Junk mail to super sweetness in no time flat!

     One of my favorite Holiday traditions occurs after the decorations come down. That's when I go through all the Christmas cards I received for the year and upcycle them into next year's gift tags. I love doing this because it is so nice to go through the cards one last time, I love beautiful tags and upcycling just feels good.

     This leads me to my latest junk mail craft. For some time now I have been saving my junk mail that had security envelopes enclosed with it. Today I had to make one of those phone calls where you know you will be on hold for an eternity while waiting for a customer service tech. I decided to break out my stash of security envelopes and my tools from upcycling the Christmas cards. It helped to pass the time and make that "on hold" muzak tolerable!

I love these punches! When I had really good coupons, I would use them to pick one up. The kids can use them and we can punch all kinds of things with them.

     I punched out lots of tag shapes, but also some flowers and circles which will make pretty decorations for greeting cards, kid's art, etc...

Who knew that security envelopes had such pretty patterns! I never noticed all the beautiful patterns used for these envelopes until I started collecting them. The mind reels at all the ways this paper could be reused! Please feel free to link any junk mail projects you have taken on, I can't wait to try some new ones now!