Recycle cardboard into a DIY cell phone charging holder

Sebastiano Ercoli and Alessandro Garlandini have made another template for a DIY recycled cardboard project, part of their series for Comieco. This time it's a cell phone holder you hang on the plug-in adapter to hold your phone while it charges. It doesn't cost anything, and travels easily! I made this one from the back cover of a notebook.

Watch their fun how-to video with sound effects and download the PDF template here.

Make a DIY cardboard iPad stand from a box

Sebastiano Ercoli emailed me about a DIY project he designed with Alessandro Garlandini for Comieco, the Italian consortium for paper recycling. It's a cardboard iPad stand that's simple to make from any corrugated cardboard box. Watch the delightful video tutorial here and download a free PDF template. Make sure your volume is up; the sound effects will make you smile!

Make origami bows from magazine pages

Turns out it's oddly satisfying to make a bow from a single square of scrap paper. No glue or tape needed; just a scissors to make a couple of cuts.

These are folded from graph paper I stole from Alex's stash, a piece of origami paper, and a chopped-up Martha Stewart magazine. I trimmed the paper into 6" squares and followed the excellent instructions posted at Let's Create.

These will be handy at Christmas when we need to mail packages or stack boxes in the car for a road trip, since the bows can be squashed completely flat. Course by then, I won't remember how to make them anymore, or even that I posted this.

Recycled gift bows: yellow pages version

Here's a less pointy variation of the magazine gift bow. I used the yellow pages this time.

Cut 1" wide strips from pages removed from a phone book. Stacking several sheets and slicing them lengthwise with a paper cutter or rotary cutter is quickest. If you are one of the three people who still use the yellow pages, make sure you don't remove any sections you might need someday, like Clowns or Paternity. (Yes, those are real.)

Cut 5 or 6 full-length strips, depending on how full you'd like the bow to be. Cut 4 strips that are 3" shorter. Save one of the leftover short ends to use in the center of the bow.

Form each strip into an "eight" shape, securing the ends in the center with tape. (The photo above shows five shorter loops, but I ended up using only four.) Make a loop with one of the 3" leftover ends.

Arrange the longer pieces evenly to form a circle and staple it in the center. Swinging open the stapler helps position it without squashing the loops.

Repeat with the shorter set of loops. Then layer the smaller piece on top of the larger piece and staple them together in the center. Attach the single loop to the center with a piece of double-stick tape.

A flower makes everything better

Note to self: when wrapping a gift with a weird shape, it doesn't matter how strange the package looks. Slap a flower on it and people will like it. Paper flower tutorial here.

How to make recycled paper flowers

I learned to make paper flowers a long time ago with directions from a library book. They don't require any adhesive, and there are just four shapes to cut out.

Use them to decorate gifts or make wreaths. I chopped up a fancy Urban Outfitters catalog for these.

You can make template pieces to trace around and then cut out the shapes with a scissors—what I used to do. But this seemed like a good test for the Silhouette cutter, so I recreated the pattern pieces in Illustrator on my Mac and commanded the machine to cut them for me. It took about fifteen seconds to cut the parts for one flower. Whoa. I shall never return to my primitive, scissors-wielding caveman ways.

If you'd like to download PDF templates, get the large flower here and the small flower here.

To cut with a Silhouette machine, download a .dxf file here. (I exported it from Adobe Illustrator.) You should be able to open it and cut from Silhouette Studio.

To make the flowers, do the following:

1. Score the back of each petal along the lines shown in pencil, above.

2. Pleat the petals along the scored lines, always folding in the same direction.

3. Fold the triangle portion of the stem in half lengthwise. Do this two more times until it reminds you of a toothpick.

4. Using a chopstick or skewer, roll the "flag" portion of the stem toward the "toothpick." This curl will form the center of the flower.

5. Curl the ends of each petal backward to give them shape.

6. With a skewer or sharp pencil, poke a hole in the center of each flower piece.

7.Thread the pieces onto the stem, from smallest to largest. Finished!

How to make gift bags from newspaper

When I bought something at a store recently, the clerk handed me my purchase in a bag made from a newspaper. I liked it very much and had to make some more—thus today's DIY recycled newspaper project: gift bags made from the Wall Street Journal. You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that's 5" tall, 4.5" wide, and 3" deep.

Stack two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. This will be a two-ply bag for extra sturdiness.

Cut out a rectangle that's 15.5" wide and 8.25" tall. If your paper already has a fold in it, align the existing fold with one of the fold lines in the diagram below, unless you don't mind an extra fold appearing somewhere on your bag. I cut out this rectangle, then flipped the paper over so the blue area would be on the outside of the bag.

Fold a flap 1.25" down from the top. Fold a flap 2" up from the bottom. Then measure off and make vertical folds in the places shown in the diagram above. The front and back panels are 4.5" wide, the side gussets are 3" wide, and you'll need a 0.5" flap for gluing the bag together.

Cut two pieces of cardstock or chipboard to 4.25" x 1", then glue them on the widest two panels just under the top fold. These will reinforce the rim of the bag. Glue the top flap down along the length of the bag, covering the cardstock. Since the bag is two-ply, you'll need to glue both flap pieces down one at a time.

Put glue on the outside of the 0.5" tab and bring the left-most panel over to form the body of the bag, aligning the cut edge of the panel with the folded edge of the flap. Add a little more glue to make sure the outermost sheet of newsprint gets tacked down, too.

Upend the bag so the 2" flap is now up. Fold the short sides inward as if you were wrapping a present. If it seems easier, you could also lay the bag on its side and crease those folds against the table.

Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag. Standing the bag upright and pressing down from the inside will help to secure them.

Cut a piece of chipboard to 4" x 2.5" and glue it to the bottom of the bag to reinforce it and hide the flaps if you want to be an overachiever.

Punch holes in the rim of the bag, adding eyelets if you like, and string some cord through the holes to form handles. Knot each end of the cord so it won't pull out through the holes.

If you want to store your bag flat, pinch the top together, fold in the sides, and bring the bottom up so that it lies flat.

An explosion of recycled magazine bows

Remember those instructions I posted for how to make gift bows from magazine pages? Yesterday I received an email from Katie Soltysiak, showing all the bows she's made with the tutorial. Fantastic! Each one is like a little work of art. To see more pictures, visit Katie's photo set at Flickr.

How to make 3D paper ornaments

Here's a Christmas ornament you can make with colored papers or magazine pages. I'm not sure what to call it. A funnel ball? The instructions:

1. Cut out 10 paper circles (any size, as long as they're all the same). Text weight paper will be easier to work with than cardstock.
2. Cut each circle along the radius.
3. Put a small piece of double-stick tape on each side of the cut near the edge of the paper.

4. Flip the circle over so the taped side is down; then pull each flap across the circle toward you and twist to form a cone. Press the taped ends down to secure. You should end up with two cones that look vaguely like a fortune cookie. Do this to each of your 10 circles.

5. String the double cones together with a needle and thread. Make sure they're gathered snugly in a ball and tie a knot. Use the trailing ends of the thread to make a loop for hanging.

Here's one made from magazine pages. If you like recycled crafts, give it a whirl. Or try a felt version!

Recycled magazine business card holders

Residing in my house: clear vinyl, CB2 catalog, contact paper, sewing machine. Clearly these needed to join forces and become business card holders. (Not that I need another one, but it seemed good to try sewing with clear vinyl on a small, non-threatening first project.)

1. Choose a nice magazine page and cut it down to 4 1/2" x 5 1/4."

2. Laminate it between two pieces of clear contact paper. Burnish both sides with your thumbnail to get rid of any air bubbles, and trim off any overhanging contact paper. Score the piece horizontally across the middle and fold in half.

3. Cut a 4 1/2" x 2 3/8" rectangle from some clear vinyl (inexpensive, available by the yard at fabric stores). Put a couple miniscule pieces of double-stick tape in your seam allowance area and stick the vinyl rectangle to the inside of your business card holder.

4. With your sewing machine, sew around three edges of the vinyl to form a pocket. It's easier to sew on the contact paper side (less sticking to the presser foot), so mark your starting and stopping points and sew away. The vinyl side will tend to stick to the base of your sewing machine, so it helps to curl the unsewn part up, away from the machine as you sew. Tie off your seams by hand instead of backstitching. Round the corners if you like.

Recycled magazine baskets

Some buddies came over last night and we made magazine baskets. My paper weaving phase is getting out of control. In the spirit of spontaneous DIY experimentation, we decided to create a new drink, whereupon we mixed peach vodka, raspberry lemonade, and Venetian Carnival Pinot Grigio (purchased for its exciting label). Not good; don't do it. Since we didn't drink much of the stuff, our baskets turned out pretty well.

To make these, cut about 10 magazine pages into 2.5" strips vertically. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, then into thirds with the cut edges to the inside. (See folding pictures here, but don't do step D.) Then follow the guidelines here. Staples are too big to secure your strips in strategic places, so I used Zots glue dots. You could also use tiny pieces of double stick tape. I glued the strip around the rim with craft glue. These little baskets are about 4.5" square.

Recycled magazine coasters

My latest after-dinner-while-watching-TV project: woven coasters made from magazine pages. To make a coaster like the green one above:

1. Tear out 6 magazine pages. Cut off the ragged edge on each, then cut each page in half lengthwise. I stacked them and cut them all at once with an X-acto knife and ruler. (To make a coaster with a finer weave, cut each of the half-page strips in half lengthwise again. And note that weaving will take you twice as long!)


2. Fold each strip in half lengthwise. Then fold the resulting piece in thirds, folding the cut edges inward first so they're hidden inside. Now you have a long, thick strip. Fold it in half at the center. See steps pictured above. Repeat with each magazine sheet.

3. To start weaving, interlock two strips. This is the bottom left corner of your coaster.

4. Add another strip that wraps around the outside of the horizontal bottom strip.

5. Continue weaving. Some strips will wrap around the outside of the coaster when you start them; some will begin sandwiched between two existing strips. See above. Keep adding to your coaster one strip at a time, making sure to push the papers tightly together. Flip your coaster over and check the back frequently to make sure nothing's going haywire back there!

6. When the coaster has 6 horizontal and 6 vertical strips, it's time to finish the edges. Strips that emerge on the outsides of the "coaster sandwich" need to be secured. Trim off one end of the strip so it's even with the edge of the coaster. Bring the other end around the edge of the coaster and tuck it under the closest weave to hide the raw ends. You should have just enough length to reach.

7. Strips that emerge from the inside of the sandwich can simply be cut off. If you want to seal your coaster with something, you could try some spray acrylic sealer and see what happens. Personally, I don't care if mine gets a little wrinkly from being wet. Happy weaving.

Newspaper flowers

I'm still on the newspaper kick. I picked out the parts with colored ads and made these flowers with instructions from the book Paper Flowers by Michael LaFosse. Found it at the library. These are made with two pages of newspaper glued together to make a thicker sheet.

There they are, adorning the newspaper basket.

Newspaper basket

Last night's project, a basket made from old newspaper. After seeing this post at CraftStylish, I was inspired to try one. Maybe I'll keep books and remote controls in it.

1. I cut the folded edge off a couple sections of newspaper and then cut those pages in half lengthwise. I used about 20 pages for this basket (about 40 strips). My rotary cutter and cutting mat made short work of the cutting. Recommended if you have one.

2. Fold the newspaper pieces in half lengthwise, then again lengthwise into quarters, then into eighths, so you have some sturdy strips. Mine were 3/4" wide. If you want to use fewer, wider strips, use the whole newspaper sheet. Obviously you can adjust the size of your strips.

3. Start weaving from the center outward. Use staples (or glue dots, double-sided tape, etc.) where needed to secure your pieces, especially on the first few strips you put together. You can remove the staples after the basket is finished if you think they're too hideous to bear.

4. When you decide your bottom is big enough (your basket's bottom, that is; I'm sure most of us think our own bottom is plenty large), fold your exposed strips upward at a 90º angle to form the sides. Start weaving in horizontal strips to fill in the sides, securing the ends with staples as you go.

5. When you reach the top, fold the vertical strips over to the inside and secure them with staples, or cut them off. I stapled another strip around the circumference of the top, folded over the rim, to hide the ugly ends. You could use glue or double-sided tape for this if you don't want to see staples.