Hands on

Instead of taping seasonal cards on your front door and letting them pile up in your office, this empty frame strung with ribbon will give those greetings the proper display they deserve—and the project can also become a new holiday tradition for your home.

The project Holiday card frame
What you’ll need Large frame ($10–$55) at Cooper Hotel Renovation Company, 1929-33 S Halsted St, 312-226-2299); five strips of colorful ribbon ($.70 per yard at Paper Source 232 W Chicago Avenue, 312-337-0798); stapler or staple gun; glue; holiday decorations ($1–$5 at Paper Source); and silver or gold binder clips ($4 at Office Max, locations throughout the city, officemax.com.)

Steps:
1. Find a frame that is large enough to hold all of the Christmas cards that you plan to display. (Other inexpensive options can be found at thrift stores or frame shops.)

2. Measure the frame’s width to know how much ribbon you will need. For a frame roughly 2.5 inches wide, one yard of each type of ribbon should be plenty. (You’ll need extra string to hang extra decorations from the ribbon.)

3. Lay out the frame and ribbon to get a sense of where you will want to affix them, and make a small mark on the inside of the frame to help you remember. You can create a diagonal, horizontal or vertical composition.

4. Begin stapling each ribbon to the inside edge of the frame. Staple each one once, leaving an extra inch of ribbon, which you’ll fold over and add a second staple to secure the ribbon.

5. For thin ribbon or string, make a knot about an inch from the end and staple on both sides of the knot. Make another knot at the short end of the string, and again staple on the outside of the knot (see photo). When attaching the second side of the string, staple first and then tie a knot, staple again and make a final knot followed by one more staple at the very edge of the string. (For extra adhesion, hammer down staples and secure with a glue gun.)

6. Add flair to the frame with holiday decorations, such as stars and glittery birds. To attach the stars to the ribbons, glue a piece of string to the back and tie on each star (see photo). To secure the birds, twist the metal pieces around the ribbon and use a dab of hot glue to hold the bird to the frame.

7. Using the binder clips to fasten your cards to the ribbon, catching part of the ribbon so that the card doesn't slide around.

8. Hang or prop the frame in your home for a memorable season’s greatings.