It's the simple things...

Once upon a time, I collected those cute little stands that had curled metal attachments that would hold your Christmas cards into place for you. I say I collected them because one was never enough - I average about 20 cards received a year - but then you have to have a flat surface upon which to sit them all, and since that is a scarce commodity, I eventually decided to get rid of my cutesy card holders and just set them out on the sofa table.

Well, that didn't work, either. For one thing, the single panel card is now the norm, and even those are usually photo paper, which isn't quite stiff enough to leave unattended. The few folded cards I did get would blow over every time someone opened the door or walked by or breathed hard. So the cards largely found themselves in a heap on the floor.

This year, I was determined to find a solution. Currently, I have one large blank wall in the living room. It was meant to have art on it by now but it doesn't and so it became the focus of project "Where the heck can I display my Christmas cards 2011."

I decided simply to cut a length of ribbon, make a pretty little bow at one end, pin it to the wall with a straight pin so the hole wouldn't need filling after the holidays, and use red, white and green paperclips to attach the cards to the ribbon.

The results were exactly what I needed! And the best part is that you can use this same idea for children's art work or snapshots you'd like to display or whatever! And if you don't have a large wall space, you only need a space as wide as your widest piece of work you are hanging. If you are like me and have many windows and doors occasionally interrupted by small bits of wall, this is a beautiful thing.

Anyway- I know the holidays are over, but figured that since it is adaptable to other uses, you might like to see it anyway!