Recycled Crafts

Creative DIY Projects That Turn Trash Into Treasure

Embellish tea lights, straws and party banner with rolled paper flowers

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Parties can be a fun reason to craft and making your own party accessories that all coordinate perfectly can be a bit addictive. And if you die cut then you know how easy it is to make lots of something.

That is just what I did with Die’sire flower dies and coordinating paper strips.

Since I knew I was going to make a lot of flowers to embellish tea lights, straws and the banner I cut 4 flower strips at a time several times. I cut each of the shapes out of all the colors of paper.

I had so much fun mixing the colors and shapes of the die cut paper strips around the tea lights, straws and simply making them on their own to embellish the skewers I used on each end of the tiny party banner I put in the cupcakes on the pedestal cake plate.

For the banner I used the largest letter in the Leonie Pujol letter set to die cut the letters PARTY out of pretty cardstock that coordinated with the colors of the paper I made the wrapped flowers with.

I put the letters on the Die’sire Mixed-media pennant shaped die mixing up the colors of the  background and type colors.

I glued the letters onto the pennants and then strung them together with a needle and heavy duty thread.

With a bit of hot glue I attached the thread to the skewers and then covered the spot with another rolled paper die cut flower.

 

 

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Recycled Paper Cylinder Face Art – A Colorful Win for All Ages

I recently stumbled across this super creative project on Instructables – “Face With Recycled Paper Cylinders” – and I had to share it with you all because it’s just the kind of craft that checks all my favorite boxes: recycled materials, hands-on creativity, and fun for literally any age.

The idea is simple but genius—roll strips of recycled paper (think junk mail, old magazines, leftover printer paper) into cylinders, then arrange and glue them to form a unique abstract face. You can make it funky, realistic, Picasso-inspired—whatever your mood or style dictates!

What I really love is the blend of eco-conscious crafting with true artistic expression. This isn’t just another kids’ project—it’s something you could easily do with a group of little ones, a classroom full of teens, or even as an adult art therapy or weekend wind-down activity. It’s super relaxing and surprisingly satisfying seeing all those paper rolls come together to form something new and expressive.

The tutorial itself is easy to follow, with plenty of visuals to guide you along the way. You don’t need any fancy materials—just glue, paper, scissors, and a board or piece of cardboard to serve as your canvas.

I also appreciate how this project leaves so much room for personalization. Want to make it into a full face? Go for it. Prefer to focus on a single eye or mouth? Totally works. You can even play with color schemes by choosing papers with a certain palette, or painting over them once they’re rolled.

In short: this is a total keeper for anyone who loves crafting with purpose. It’s the kind of project that sparks creativity while gently reinforcing the idea that beautiful things can come from what we usually throw away.

Highly recommend giving it a go—solo or with a group. And if you try it, tag me or drop a pic—I’d love to see your recycled masterpiece!