Sewing Lessons Help Us Preserve the Environment and Get through Hard Times  

Back to List

Second-Life Leg Warmers: Restyle Sweater Sleeves into Leg Warmers That Rock

How to Make a Mosaic with Your Old Plastic

kayte terry, contributor

60 users recommend

Put old credit cards and such to new use by making a beautiful mosaic!

Kayte Terry

Leave a small amount of space in between each piece.

Kayte Terry

I started laying out pieces in the upper left-hand corner. Try to mix up colors and textures.

Kayte Terry

Put old credit cards and such to new use by making a beautiful mosaic!

Photo: Kayte Terry

Add Comment
Print

The beginning of a new year is a time for regrouping and reorganizing. So far, my husband and I have cleaned out the refrigerator, under the sink, and then I conquered the big doozy: my overstuffed wallet and bag. After I collected the loose change from the bottom of my bag and filed away the receipts, I noticed that I had an awful lot of old credit cards and expired insurance cards in there.

As I was cutting them up, I had a burst of creative inspiration: All these colorful squares of plastic would make lovely mosaic! I added a few old MetroCards, used gift cards (after the holidays we sure have a lot of those!), and even those fake credit cards that come in the mail. If you don't have enough on your own, ask around: I'm sure lots of people you know have old plastic cards they don't need anymore, but just don't get tempted to use them!

What you'll need:

• Wood frame or mirror (I used a cheap Ikea mirror I bought a while back)
• Paint and brush (you can use acrylic craft paint or even house paint)
• Plastic cards in assorted colors (for a 10x10 frame, I used 12 cards)
• Craft glue for wood and plastic such as Beacon Multi-Grip
• Sharp household scissors

A few of the old cards I used. That one on top is fake, so don't try to use it!

1. Gather your collection of plastic. You can use old credit cards, gift cards, Starbucks cards, MetroCards (and other transportation cards), and expired health insurance cards.

I used some old house paint I had lying around to paint the frame.

2. Paint the wood frame in a color you like. Repeat with two more coats and allow to dry.

Cut the cards up into different-sized pieces for the mosaic. There's something oddly liberating about cutting up your old credit cards!

3. Cut cards into strips and then again into squares and rectangles. You don't have to make them into perfect squares or rectangles; it makes the mosaic look more interesting.

Mix up colors and textures and don't forget to look at the backs of the cards! Sometimes they are even cooler than the front!

4. To start making the mosaic, I laid out a section of card pieces in the upper left-hand corner. The pieces should fit into each other with just a little bit of space in between each piece as shown in the photo. If you need to, trim the pieces slightly. Vary colors and shapes. You can use the backs of the cards, too! Sometimes they have interesting type and colors!

5. Turn each piece over, add glue to the back, turn back over again, then adhere to the frame.

Leave a small amount of space in between each piece. If you need really small pieces, cut up your cards to fill up the spaces.

6. When you have finished gluing down all the pieces in the section, start another section below the first. Continue until the whole frame has been filled. Trim pieces if you need to fit into the mosaic.

Add Comment Print

Comments (23)

Flippincool writes: Hi!

Just wanted to let you know I featured this tutorial in a post all about upcycle crafting. Thanks!

Emily
The Handmade Experiment
http://emilyflippinmaruna.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/must-make-monday-upcycled/
Posted: 4:57 am on July 13th

ariyarga writes: This is super awesome! I need to start saving those cards!!!
Posted: 10:10 pm on June 24th

Lisingreece writes: Oh WOW! I have been saving old calling cards, credit cards, bus cards for years and had been thinking about decoupaging them and making pendants for my paper bead necklaces but I really love your idea!!!
Thanks so very much for sharing!

Posted: 5:44 am on April 22nd

aege8th writes: I made a couple of bracelets out of my cut up credit cards -- one where I used the little squares as dangling charms, another where I just linked the squares together with jump rings. But this is a great idea and I'm going to try it. I've been saving old cc for years and because I just KNEW someday there'd be another project for them!

Also, many stores have colorful gift cards which you can just take. (They are worthless until you pay to load them -- well, worthless to anyone who's not a crafter!)
Posted: 1:58 am on March 24th

Love_it writes: Great place for a credit card.
Posted: 2:19 pm on February 1st

newlifeartworks writes: awesome!
Posted: 1:40 pm on January 29th

MallysGirl writes: This is great! Who doesn't have tons cards they could (& should) cut up! I know I do! Thanks for sharing!
Posted: 2:32 pm on January 28th

Toffy writes: Absolutely terrific way to recycle plastic money. This is top on my list of greatest ideas yet.
Posted: 10:37 am on January 28th

shrtcke writes: oh I love this! I wish I had a nuch of old cards. I will have to start saving them.
Posted: 11:37 am on January 22nd

Nomdeeploom writes: That is a wonderful idea!! I am definitely going to try
that!
Posted: 9:05 pm on January 12th

amm writes: I love this project Kayte. Now I'm bummed that I just threw out an old AAA travel card. Maybe this will motivate me to clean out my wallet!!

Thanks.
Posted: 9:47 am on January 12th

SonjaLuvs2Sew writes: Okay, Sister Diane, I'm a bit luckier, I shredded a few but they are still in the shred basket. I'll post a pick once done.

Kayte Terry, I started making glass mosaics this week too. I LOVE this project!!!!!!!!
Posted: 5:08 pm on January 10th

labayou2000 writes: Wow, that's so cool with credit cards to make this frame...as I always cutting up the bad credit cards to my waste basket, eh!! Many thanks from Craftsylish.com to share us to make!!!
Posted: 12:43 pm on January 10th

BluePlum writes: Now I know what to do with all those fake cards I get with applications every week.
Posted: 11:10 am on January 10th

artlikebread writes: I see a Blick card in there! Nice! My mom is going to flip for this one! :o) Thanks.
Posted: 10:58 am on January 10th

prpldy writes: I love this...now I know what to do with the hundreds of old cards that I have saved for years. And I have some of those frames/mirrors...so guess I will be making one today myself!
Posted: 10:05 am on January 10th

pickleonastickle writes: kayte, i love this. i have been hoarding credit cards for years, just waiting for the right project to come along. this goes on my short list! really beautiful execution!
Posted: 9:29 am on January 10th

trisha0098 writes: I remember an ad some years back where Martha Stewart was spoofing herself by tiling her swimming pool with old credit cards-must pay more attention to ads for inspiration...
VEry cute project!
Posted: 9:10 am on January 10th

Fletchbrew writes: I love this idea. So much so that today I made my own framed version. While my wallet was not overflowing with plastic, there were definitely some treasures waiting to find new life. I especially liked being able to customize based on what my cards said. I recently married and have a new last name. It was great to be able to feature part of my maiden name, which also happens to be my nickname, as a special tribute to my family's history. Thanks for the brilliant reduce reuse idea, I had so much fun creating it!
Posted: 8:20 pm on January 9th

AndCalliope writes: How clever! I've seen people using colorful gift cards too...especially old cards from Starbucks. Those are especially nice if you want to keep your mosaic on a particular color scheme.
Posted: 1:18 pm on January 9th

LAURAMCHUGH writes: Great Idea. I love mosaics but alot of time and effort and the sharp edges...... This is a perfect for me as a art teacher to work recycling in to a lesson as well. Can't wait to show my students. We have been working alot with paper mosaics but this will be alittle closer to tile or glass in look. I know they will love this project.
Posted: 3:51 pm on January 8th

bethtrue writes: What a great idea - love this. You could also use expired/used up gift cards (like from the coffee shops, etc). Thanks for sharing!
Posted: 2:30 pm on January 8th

Sister_Diane writes: Absolutely beautiful! I just cut up and tossed a whole bunch of old cards. Wish I'd waited a few more days - I would have loved to make this!
Posted: 1:57 pm on January 8th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.