How to Make a Recycled Christmas Ornament Using Newspaper

Looking for a way to save money and be eco-friendly this Christmas? There is no need to purchase expensive store bought ornaments for your Christmas tree when you can use recycled materials to make eco-friendly decorations. Using just some old newspaper, liquid starch and a few other materials you can create beautiful and unique ornaments to decorate your tree with.

Paper Mache Ornaments

Use old newspaper to make several of these recycled paper mache ornaments to hang all over your Christmas tree instead of traditional glass or plastic ornaments which contain materials harmful to the environment .

Materials Needed

• Newspaper
• Liquid starch
• Acrylic paint in your choice of colors
• Small round balloon
• Scissors
• Cake pan
• Plastic table cloth to protect work area.
• Thin ribbon
• Paint brushes
• Needle
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Wire ornament hanger

Directions

1. Cover your work area with the plastic table cloth
2. Cut newspaper into 1' by 5' strips
3. Fill cake pan with liquid starch
4. Blow up a small balloon until you have the size you want.
5. Dip newspaper strips one by one into the liquid starch completely covering the entire strip
6. Remove the strip from the liquid starch and place vertically on the balloon
7. Repeat crisscrossing and overlapping newspaper strips until the entire balloon is covered.
8. Allow to air dry ( this may take a day or two)
9. After completely dry apply a second layer of newspaper strips.
10. Allow to air dry.
11. Apply a third and final layer of newspaper strips and allow to dry
12. Once dry, choose a color of paint and completely cover your recycled newspaper ornament.
13. Allow to dry
14. To further personalize your ornament you can use a different color of paint to paint on stripes, different shapes or even words on top of the first coat of paint.
15. Once the paint is completely dry use a small needle to poke through the ornament to deflate the balloon inside.
16. Once deflated pull the balloon out through the small hole at the top of the ornament where the balloon was knotted.
17. Use the ribbon to make a small bow and hot glue on the top of the ornament to cover the hole left by the ornament
18. Poke a small wire ornament hanger through the knot part of the bow to hang your ornament on the tree with.
19. Hang on your tree and enjoy

I love making these recycled newspaper ornaments because they allow you to personalize your tree and make it unique while helping save newspaper from landfills.

When making yours try experimenting with hot gluing on different items like buttons, sequins, old lace, pictures of your family etc.

This is also a great activity to involve the whole family in. Try having each family member use odds and in to create an ornament that represents who they are and things they like.