Kids Craft Project Ideas: Handmade Eco-friendly Notecards

Between school fliers, unusable worksheets and misprinted photo copies, schools generate a lot of paper waste each year. Instead of tossing it all into the garbage can or recycling bin, turn it into a chance to teach the kids about the importance of reusing items. The craft project is especially useful to do on Earth Day as a way the kids can give back to the planet. The kids can take quite a bit of this paper and, combined with a few art supplies, can make beautiful notecards anyone would be proud to use.

Supplies:
Recycled flat or folded notecards
Glue
Spray glue adhesive
Crayons
Papers

Directions:

1. Have the kids use the crayons to color the entire front and back of the unusable papers. They can make haphazard designs, patterns and do it in an array of colors - don't worry about the print on the papers showing through the crayon.

2. After the kids are done coloring, cut or rip up the papers into tiny pieces so that each piece is about an inch long by a few millimeters wide. If possible, use a paper shredder to make it easier.

3. Trace either a large heart or star onto the front center of a piece of flat or folded recycled cardstock. You can also choose to do several haphazardly-placed medium-sized circles or hearts instead of a single shape.

4. Fill in each shape with a light layer of glue, then sprinkle on a single layer of the cut pieces of paper. All the pieces should be inside the lines of the shape. The mix of the bright colors combined with hints of the black print within the shape will give the card an interesting look and will contrast nicely against the solid color or white cardstock.

5. Lightly press the paper pieces down so they stick to the glue, then spray them with spray adhesive so they stick.

6. Lay the cards flat and give them at least a full day to dry. Lightly shake the cards to make sure none of the pieces of paper fall off. If necessary, spray them a little more with the adhesive and allow them to dry a bit longer.

The recycled cardstock may also come with recycled envelopes as well, so it would be a nice gift for the kids to give their parents. Each student should write "Handmade by:," followed by their name, on the back of each card. Many parents will likely be thrilled at the chance to show off their child's artwork in a special manner.