PaperlessKitchen Blog

10 Upcycled and Recycled St. Patrick's Day Crafts

St. Patrick's Day is just a couple of weeks away, and if you want to decorate the house or deck yourself or your kids out for the holiday, you have a great opportunity to upcycle and recycle some items. Here are 10 of our favorite eco friendly recycled or upcycled St. Patrick's Day craft ideas:                             

1. DIY Pots of Gold for St. Patrick’s Day - Laughing and Losing It has a fun tutorial on how to turn old paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls into pots of gold for the kids. 

2. Lucky Leprechaun's "Pot of Gold" Kid's Craft - Neetu at Super Mommy will show you how to use a rinsed plastic takeout container to make an adorable pot of gold with your kids. 

3. Pinch Proof DIY St. Patrick's Day Headband - In this tutorial, The Brass Paperclip Project shows you how to use old belts that your kids have grown out of into rainbow headbands for St. Patty's Day or any other occasion.

4. Beer Bottle Candle Holders - Join Jessi at Practically Functional to learn how to transform green beer bottles into pretty votive holders. 

5. Recycled champagne cork St. Patrick’s Day earrings tutorial - Make It Easy Crafts has an adorable DIY shamrock earrings project made out of old corks. 

6. St. Patrick's Day Clothespin Wreath - Got some old clothespins lying around? Transform them into a festive wreath with the help of Patti Allen from Celebrations. 

7. Shamrock Mason Jar Luminaries - Take old mason jars and give them new life with this project from Pauline Molinari from Club Chica Circle, as featured on Mom 4 Real. 

8. Tutorial: St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Mini Book Cover  - Danielle Hunter from EcoScrapbook has found the perfect use for those plastic tubes that are left behind when your kids finish the bath crayons! 

9. Upcycled & Kid-Sized St. Patrick's Day Bangles - Also from EcoScrapbook is this great craft that uses the empty rolls from duct tape or masking tape to make St. Patty's Day bracelets for kids. 

10. Upcycled St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Craft - This unique project from Nicolette at Momnivore's Dilemma uses broken or scratched CDs and DVDs to create a lovely shamrock craft. 

Which one of these is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.

10 Crafty Ways to Upcycle Old Greeting Cards

Sending greeting cards is a festive part of the holiday season, and it's always nice to hear from friends and family. Photo cards can easily be added to albums after the holidays, but just what can you do with all of those greeting cards if you don't want to contribute to paper waste this holiday season?

To help you decide what's best to do with your cards, we bring you this roundup of creative ideas from the blog and online magazine world:

1. Paper Garland - You can use any old paper, including your Christmas Cards to make this great Paper Garland project dreamed up by Shellie Wilson of Craftbits.

2. Menu Holders - Make your holiday dinner extra fancy by using different greeting cards to make this project from Country Living.

3. Paper Quilt - The paper quilt project from Linda & Harriet allows you to keep your Christmas cards displayed in a transformed way all year round.

4. Mason Jar Lids - If you'll be giving away any homemade treats in mason jars this season, use your cards to decorate the lids as shown in this tutorial from The Sweet Spot. 

5. Chargers - Better Homes and Gardens has a great tutorial on how to convert your Christmas cards into the border for custom chargers for your holiday dinner table.

6. Wine Gift Label - Also from Better Homes and Gardens is this crafty idea for making wine gift labels out of your Christmas cards.

7. Christmas Wreath - Turn those old holiday cards into a festive wreath with this guide from Good Housekeeping.

8. Ornaments - Scoutie Girl has a very cute Christmas ornament idea made entirely from old Christmas cards. You could do an entire tree with these!

9. Gift Bows - Save money on gift bows by using the tutorial from How About Orange for making a DIY bow.

10. Necklace - Make some homemade beads for a necklace with this tutorial from ILovetoCreate. These could even be given as holiday gifts!

Which of these projects is your favorite? Tell us about it in the "Comments" section.

Six Fun Things to Do with Halloween Candy Wrappers

After trick-or-treating, you and your kids will have a mountain of candy to enjoy, and when that's been enjoyed, you'll have a massive stash of wrappers on your hands. Instead of throwing them away, try one of these fun Halloween candy wrapper crafts.

1. Candy Environments - Blog Me Mom has an adorable candy landscape project that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. This craft also incorporates candies, so you can put any of those items that your kids aren't keen to munch to good use, too.

2. Candy Wrapper Flowers - Kimberly Burkard at Ganondagan has a tutorial for making gorgeous flowers for an arrangement out of old candy wrappers.

3. Candy Belt - Stop over at Lil Blue Boo to learn how to incorporate candy wrappers with a boring belt to create a one-of-a-kind accessory.

4. Candy Wrapper Bracelet - Erin Bassett has a cute charm bracelet idea on the Imaginisce Blog that is perfect for making with kids.

5. Candy Wrapper Button Earrings - Expand you or your daughter's jewelry collection with these adorable earrings on Creative Itch.

6. Candy Wrapper House - Leave it to Martha Stewart to create an adorable play house out of candy wrappers.

There you have it; a round up of six projects to put that candy wrapper waste to good use. Have a favorite from another site? Post a link in the "Comments" section.  

African Woman Uses Paper Waste to Support Her Family

With 10 children to feed, no husband and no means to find employment, Gabaiphe Tlhaloso of Francistown, Botswana was facing tremendous hardships. The single mother is illiterate, making her prospects seem bleak, but not one to lose hope, she began to brainstorm ways to support herself and her family.

Tlhaloso noticed how much paper waste was discarded around her home, and she became inspired to both clean up her neighborhood and put the waste paper to good use. She experimented and found a way to use old newspaper and boxes mixed with stones, grain husks and sand to make handicrafts.

Her beautiful pieces are intended for decorating her home, and she has set up a small shop at a flea market-type event. To decorate her art, Tlhaloso uses watermelon seeds, pebbles and other found items. Her works sell for $23 to $50, which may not seem like much; however, with her profits, she has been able to move her family of 11 from a one-room home to a two-room home.

Tlhaloso is actively trying to inspire other women in the area to put their skills to use to support her families. Her story is an inspiring one that deserves to be shared.