To make enough cards to meet the monthly card swap requirements,
I grabbed a box of left over decorative papers which I regularly collect from scrapbooking and card making activities. These scraps are usually pulled into mosaics or used as mats for photos.
I have several incomplete decks of playing cards. These cards would be hard to meld into one deck for a serious card game because each deck has a different design.
I pulled out a handful, wiped them down with rubbing alcohol to remove the finish, then used them as the mat for the focal image (Postmodern Design).
To make the layers stand out, I inked the edges with a marker. After gluing the first layer to the card stock, add a little depth by stamping the corners with a outline stamp (Stampin Up). The other layers are glued in place then a strip of paper covers the center of the playing card. The image is stamped and a dot of glitter glue was placed in the center.
When you click on the finished cards you get a better view of how the differing surfaces (paper, playing card) cause the image to have varying shades.
My friend recently celebrated her 50th birthday by hosting a large card party. I re-purposed an empty rice container (a good way to avoid recycling plastic containers is to buy items in bulk and use refillable containers). For this plastic shape, I had two over-sized playing cards that I had gotten through a swap many years ago. The card fit with minimal trimming. For the other two sides, I cut up box tops and added pieces of playing cards and book paper. Around the lid, I applied ribbon using heavy duty glue dots. The top of the lid was covered with a circular disc cut from paper and layered with a circular playing card. The container could be used to hold small items on a desk top or to store small items. For the party, it served as the collection bin for thoughtful notes her guests had written in celebration of her big day. 
