Farmhouse Holiday Card and Photo Holder From Salvaged Wood

by Mary Beth @ The How to Home

I recently took apart a small cabinet (pantry) I had in my kitchen. I have reused almost every part of it but still had a shelf left. I looked at the shelf and got an idea - a DIY Christmas Card and Photo Holder. This project couldn't have been easier, or cheaper.

farmhouse holiday card and photo holder from salvaged wood, repurposing upcycling

Here is the shelf I started with. It is 11 inches wide and 33 inches long but almost any size of wood you have available can be made to work. My goal was to make this using only what I had on hand.

I used milk paint to apply a single coat of paint to the front and the sides of the board. I wanted it to have a white-washed farmhouse look. Once dry, I lightly sanded the edges just a bit.

I played with a font and font size to make a template of the word JOY to go across the top of the board. You can download the template on my blog (the link is at the bottom of this post). I used a small wreath, approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter for the O. Details for imprinting the board are also on the blog.

I turned the board right side down and used a staple gun to attach some heavy twine. I wound the twine around the board attaching to the back with a staple every so often.

I filled in the J and the Y with red paint, waited for it to dry and attached small jingle bells with baker's twine to the cord. I used clothespins to hold cards, photos and small candy gift packages to the board. Even though it's too late for this year this could be used as an Advent calendar next year by attaching small treats to the twine. The entire project was less than 30 minutes, start to finish (minus drying time).