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. :) 

Recycled Paper Gift Bows

Are you drowning in junk mail? Well, today is the day to turn this trash into treasure! Recycled paper gift bows can be made from practically any paper that you have at home. Junk mail, newspapers, sales fliers, phone books, magazines, even your child's school papers can be used to make bows!

Materials you will need:

• Junk mail/paper of your choice
• Cardboard (like a cereal box)
• Circle punch 1 inch or greater (optional)
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Ruler 
• Pencil
• Small hole punch
• Glue ( I use hot glue because I have no patience!)
• Metal brads (can be found at Hobby Lobby or any craft store)
• Tape or I like to use Zots to fasten the bows to a package ( I get them at Hobby Lobby)

Steps for making a recycled gift bow:

You need 8 strips of paper that are 2cm wide. I keep the length the same as the length of the paper that I'm using.  

Stack the 8 strips together and use the hole punch in the middle and both ends. 

Place a brad in the center hole of one strip. The top of the brad will be the center of the finished bow. Hold the brad with attached paper between your thumb and pointer finger. Your thumb should be on the top of the brad.

 With the other hand, take hold of one end of the paper strip. Bend the paper towards your thumb that is holding the brad. Then twist around to the back and attach to the prongs of the brad. 

Repeat step 5 for the other end of the paper. 

Add the rest of the strips in the same way as the first. Close the brad when you are done. You can straighten out you loops when you are finished. 

For a more finished look, glue a cardboard circle to the bottom of the bow. 

I stick on a glue dot called a Zot. I like them because they are sandwiched between two pieces of plastic. I take off one and stick the Zot to my bow. The other piece of plastic stays on the glue dot until I'm ready to use the bow. 

If you plan on making several bows, set up an assembly line. This will make the process go much more smoothly than making complete bows one by one. I cut all of my paper strips and I like to put groups of 8 together that have similar colors. You will likely need to make many more paper strips than you need if you are wanting to group by colors. Don't recycle the " ugly" strips just yet. I'll post another project in the future that will use up these strips. After grouping my sets of 8, I assemble all of my bows. Once you do two or three, the process becomes mindless. I make my bows in front of the television! When all of the bows are assembled, glue on the cardboard and add the glue dots.