Christmas Card Display

I had been trying to brainstorm a solution for displaying our Christmas cards for a few years and tried to explain what was in my head to Bradley.  He said ‘Hold on’ and ran upstairs.  He came back with a bag containing heavy wire cable and clips.  I totally didn’t remember buying these, but vaguely remember an idea we hatched (but never implemented) in the apartment to hang art on the wall above our couch.  It was supposed to function similarly to this:

(BTW, these lime green cords from CB2 would work really well at Christmas.  Also, I’m sure it wouldn’t be all that expensive to use their version if you didn’t want to DIY it.)  An industrial look for casually hanging pictures/art/etc. to cover a large expanse of wall.  Perfect!

I used four pieces of the pre-cut cable and secured the loops at the top.  I hung them from picture hooks that I installed directly below the moulding that runs around the top of the dining room.  To make the cables hang straight, I attached a heavy beaded snowflake ornament to the bottom of each one.  Bradley suggested alligator clamps (like the ones used to attach the bib around your neck at the dentist’s office) to hold the cards to the cable.  A quick search landed me at Radio Shack where they sell these type of mini clips in sets of 12.

It works perfectly, and now we will be able to see all of our cards throughout the season.  An added bonus is that it fills up a large wall in the dining room, adding a little Christmas cheer to that room since we no longer put the tree in there.  Win-win.

Christmas Card Display1

Christmas Card Display2

Starting in 2015, I put the card holder in the foyer.  I added a faux berry garland to the top for cohesiveness.

Card Holder

2016

We decided to try the Christmas tree in the living room this year, so the foyer is very simple – our Christmas card holders and the light bulb ornament replaces a ceramic bird on the foyer table.

2016-christmas-foyer

The Before:

This card holder I got at Hallmark in 2006.  It worked in the apartment, but was dwarfed in our house.  Not to mention the fact that it didn’t hold all of the cards we receive each year.  A problem I am blessed and happy to have.