on the cheap: card clip wreath

although martha is usually on my hit-list for great crafty ideas, she's also kinda hit-or-miss as to whether her ideas will be cheap or not. sometimes they are brilliantly simple and can be done very cheaply, and sometimes they are purely ridiculous in nature and need some sort of strange, difficult to find, expensive element [usually that one little part that is random, but the project isn't quite the same without it- almost always quite true when it comes to her recipes].

but she didn't let me down when i came across her pinup wreath. easy, cheap, and CUTE... the crafty trifecta! in fact, even though i'm not typically a wreath person [especially martha's since they tend to be pretty extravagant] i had everything i needed right in my little craft room for this one: hot glue, a wooden embroidery hoop, a little package of wooden clippy clothespins, and a bit of ribbon. [i used a 14" hoop because it was what i had on hand, but if you want to put lots and lots of cards on it, you may want to use at least a 16" one].
i eyeballed the martha one enough to figure out which way the clips were pointing, and then made it easy for you in a little chart!
hot glue, rinse, repeat.
i call it the clippy wreath, and it was exactly what i was looking for to display my daughter's 1st birthday cards. my mom and dad used to put our birthday cards on top of the piano as they arrived in the mail and leave them there all week. it was such a simple way to feel so celebrated.
add a big ribbon loop and bow, and hang! [i used a suction cup with hook on my porch door]. it was looking a little thin before the actual party, so i printed out a few photos of her throughout her first year and clipped those on as well, here and there between the cards.
my little birthday bear!
and it technically counts as a christmas craft, because although i made it in november, i took the birthday cards down and it became a perfect place for the christmas cards that are starting to come in! you could even change out the ribbon for different holidays if you felt so inspired.