Recycled Gift Tags Made From Old Christmas Cards

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

Square feature of recycled Christmas card gift tags. There are four kraft tags with a gingerbread house, a snowflake, a ball ornament and bell.

Don’t throw away old Christmas cards! Turn them into beautiful handmade recycled gift tags!

I had a few old holiday cards and thought I would use them to make gift tags this season. If you have a box of old cards, gather them up and turn them into pretty Christmas tags. Get all the details on this easy Cricut craft below!

A variety of old Christmas cards with snowmen, cardinals, wisemen and other styles.

Supplies

How to Make Recycled Christmas Card Gift Tags – 5 Easy Steps

For this DIY, you will need Christmas SVG Silhouettes. Use images you have or purchase the cut files used in the tutorial from my Etsy shop (link in the supplies list above).

STEP 1: Cut Cards Squares

Cut the most interesting pieces from your old holiday cards into 3″ squares. You will need sixteen squares. Use your first square as a template to cut the remaining fifteen.

Christmas cards cut into 3-inch squares to be used to make recycled gift tags.

STEP 2: Prepare Your Cutting Mat

Load your greeting card(s) onto your cutting mat. You can load one card square at a time or all sixteen squares onto a 12″ x 12″ standard grip-cutting mat.

Overhead shot of a standard grip Cricut mat filled with a variety of sixteen holiday card pieces all cut in 3-inch squares.

STEP 3: Upload & Cut Christmas Silhouettes

Arrange your art in Design Space, noting placement on your mat before cutting if you’re cutting one at a time.

When cutting all sixteen, upload the Christmas Element Silhouettes – 16up SVG File in the instant download. You can purchase the cut files here. This file has been set up to the correct size to make the tags in this DIY.

Screen capture in Cricut Design Space with 16 Christmas Element Silhouette images set up to cut to make recycled gift tags. There are snowflakes, gingerbread man, star and house elements. Also ornaments, a snowman, candy cane and other easy to cut and weed holiday elements.
Christmas Element Silhouettes

Cut the Christmas silhouettes and remove them from your mat.

I used a Cricut Maker and selected Light Cardstock – 65 lbs. setting with Default Pressure. Most of the Christmas Cards I had were about 65 lbs. cardstock. Apply more pressure for heavy card stock and choose the settings that work with your machine.

Closeup of cardstock being removed from a standard grip Cricut mat showing a holiday bell element to make DIY gift tags.

STEP 4: Cut Tags

Cut the tags out of kraft, white, or color 12″ x 12″ card stock using the Tags 1.7 x 2.8 inch – 18up SVG
Or, cut individual tags using the Single Tag 1.7 x 2.8 inch SVG file.

Cutting gift tags from kraft card stock. The file is set 18 up to cut on a standard grip 12" x 12" Cricut cutting mat.

STEP 5: Assemble

Assemble your cutouts to the tags with a glue stick or with adhesive dots for a slightly raised look.

Horizontal photo with 4 finished recycled Christmas card gift tags on kraft card stock. One is on a white kraft paper wrapped gift tied with twine and a sprig of greenery. The other four tags are on the table next to the wrapped gift.

++++++++

RELATED CRAFT IDEAS:

Square feature of a card holder made from old shutters showing art and colorful post cards in the slates and smaller art clipped on.

Make a beautiful card and photo holder from a set of old shutters!

Read More: DIY Card Holder

More diyS