Handmade Upcycled Greeting Cards

21st May 202621st May 2026 EsselleCraftsLeave a comment

Welcome to another fabulous upcycling project! ♻️ This time, I’ll be showing you how I turn used wall calendars into these stunning greeting cards!

Three handmade nature greeting cards made from upcycled wall calendar images.

Some of these cards are currently available in my NEW Etsy shop and come complete with a recycled brown Kraft envelope.

A handmade butterflies and bees greeting card made from upcycled wall calendar images.

To make one of these cards, you will need:

* used wall calendar
* square greeting card blank measuring approximately 15cm x 15cm / 6″ x 6″
* square metal die measuring approximately 4cm x 4cm / 1.5″ x 1.5″
* die cutting machine
* sticky note
* pencil
* ruler
* eraser
* craft glue
* brayer

If you are not using a metal die, you can make a simple template by cutting a 4cm / 1.5″ square of card.

Watch my video tutorial showing how to make the greeting cards, and be sure to follow the tips below.

TIP 1 : Cut around the photos on the back of the calendar carefully, making sure that you leave a small border.

TIP 2 : Use a sticky note to hold the metal die in place. This is so that the glossy surface of the photos doesn’t pick up any scratches from the cutting plates.

TIP 3 : Arrange the photos in a 3 x 3 formation so that they look balanced. I like to put similar colours on opposite sides and, if there are animals, I like to face them inwards towards the centre.

TIP 4 : Lightly draw two diagonal lines with a pencil from corner to corner to find the centre of the card. After gluing the first photo in place, any visible lines can then be rubbed out.

TIP 5: Leave a gap of approximately 0.5cm / 0.2″ between each square.

Very often, the front and back covers of a wall calendar are printed on glossy card, which gives the greeting cards a lovely, shiny, professional finish!

Don’t forget to check out my NEW Etsy shop for these cards and other upcycled gifts!

How to make upcycled greeting cards from used wall calendars

Happy upcycling! ♻️
Suzanne

DIY Woven Paper Heart

18th Jan 202518th Jan 2025 EsselleCraftsLeave a comment

In this tutorial, you will discover how to turn an old envelope, or some scraps of paper, into a gorgeous woven paper heart! Perfect for Valentine’s Day, they are easy to make, and would look adorable attached to a card or gift for that special someone in your life!

To make a paper heart, you will need:

* coloured paper (a different colour on each side works best for this) 80-90gsm recommended
* scissors / craft knife
* pencil
* ruler

You can watch my video tutorial to see me making one of these hearts, or follow the written instructions below:

First, you will need to cut out four strips of paper, each one measuring 17cm x 1cm / 6.7″ x 0.4″. I’m reusing an old envelope for mine.

Take one of the strips and fold it in half to make a crease. Open it out again and fold one end backwards to make an L shape, aligning the edge along the middle crease (see first example pictured below).

Fold the other end forwards and align it along the middle crease (see second example below). Press down firmly.

Fold the left hand end upwards, keeping it in front (see third example above) and the right hand end upwards, keeping it behind (see fourth example above). Make sure the long edges are neatly aligned, and press down firmly.

Repeat with the other three strips of paper.

Next, interlock two of the pieces, making sure that one of them is back to front (showing a different colour, if you have one).

Then do the same with the other two pieces.

Fold the top (gold) strip down over itself.

Then fold the second (white) strip to the right so that it runs parallel to the previous one you folded, and tuck it behind the the next (white) strip.

Cut the (white) folded strip as shown below and tuck it backwards under the (white) square beneath it.

Cut the end off the (gold) strip, then fold the last (white) strip over it to the left. Tuck this neatly behind the middle (white) strip.

Fold the middle (white) strip back, trim off the excess and tuck it backwards under the (white) square beneath it.

Repeat the process with the other side. I recommend turning the heart over so that you are working on the back of it.

And here is the finished heart! All of the ends should be neatly tucked in and held in place, so there is no need for any glue.

Will you have a go at making one of these adorable paper hearts? If so, what colours will you choose?

Happy crafting! ❤️
Suzanne

3D Papercraft Projects · Christmas Papercraft · Upcycling Projects

Upcycled Greeting Cards: 3D Box Card Idea

11th Nov 202418th Feb 2025 EsselleCraftsLeave a comment

I love upcycling. I love being able to turn something that would otherwise be thrown away into something else and giving it a whole new lease of life. Take this adorable owl pop-up box card for example!

Upcycled Owl Greeting Card, 3D Pop-Up Box Card

I created the card from used greeting cards, gift tags and other repurposed materials. This is the front of the original greeting card, and as soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I needed to do!

On the original card, the owl in the top right corner was already cut out and raised up on dimensional foam. I carefully removed the owl from the card with the foam still in tact, then carefully cut around the other five owls.

I then used red-liner tape on the back of those five owls to attach them to strips of repurposed acetate (food packaging).

For the box card, the main structure was originally an old book cover and the decorative panels were scraps from another project.

After carefully arranging the position of the owls, I attached them securely to the box card using red-liner tape. I then positioned the owl with the foam right at the back so that he’s looking down over the other owls.

I then cut out four shiny gold stars from a used gift tag and attached two of them to thinner strips of repurposed acetate. I placed one on each side, then glued another one to the back panel using several layers of scrap card to raise it up.

I just love how the owls seem to be looking at each other! They are such characters!

I glued a white panel to the back of the box card and left it blank so that it can be used for a handwritten message.

I then stamped a ‘hello’ sentiment onto a scrap of white card, cut it out in the shape of a cloud and attached it to the front panel using small scraps of card to create dimension. I also added the other gold star and a sparkly gold heart from another used greeting card to complete the design.

Here is the box card from the side, showing that it will fold flat for easy posting.

What do you think? It certainly has a truly unique, handmade quality about it, making it a beautiful one of a kind card!

Happy crafting!
Suzanne 🦉