Ways to Recycle and Reuse Your Wrapping Paper

Wait!!! Don't throw away that used wrapping paper. You can recycle it and use it to make beautiful things. Below I am going to give you some wonderful ideas on how you can have some fun with that wrapping paper. The first thing that you are going to want to do is collect all of the paper that you think will be reusable. This will be the ones that are not torn to shreds. After Christmas you are going to want to place them under a book to flatten them out again. Once you have done this then we can get to work.

Homemade Greeting Cards

The first idea that I have for you is the idea of making homemade greeting cards. There are so many fabulous and colorful wrapping papers out there that this will be a fun project to do.

Step 1-The first thing that you will do is cut out your favorite pictures that are on the wrapping paper. Get creative there are many choices out there. Some ideas are snowflakes, toys, sleds, reindeer, and people. The list goes on and on.

Step 2-Get a piece of cardstock and fold it in half. You decide the size that you want your card to be. Next you are going to glue your pictures wherever you would like on the card.

Step 3-Stamp or write in your greeting on the front and the middle of your card.

You have just made a very special card for a very special person. Have fun making lots more. As I said before, get creative. It's a lot of fun.

Homemade Wood Plaques

These plaques are a great decoration for the holiday. They look great in any room. All that you need to do is to go down to your local craft store and get a wooden plaque. They are very inexpensive. They usually cost around $2-$5. While you are there you will need to pick up an item that is called Modge Podge. This item is used for decoupaging.

Step 1-Cut out your favorite pictures from your wrapping paper.

Step 2-Apply Modge Podge to your pictures and place them on your wooden plaque to create a lovely scene.

You now have a beautiful new decoration for your home. If you would like you can paint the plaque ahead of time or you can take a permanent marker and write some sayings on it.

Homemade Plant Pots

Here is a great way to decorate your pot that holds your Christmas plants. You are going to use the same concept as above. You will need Modge Podge and wrapping paper.

Step1-Cut out your favorite pictures from your wrapping paper.

Step 2-Apply your Modge Podge to the back of the picture and apply it to your pot.

You now have a fabulous looking pot to hold your favorite Christmas plant.

Homemade Christmas Bows

You can make beautiful Christmas bows from your Christmas paper. This is a lot of fun. I have already done it. What is wonderful is that you can make them as small or as large as you would like too. Think of all of the money that you are going to save this next year on bows alone. Below is the name of a site where you can learn to make your own bows. I hope that you have as much fun as I did.

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/recycling-crafts/paper-bows.shtml.

I know that you are going to think of many more ways to reuse your wrapping paper. Here are just a few to help you to get started. I know that you are going to have a lot of fun making these projects. Think of all of the things that can be made with ordinary wrapping paper too.