Recycled Magazine Crafts
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Recycle Old Magazines Into Something Useful
Wondering what to do with that leaning tower of magazines threatening to topple at any moment? Look no further! Here are oodles of ideas for reusing your magazines, and turning them into something wonderful. Or useful. Or, at the very least, something that won't cause bodily harm...
Beads & Jewelry
Spice up your wardrobe---and only you will know you did it with old magazines!
- Paper Beads
- An entire blog dedicated to paper beads! Lots of ideas and how-to info.
- Making Paper Beads
- My article at Go Make Something shows the basic paper bead technique.
- A Tutorial on Saucer Shapes
- How to make coiled sushi-style beads, with video.
- Recycled Magazine Necklace
- One large, coiled sushi-type bead turns into a pretty pendant.
- Recycled Magazine Necklace
- Link several sushi-type coils together to create a large collar piece.
- DIY Bracelet from Magazine Subscription Cards
- Make a colorful woven cuff bracelet.
- How to Make Dangly Earrings with Magazine Pages
- A super-simple method of making earrings.
- How-To Recycle Junk Mail into Paper Beads
- A more pulpy, paper mache approach to making beads.
Magazine Jewelry Videos
Aubrey's techniques can be used to create jewelry from old magazines.
curated content from YouTube
Here's a video from ThreadBanger, showing two ways of making beads from old magazines and newspapers.
curated content from YouTube
More Jewelry Ideas
Gift Packaging, Bags & Bows
Wrap it up with these nifty ideas.
- Make a Gift Bow From a Magazine Page
- Jessica at How About Orange shows how to make a fancy looped gift bow from strips of old magazines.
- Gift Bows Tutorial
- This quick lesson posted on the Craftster message board uses a brad to hold the magazine loops together.
- Gift Bag from a Magazine Page
- This tutorial at Cut Out and Keep shows how to make a small gift bag from a single page.
- How to Make a Magazine Reed Box
- Magazine reeds are used to decorate a plain box.
- Magazine Box Tutorial
- A step-by-step photo set showing how to build a box from scratch, using magazine pages.
Christmas Ideas
When your budget is tight, try a few of these to make your holiday dollars go further.
- 3D Paper Ornaments
- From How About Orange, a lesson on turning a bunch of magazine circles into a simple ornament.
- Recycled Magazine Ornaments
- This quick step-by-step at Cut Out and Keep shows how to make a sort of quilled star-shaped ornament from magazine strips.
- Recycled Paper Tree Advent Calendar
- Create a tiny magazine page forest to help count the days 'til Christmas with this easy lesson at Cut Out and Keep.
- Paper Bead Christmas Ornament
- Make a bead star with these instructions.
More Recyled Gift Ideas
Flowers
Build yourself a recycled magazine garden with these lessons.
- How To Make Recycled Paper Flowers
- A simple lesson for making pretty dimensional flowers from a four piece pattern.
Bowls
There are dozens of how-to lessons for making magazine bowls posted online. Here are just a few...
- Magazine Bowls at Cut Out and Keep
- A quick step-by-step lesson, with photos below of dozens of examples made by community members.
- Magazine Bowl at A Little Hut
- This lesson has clear, crisp photos showing how to make a bowl that's a little taller.
Home Accessories
Magazines can be turned into all sorts of useful items for the home with these lessons.
- Recycled Magazine Coasters
- Jess from How About Orange shows how to weave magazine strips into coasters.
- Recycled Magazine Baskets
- Magazine strips are woven into square baskets.
More Recyled Decorating Ideas
Office & Business
Give your magazines the business with these how-to instructions for making all sorts of items.
- Recycled Magazine Business Card Holder
- Show you mean business about recycling by carrying your business cards in this nifty holder made from magazine pages.
- Magazine Envelopes
- A quick how-to on folding an envelope from a magazine page.
- Recycled Magazine Envelopes
- This envelope how-to uses a template to create a more tailored finished look.
Arty Things
Want to incorporate old magazines into your own artwork? Try these ideas.
- Discovering Gluebooks
- My article on making gluebooks: arty journals collaged with found elements, including magazine pieces.
- Gluebooks on Squidoo
- I love gluebooks so much, I created a whole lens about them. Lots of links and examples.
- Magazine Collage
- Create a simple collage using torn or cut pieces of magazines.
- How to Make Scrap-Paper Mosaics
- A lesson on using pieces of scrap paper to create collage portraits.
- How to Recycle a Magazine
- How to turn magazine pages into pretty background papers.
- Recycled Magazine Art
- Ideas for creating a mosaic-type artwork from magazine pieces.
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What Have You Made?
Have you made something crafty with recycled magazines? Leave a comment!
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ruberduckzilla
May 24, 2012 @ 9:56 am | delete
- Magazine bags! Magazines are sooo useful.
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KateHon
May 14, 2012 @ 10:27 pm | delete
- So many crafty ideas and links in this article - even Harmony, the tabby, likes them! Good job and congratulations on making the upcycling/recycling monsterboard!
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SanDesigns
Mar 2, 2012 @ 9:43 am | delete
- I also cover picture frames and oatmeal boxes and coffee cans with magazine page reeds.
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SanDesigns
Feb 19, 2012 @ 6:18 pm | delete
- I make reusable shopping bags with things cut and torn from magazines and junkmail, etc.
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casquid
Jan 10, 2012 @ 8:05 am | delete
- Along with my trusty troop of grandchildren (five of them) making decorative boxes for their rooms was too much fun and laughter. They rolled up magazine pages and ridded my home of over 8 magazines in no time flat. I love it! They are eager for the next "project" with Grandma.
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eileen_morey
Nov 30, 2011 @ 9:01 pm | delete
- What a wonderful, inspiring lens! Very, very, VERY cool ideas!
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Pennyseeker
Oct 13, 2011 @ 1:38 pm | delete
- Very interesting lens!
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adamfrench
Sep 28, 2011 @ 8:13 am | delete
- Impressive lens, thumbs up
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GonnaFly
Sep 24, 2011 @ 11:36 pm | delete
- What a useful resource! This lens has been blessed on the "I Love That Word" quest and added to my Upcycling Ideas lens.
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Noah Newton
Sep 16, 2011 @ 4:53 pm | delete
- Currently in the process of making a wall hanging out of rolled up magazine pages! Turning out great!
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LadyJasmine
Aug 26, 2011 @ 3:20 pm | delete
- Just so you know I enjoyed your lens, so I blessed it and featured it here: http://www.squidoo.com/back-to-school-blessings
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Chinajoy
Dec 19, 2010 @ 10:16 am | delete
- I have made end tables out of rolled newspapers and a few trays out of old magazines. They turned out greatl
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noobeegin
Dec 18, 2010 @ 1:18 pm | delete
- I remember making paper beads when I was younger. I had forgotten how fun it was. Never thought about using old magazines. I used to know people who would make Christmas trees for table tops with old readers digests.
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ezpostcard
Dec 3, 2010 @ 3:09 am | delete
- really cool! i'm gonna try it. thanks for the helpful video.
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artgoodman
Nov 26, 2010 @ 3:01 pm | delete
- I haven't made anything yet, but I think I might try some of these tips. Thanks for sharing this great post.
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ICanCook
Nov 25, 2010 @ 3:49 pm | delete
- My kitchen table is covered with pictures from magazines. I glue it down, then puts lots of poly-urethane over it to make it hard so that the constant use does not disturb the beautiful pictures.
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nDee
Nov 21, 2010 @ 10:39 pm | delete
- This is a must-have resource for craft ideas . . . I will definitely be returning!
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CofCJenny
Nov 21, 2010 @ 12:03 pm | delete
- I love this lens! I actually have my aunt saving all of her magazines for me because I'm always doing random crafts. And there are some fantastic ideas on here that I could use to get that massive mound down to a smaller pile, so thanks for this lens.
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capriliz
Nov 19, 2010 @ 9:30 am | delete
- I noticed your lens on a previous visit, but I was afraid to stop and read it because I hate to put my magazines in the recycle bin and this would give me another reason not to recycle. Now I am hooked on your ideas for magazine recycling! I will be using this lens for reference in the future and I much prefer your way of recycling. Thank you!
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LotusPetalYoga
Nov 17, 2010 @ 11:15 am | delete
- wow great ideas! Since I am a teacher I do use my extra magazines for projects in class, we always seem to need cut outs of something. I love the paper beads.
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by lisavollrath
Lisa Vollrath is a prolific mixed-media artist. Her work covers a multitude of techniques, from altered books to collage, from artist trading cards an... more »
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Recycled Crafty Goodness
