I've always liked to reuse and repurpose things which is now fashionably called upcycling. I enjoy making Holiday ornaments. There are many great things about them. They are fun to do with kids and they can be a work in progress over a period of time. They can help hold a memory of a certain time or they can make a great gift. I made some that reflect my daughters interests over the past few years. Whenever she gets a gift she really likes I take a look at the box and see if there is anything that I can use from it. I cut it out and depending on the sturdiness of the card board I may use a different piece of decorative cardboard from say, a tissue box for the back side as seen here:
I then glue the pieces together, put something heavy on top and let it dry. You might want to put a piece of wax paper on both sides to keep it from sticking. Then the next step is reinforcing it and decorating it. I use clear crafting glue and acrylic paints along with beads or any other small object you want to add on. 
Sometimes the two pieces don't stick together perfect because the cardboard warps when it gets wet by the glue. I fill these places in with more crafting glue. I don't worry about making it totally flush though because it gives the ornament a nice thick border which we can paint to look like snow around the edges.
Picture
Finished ornament with snow border. I used a strait pin between the two layers and yarn for a string on this one.

Once that dries you can paint the back with a layer or two of shimmery acrylic. After that has dried it's on to the front again. You cover the entire front in a layer of clear glue for a glossy look. You can apply glitter after that if your making Christmas decorations anything shimmery and shiny will reflect more light. After that you can set beads down in the glue if you want the look of the one pictured above. After that it's just a waiting game. Let it completely dry flat and it's ready to go!
These can be made for boys are girls. Here is one that I'm only about halfway done with. It glued nice and flat on the recycled tissue box I used. I made holes with a needle early on here and fed embroidery floss through. I think I just need a little shimmery paint to make this one work. Maybe I won't need to use as much glue for this one! 



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