10 Crafty Paper Projects!

Paper crafts are easy peasy and a great way to recycle. I love paper crafts because I always have paper around the house. Whether it's old newspapers laying around or old magazine pages, scraps from scrapbook paper or wrapping paper. I usually have no shortage when it comes to recyclable paper, for sure! Over the years and after bagillions of Google searches I've seen some really awesome and creative paper creations. All of these can be adapted to use "used paper" by painting or decorating your paper before use or maybe you prefer to use pretty scrapbook paper or new 'nice' paper. Whatever you use I'm sure your creation will come out fabulous. I've scoured my bookmarks and done some more research and put together a list of 10 crafty paper projects (and a bit extra thrown in) with links to sites with great tutuorials and all kinds of inspiring ideas for paper crafts. I'm excited to share this with you.

Ok, one would think that wrapping a gift with ordinary newspaper wouldn't look very nice but to my surprise it's actually a simple and very nice look. See the link below for the how-to for that cute newspaper gift bow on top and also for some other great ideas for creative gift wrapping.

http://www.adelle.com.au/gift-wrapping-ideas

How about making some gorgeous handmade bows! Contained in the link below is a tutorial on how to make these gift bows. These are made with scrapbook paper  I think but you can use any kind of paper, really. I made some of these out of magazine pages a couple years back for using on my daughters 16th birthday gifts (the theme of her party was recycled stuff) and they came out very pretty!

http://youwillwontyou.blogspot.com/2010/10/handmade-gift-bow-tutorial.html

These candle wraps and matching match boxes are adorable and you could make them for different holidays for home decor or as gifts! I think Mother's Day would be perfect for these. It's labeled a "kids craft" but I think it's definitely adult friendly :0)

http://spoonfullofsugargirls.blogspot.com/2010/04/kids-craft-decorated-candles-and.html

One word for this candle wrap! Cute, cute, cute!! Okay, maybe more than one word. Can you imagine making these for valentines gifts or perhaps for wedding decor? What girl wouldn't love this? This looks like a really easy project. You could do any shape too. You could use paper punches to do these. They have tons of different shapes in paper punches now.

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/valentines-day/decorating/heart-candle-wreath/

Who doesn't love a handmade greeting card? If I had a quarter for every beautiful handmade greeting card I've come across on google in paper craft searches I would be a millionaire. It is amazing what some of these ladies can do! From very simple ones to really jazzed up ones, they are just so beautiful.

Go to http://oh4theloveof.wordpress.com/category/thank-you/ to check out Karen's Cards and Ideas Blog. Some very nice cards here!

Rubber stamping is a popular technique for hand made greeting cards. This site has an impressive list of video and written tutorials for greeting cards and a variety of other different things. Good tutorials complete with templates, too. You don't have to use rubber stamps if you aren't into that but there's some great inspiration here.

http://stampininspirations.blogspot.com/2010/04/pink-cat-studio-digi-release-and-ipu.html

This is a great site with templates for cards, envelopes, wrappers or just about anything else you can think of! Just print out your paper and fold!

http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/templates.htm

The picture of the heart cards above were made by kwernerdesign. Visit her Etsy store here.

Here is a beautiful Valentines Day card tutorial. Remember you can change these things up a bit to suit your own taste if you want.. but I think the one they have pictured here is gorgeous!

http://paperlaces.com/amys-free-paper-lace-idea-book/chapter-6-paper-lace-with-vellum/project-ideas-for-chapter-6/

One more thing- a free printable greeting card download: Just print these and add your own buttons! These cards are really cute!! I am surprised they are free.

http://yoonie-at-home.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-greeting-card-download-just-add.html

Turn an old book into an art journal. This is an awesome way to express yourself through creativity. I have started one of my own out of an old encyclopedia. It's nice just to go in and put whatever you want to express how you are feeling at the time. This link explains all about art journals, what they are made from, supplies used and all of that stuff. There's some great info here.

http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/abstract/art-journaling-101.html

Also you can do a video search at youtube.com for art journals and there are some amazing how-to videos to watch as well as people showing their completed journal pages. Good stuff!!

The art journal pictured is at http://donnadowney.typepad.com/simply_me/2007/10/my-new-tiarra.html. Go here to see additional pages from the journal to get an idea about art journals. This is a great site!

Kids love doing stuff with paper.. give them a pair of scissors and some paper and they are in heaven :o) Because I have my own little munchkin I had already tried to find some things for him to do with paper as soon as he is okay with scissors (don't think we are quite there yet) but the sites below I felt were worth the mention! Can't wait till I can do some of this stuff with my little boy.

Three very cute crafts at the link below. I was especially impressed with the blooms to the right made from recycled toilet paper tubes!

http://www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/kid/recycled-blooms/

Allcrafts has a great list of paper crafts for kids.

http://www.allcrafts.net/kids.htm#KidsPapercrafts

Lots and lots of different and easy projects for kids. I think some can even be changed up a bit for grown ups too! Great ideas here...check it out.

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-material/paper-crafts/

Here is a beautiful blooming rose. Can you believe this is paper? Click on the link for a complete tutorial on how to make this beautiful scrapbook embelishment.

http://poshscrapbookstore.blogspot.com/2010/03/alter-it-monday-blooming-rose.html

Make various assortment of embelishments using paper punches or you could use a Cricut die-cut machine to cut shapes. Punches come in all sorts of shapes and sizes! Just punch out and layer...Tutorial included in link.

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2010/05/tutorial-scrappy-embellishments.html

These are some paper poppies which were for sale on etsy which were made out of 100% recycled paper. This gives you a good idea of what you can do with some old paper just sitting around!

http://blissfullydomestic.com/2008/indroducing-cre

You can never have too many Christmas decorations, can you? I ran across these cute Christmas trees..complete with project instructions. Check out this site as there are many different projects and ideas for paper crafts.

http://www.craftideas.info/html/advent_calender_2.html

These would be a great addition to your home decor during the holidays. Imagine the festive mood they could bring to your holiday party! It's amazing what you can do with some paper, staples and some string.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2007/11/diy-wednesdays-modern-paper-ornaments.html

These little stars are just way too cute! Make some and use them as Christmas ornaments, string together to make garland or put them in jars for decoration. Click below to find out how to make these little cuties.

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/lucky_stars_2

Here are some beautiful and elegant paper lanterns. Get out your pretty paper and scissors!! I picture some of these in white (with punched paper flowers added on exterior of lantern) grouped up and scattered around at a wedding reception or they could be customized for any party. Go here for the tutorial at Salty Pineapple:

http://nantucketweddingsunveiled.com/blog/2009/08/27/diy-paper-lanterns/

Questions, comments, concerns, ideas? I would love to hear your feedback! Do you have any ideas about paper crafts? I would love to hear them.

Craft on, Papercrafters!

P.S. You can find the tutorial on how to make the pretty flower boxes pictured at the top of the hub at http://simplyfunstuff.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutorial-gift-favor-boxes-with-pretty.html