Recycled National Geographic Magazines, beads, envelopes, etc!

[djen]

Someone started a thread on making paper beads at the old forums, probably at least a year ago (if not more.)

I wanted to continue it here, because I've been having so much fun making them! It started me on rescuing Nat Geos!

My local thrift store sells National Geographic magazines for $0.10 each, so I buy as many as I find. It's an absolute blast reading through them and looking at the old ads. And it's so interesting how many articles are just as relevant today as they were 20 years ago (drought in Africa, disappearing species in the rainforest, etc.)

Once they've sat in the bathroom for a while and everyone's read through them (that's where I put things to be sure they'll get read) we stick them in the craft bin and make paper beads, envelopes or bookmarks out of them!

Here's an easy method of making paper beads: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper-Beads

There are a ton of other directions out there under "how to paper beads" or "diy paper beads."

I ended up using a paper cutter and fiddling to find the size I liked best, and the size tool I liked to wrap around. I like tacky glue because it holds fast.

We use the beads for Christmas tree decorations and other stuff. :)

Envelopes are fun, too! The US postal service takes them as long as they're large enough, (3.5" x 5" is the smallest they can be) and you may have to add labels to make the addresses visible. There are tons of envelope templates out there.

I like the template here for envelopes: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/creativepaper/ss/Blank_Envelope_Template.htm You have to scroll down a bit to where it says "Download PDF File" and click there. That template will hang over the sides of a Nat Geo Page a bit, but will still give you enough room to glue it shut.

Just leave the flap open and seal it with tape or stickers when you're ready to mail it.

There are templates out there for CD envelopes, too, which I've used when I burn a CD as a gift. When you have a zillion Nat Geos around, you always have the raw materials you need for a project!

Anyway, I thought I'd put this here in case anyone else can use it. My girls (15, 13 and 13) love to make these with me, and we send out a lot of snail mail now that we have fun envelopes. We get lots of comments on it, too, which makes the girls want to send out more!

So, thanks to whomever posted about the paper beads originally, you've sent us on quite an adventure!

[beckyliz]

I found a blog recently that tells how to make bows out of magazine pages. Here it is: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

[djen]

I found a blog recently that tells how to make bows out of magazine pages. Here it is: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html

Oooooooooh!!!!!!! I can't wait to try it! Thank you :)

[KayLR]

Beckyliz, that blog is awesome! Thanks for the link.

[djen]

The same blog beckyliz posted also had these cool instructions to make a basket from magazines: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/06/recycled-magazine-baskets.html

I made a couple baskets tonight, but I changed up her directions a little. I cut the strips 2" wide (instead of 2.5") which let me get more out of each page. And instead of folding them her way, I folded them in half the long way, then folded each side into the middle. It gave me wider strips (so I could get away with making the cuts narrower) and allowed me to fold all the cut edges in without having to fiddle with estimating a third of the strip each time. It's easy to make it perfect each this way. When I was trying to fold them her way, the strips were varying a lot because I was not getting the third quite right each time.

She also makes a basket out of newspapers, but I don't get the paper so I won't have much of a chance to try it. Here's the link in case anyone wants to, though http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/06/newspaper-basket.html :)

[Kat]

Here is a link that shows you how to make a woven star from paper. I think it would be really pretty on a package:

http://houserevivals.blogspot.com/2010/11/make-woven-star-from-vintage-book-pages.html

ETA: You could always shred them for filler, too!

[CropCircleDancer]

I didn't start the bead thread, but certainly added lots to it. They sure are fun to make. If you make the basket out of paper, it works better to do the folds over a block the size you want (like another sturdy box). It is more even and can be woven more tightly and easily. If you can get a set of mini-blinds, they are good, too.

[beckyliz]

Djen, please post pics when you can!