middle of the ornament.  This uses the remaining ten circles and the edges are glued in an alternating
pattern so they form a straight line when finished.  Glue each end together so that it forms a circle.  Now you are able to glue the
top and bottom to the middle portion to form a sphere.
If you find that the edges are not coming together
perfectly, then your triangle was not perfectly  centered
or it didn't have equal angles on each side.  Don't
fret...the ornaments will still look good and won't be
noticeable once hung on the tree.
Last Updated on March 6, 2010
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