Card-Making with Recyclables

Crafts are often expensive to set up, but they do not have to be. Card making is one craft in which it is completely possible to operate just for the cost of some card stock, envelopes, a good pair of paper scissors, glue, and your imagination. It is unnecessary to buy additional supplies unless you want to, and can afford to. With these basic supplies and items from around your home, you can create wonderful, personal works of art. You save money making them, and you save money by giving them away, instead of purchasing printed cards from the store.

Card-making is a rewarding hobby, and everyone likes to receive something that was made just for them. The tips listed below not only save your wallet, but are also beneficial for the environment. Exploring recycling in the art of making handmade cards is an incredible resource -- for your creativity and your fingers.

Some of the tips listed mention additional resources like stamps and punches. They are not necessary, but do make the most of opportunities. Local craft groups, friends, or a family member may have resources you can borrow. Use spare paper to punch, cut, or stamp a supply of images and designs for later use. Check out your children’s craft supplies, too – children’s rubber stamps make a great background when stamped repeatedly over the surface of a card.

Here is a list of Top Ten household items to recycle. Why not springboard your own unique ideas from these?

1.      Old Greeting cards

The backs make good bases for layering or stamping of images. The front can be cut up for borders, wording, and images. Take smaller elements from an image to complement your own design. Received more than one card of the same design – use repeated elements for your own form of paper tole.

2.      Wallpaper

Do you have some old wallpaper lying around after finishing the children’s bedroom, or the dining room? Cut out the individual elements of large patterns to make into decoupage or paper tole. Use medium-sized pictures and patterns spaced symmetrically to create new patterns. For smaller patterns or no pattern, use for backgrounds, layering and paper piecing. 

Extension tip: If you are fortunate enough to know someone that works in a home decorating store then you may be able to get, either free or for a small charge, an out of date wallpaper sample book. These are rich in textures, finishes, and colours. Some contain border strips as well for added creativity.

3.      Magazines

If you do not but them yourself, ask around your friends and family. I’m sure they will soon be deluging you with their off casts.

Magazines are a wealth of pre-coloured wording, pictures, and colours. Pictures can be used effectively by combining with other complementary elements to make a stunning card.

For example, I cut a picture of a giraffe from a magazine. I made a stencil of a giraffe’s skin, then transferred the pattern to my card with a sponge and some black ink. In the center of the card I layered a piece of cork sheet (wood-grain patterned paper or corrugated cardboard would work just as well) with glossy, black paper cut from a magazine advertisement. Then I glued the giraffe picture on top. I finished it off by adding a couple of small leaf shapes, cut from a picture of someone’s lawn, in the bottom corner.

I find the greatest advantage to magazines is the textured colours, such as the leaves in my example above. It is often difficult to match a colour piece of paper or card to the effect you are wanting. Rather than buy special printed products, scout through magazines for suitable colours and textures. Blended colours on advertisement backgrounds often make for great punch art. If the punches will not cut through properly, insert a piece of plain used printer paper with the magazine page and it will cut perfectly.

Also consider: used wrapping paper, advertising leaflets, and old business documents.

4.      Sewing Supplies

Buttons, zips, ribbons, and small pieces of fabric, tulle, or lace all make for great accents on a card. Plait the left over lengths of embroidery cottons to make smart trims, or tie several colours into a bow to match the main card design.

5.      Used A4 paper

Some paper is suitable for use in your card making – e.g. punching and layering. A lot of paper is not usable, either because it has been folded or crumpled, or text is visible on both sides. These sheets of paper I use as gluing surfaces for glue sticks, liquid or spray glue, or with a brush. Discard the piece of paper when it has no space left that isn’t sticky. I find this works better than newsprint, which may leave black smudges on the good side of your card.

6.      Plastic lids, bottles and pottles

Instead of buying a special template or cutting system to enable a perfect circle, save up a variety of different sizes of round containers or lids – from a small pill bottle to a cottage cheese pottle lid. Ensure they are well washed and thoroughly dried first, then use as a cost-free template for drawing circles. Stack inside one another for easy storage. Look for oval pottles too, which make a nice change.

These containers are useful to hold leftover punched shapes. When I visit people who own punches I do not, I spend time punching shapes out and then store in separate containers for use at my leisure.

7.      Cardboard

Old coloured card folders can form the basis of the card itself, if it is clean and undamaged. Otherwise cut smaller pieces from it for layering, punching or making borders.

The kind of plain brown or grey card that comes in packaging, such as business shirts, is also useful. With this you can make templates from colouring book pictures or images offered on-line for the purpose. If you cut shapes out from the card, use it as a stencil.

Corrugated card has a great texture; I prefer the kind that is not sandwiched between two flat sheets of card, for the crinkles are what make it interesting. There are specialised tools to recreate this corrugated effect, but you can colour the brown kind easily using paint.

8.      Lolly and chocolate wrappers

Bright and sparkly; colourful and fun! There are numerous ways to use these delightful little scraps of paper and foil. Use in layering and paper piecing, or cut into shapes to add a shimmering accent to any scene.

Try this fun idea: Draw on your card the simple outline of a fish. Cut circles of foil wrappers – I don’t recommend punching – and stagger them to fill in the body of the fish. It doesn’t matter if the circles are imperfect, elliptical, or uneven sizes. Use smaller ones to do the narrower pieces of the fish and the larger ones to fill the middle. Overlapping the circles means that most imperfections can be hidden, but the flaws do add charm to the overall effect. Glue strips of paper, foil, or ribbon in a fan pattern to fill in the tail. Lastly, draw an eye. Add background detail such as seaweed, air bubbles, or smaller fish with coloured pencils or pens and you’re done.

9.      Business Cards

Changing jobs these days is quite a common occurrence and what do you do with all those old business cards from the previous place of employment? These are ideal for using on cards since they are uniformly-sized, perfect rectangles, on good card stock, and usually the back has no text. Used plain they are great for layering. If the cards are textured, accent it by sponging lightly with coloured ink. Alternatively, stamp an image directly onto the card and colour or decorate as desired.

10.  Old Jewelry

Broken or unusable chains, fake jewels, beads, and simulated pearls all make elegant embellishments. Bought embellishments are pretty and effective, but can get quite costly. Items from last year’s Christmas crackers make great 3-D additions as well.

Many other materials around the home have a use in your card making. Before you throw something in the trash, consider how you could use it to add texture, colour, interest, and embellishment to your cards, or storage for your supplies.

Happy creating!