Recycled Paper Bowls

Recycled Paper Bowls

Start with a newspaper section. You can use several sheets at a time. 

Fold the paper in half like this.

Tear where you folded the paper.

Take one single sheet and open. 

Have the torn side towards you.

I use a paper quilling tool to start rolling the paper into thin reeds. You can find them at any craft store in the paper crafting section. If you don't have this tool, use a toothpick/bamboo skewer, or I've even used a bobby pin.

Start rolling at the corner of the torn edge. This will ensure that the torn edge is rolled inside and the nice smooth edge is on the outside.

Roll until you can no longer use the tool. Remove the tool and continue to roll by hand.

Keep rolling the paper and try to keep it tightly rolled.

Add glue to the corner to keep your paper reed together. You will want to make 10-15 paper reeds to start with.

Flatten your paper reeds. I ran a pencil over mine to flatten.

Connect the flattened paper reeds by placing the thin end of one into the wider end of another. Use a glue stick on both sides of the thinner end.

Connect all of your paper reeds and allow the glue to dry.

Start rolling the flattened reeds into a coil. Keep going until you have reached the desired diameter you want for your bowl. Hot glue the end flat to the coil. Start shaping your bowl by gently pushing down the center with your thumbs and pulling outer edges up. Go slowly! You don't want to pull the layers too far because your bowl will unravel. If this happens...roll it up again and try one more time. :)

This small bowl was made from about 10 reeds and it 4 inches in diameter.

Here are a few examples waiting to be sealed. I place my unfinished bowl on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Here you can see examples of how you can adjust the design. One of the bowls has a bottom made of 6 coils glued together. Each small coil is made from one flattened paper reed. I then glued my long strand of paper to one of the small coils and then started wrapping it around to make my bowl.

To seal your creations, apply two coats of a mixture of half white glue and half water. You must make this solution so that the glue can get between the layers to hold the shape. Coat the inside and then flip it over to coat the outside. As soon as the first coat is dry to the touch you can go ahead and add a second coat.

Here I got creative and added a coating of glitter to the outside only of one of my bowls. I did this after my second coat of glue mixture. If you add glitter you will need to add a third coat of glue mixture so the glitter sticks.

For the final step you need to add two coats of clear varnish. I prefer the traditional liquid varnish because it dries without any scent. The spray gloss coating also works just as well, but I've found that the brand I tried has a chemical smell that does not go away.

Book Page Flower - Hydrangea

Book Page Hydrangea

Materials:

Book pages 

X-Large Scalloped Circle paper punch

Newspaper 

White glue

Hot glue

Flower stem - I actually used discarded artificial floral stems. This is a great way to re-purpose something that would normally be considered trash. You could check with a local florist or craft store that carries artificial floral arrangements. If you can't get these; wire, bamboo skewers, or actual twigs would also work. 

Lets get started!

Go and find any newspaper. 

      Tear the newspaper in strips. 

Place strips in a pot or bowl that you no longer use with food. 

Pour boiling over the paper and stir. Let sit for at least an hour and stir occasionally. Drain off the water. Take a handful of paper and squeeze out the water. Form a tight ball, squeeze a little glue in your hand, and rub the glue over the outsize of the newspaper ball.

Place the news paper balls on wax paper and let dry. It will take several days for them to dry completely if they are indoors. They dry much quicker if you place them outside in the sunshine! This way only takes a day or two. 

 Glue a floral stem to a newspaper ball. I hammer a nail into the newspaper ball to create a hole. Next, I put hot glue in the hole and add the stem.

I used a an extra large scalloped paper punch. Any size will work. 

Here is another view just to get a better idea. This one has a 3 inch diameter. 

Punch out  several scalloped circles. The number you will need depends on how large the center of your flower is. When you think you have enough...punch a few more! It takes more than you think. :)

Gently fold the circle in half. Do not crease. 

Gently fold in half again to make fourths. Do not crease. Add a dab of glue to hold the edges together like this. 

Fold and glue all of your circles. Be careful to fold them flat. You want them to have volume to fill in your flower. 

Summon your patience!! Start gluing the petals to the center. 

Place petals randomly. You don't want them to all go the same way. It will go slow at first because you need to hold the petals until the glue dries. A helpful tip is to place the first petals all over the center. Then go back and fill in the spaces. When you fill in, you won't have to hold each petal because the other will do this for you!

Keep filling in until the entire center is covered and you can no longer see the newspaper. 

Finished! The best part is that no water is required! 

She is so pretty. I might even name her. :) 

Book Page Flowers

Book Page Flowers

Materials:

Book pages 

Fiskars X-Large Oopsie Daisy punch

Newspaper 

White glue

Hot glue

Flower stem - I actually used discarded artificial floral stems. This is a great way to repurpose something that would normally be considered trash. You could check with a local florist or craft store that carries artificial floral arrangements. If you can't get these; wire, bamboo skewers, or actual twigs would also work. 

Lets get started!

Go and find any newspaper. 

      Tear the newspaper in strips. 

Place strips in a pot or bowl that you no longer use with food. 

Pour boiling over the paper and stir. Let sit for at least an hour and stir occasionally. Drain off the water. Take a handful of paper and squeeze out the water. Form a tight ball, squeeze a little glue in your hand, and rub the glue over the outsize of the newspaper ball.

Place the news paper balls on wax paper and let dry. It will take several days for them to dry completely if they are indoors. They dry much quicker if you place them outside in the sunshine! This way only takes a day or two.

Gather book pages and Fiskars Oopsie Daisy punch and start punching!

The number of flowers you will need will depend on how big you make the center of your flower. Start with at least 25-30.

You need to fold the petals in for each individual flower. Please don't make my mistake and fold up each individual petal. Grab the flower in your hand and pull the petals inward.
 

After you bend the petals inward, turn the flower over so that the bottom is facing upward.

 

 While the flower is still in your hand, press the bottom. This will crease the flower and all of the petals will stand up. I couldn't show you a picture of this because I only have two hands! I think you get the idea.

 Take one of your flower centers and create a hole in which to place the stem. I hammered a nail in the flower center to create the hole. Next, I put hot glue in to the hole and placed the stem.

Turn the stem upside down and start gluing petals to the bottom first. (Oops...my toothbrush made an appearance. Don't worry, I don't brush my teeth with this one. It is what I use to get rid of the pesky hot glue strings when I'm done with the flower.)

 Keep adding petals around the bottom.

Continue working your way around and up the center of the flower. 

 You may have to 'bend' your petals a little if you get a space that is tight. Don't worry because you won't notice this once you are finished.

 Here is a completed flower. I used book pages here, but you could use any paper you like. Try experimenting with different papers and different paper punches. You could use a scalloped circle (gently folded in fourths) to create a hydrangea flower. Different papers and different punches open the door to endless flowers!