Although lapbooking is a great educational tool, it does create an abundance of scrap paper waste. This is a major turn off for some who are considering this method of education, and a source of guilt for many avid lapbookers.
But good stewardship and lapbooking can go hand in hand. There are many ways to recycle lapbook scraps, and some are as fun and educational as the lapbooking itself. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
But good stewardship and lapbooking can go hand in hand. There are many ways to recycle lapbook scraps, and some are as fun and educational as the lapbooking itself. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Scrap waste is a major drawback of lapbooking, but good stewardship and lapbooking can go hand in hand!
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Get Crafty
Just because your scraps are small doesn't mean they are useless. Let your creativity loose and you will be amazed by what you can create.Why not glue together a paper quilt? Paper quilts are much easier to make than the sewn variety and are perfect for decorating greeting cards and bookmarks.
Tiny bits of paper can be used to make beautiful mosaics. These can also be used on greeting cards, as bookmarks, laminated to make placemats or coaster, or framed to hang on the wall.
Paper scraps can also be used to create beads and papier mache objects.
Paper Quilts: Turn Traditional Quilt Motifs Into Contemporary Cards and Crafts
Amazon Price: $16.46 (as of 11/20/2009) 
Holiday Ornaments From Paper Scraps
Amazon Price: (as of 11/20/2009)
- Recycled Paper Crafts
- Make paper beads, papier mache, and more.
- Scrap Box Craft Ideas
- There are a lot of things you can do with a box of scraps, and kids love looking through it to find little treasures.
- Quick and Easy Valentine's Gift Cards from Paper Scraps
- Got scraps? Make one-of-a-kind gift enclosure cards to go with a Valentine's Day surprise.
Use Your Scraps In a Diorama!
Have Scraps? Make a Scrapbook!
If your lapbooks are made from acid free paper, the leftover paper is perfect for decorating scrapbook pages and notebooks .
Take pictures as the kids complete their lapbooks and use the scraps to create color coordinated album pages. Use larger scraps to frame the pictures and smaller ones to make decorations.
Scraps are also great for adding color and variety to notebook pages. Try drawing shapes or pictures to cut out and attach to your pages.
Take pictures as the kids complete their lapbooks and use the scraps to create color coordinated album pages. Use larger scraps to frame the pictures and smaller ones to make decorations.
Scraps are also great for adding color and variety to notebook pages. Try drawing shapes or pictures to cut out and attach to your pages.
Got Paper? Make Paper!
The easiest way to use up all those little bits of paper is to make them into new paper. Recycling paper is easy and fun. Homemade papers are beautiful and made great stationary or cards. You could even use them in your lapbooks! - Make Your Own Paper
- What happens to used paper? Most paper is thrown away in landfills or is burned. Why not turn old newspaper, office paper or unwanted wrapping paper into a piece of art?
- How to Make Paper - An Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide
- Step-by-step guide to make handmade paper at home, with pictures included.
- How to Make Paper
- We've all heard it before: reduce, reuse, recycle. But when it comes to paper, recycling doesn't have to mean tossing those scraps into a bin and dragging it to the nearest recycling center. Instead, you can create your own functional (and artistic) paper from old newspapers, unwanted files and letters. Here's how to do it.
- Papermaking
- Paper is made from cellulose fibers that are found in all plant cell walls. The fibers may come from any one of several plant sources such as wood, bamboo, cotton, esparto, hemp, jute, sugar cane, wheat, or rice. However in North America, wood is the major source of paper making fibers. A mixture of water and fibers is filtered through a fine screen to form a sheet of paper. As the wet sheet is dried, chemical bonds are formed between the molecules in the cellulose fibers to give the paper its strength.
Arnold Grummer's Econoly Large-Dip Handmold Papermaking Kit
I ordered this kit for my daughter to use. The included items were great, however the instructions were a bit complicated and the large size of the mold made it hard to find anything big enough to dip it in. We ended up using a cooler and that was still too small. It was nice having the screen and mold premade, but a do-it-yourself version might have been easier.
I hope these ideas have shown you that lapbooking doesn't need to be wasteful and maybe these ideas have sparked your imagination. If you have any additional suggestions for recycling paper, please share them by leaving a note in the guestbook.
Paper (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
What Ideas Do You Have For Using Lapbooking Scraps?
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Oct 2, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
- We have a box of scrap paper that we use for craft projects, note paper or decorating gifts.
This lens is now featured on Educational Value of the FamilyFun Top Toy Awards 2009.
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- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 11, 2009 @ 10:47 pm
- 5***** and welcome! This lens is now a featured lens on the newly redesigned Homeschooling Group!
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- stampinjill stampinjill Dec 6, 2008 @ 10:42 pm
- I like to use scraps for paper punching shapes (heart, star, etc.). Throw these on a table for birthday or holiday. Or toss some in a card you mail out. Cardstock scraps are also great for gift tags if you just trim with decorative-edge scissors--quick and cheap (could even glue on some of those punch-outs to decorate them!).
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- eclecticeducation eclecticeducation Nov 18, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
- I keep all my scraps (ones big enough to use again ie: about 2 inches or more) in a scrap box and when I need just a small bit of paper, instead of using a full sheet, I go through my scrap box.
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- Jimmie Jimmie May 13, 2008 @ 10:26 pm
- I'm kind of boring. I just cut them up into notepaper sizes. :-) I love having all the fun colors. Great idea for a lens, Melissa!
by LilliputStation
Homeschooling mother of eight: ages 0-13. We love notebooking, lapbooking, unit studies, and hands-on education. Visit Lilliput Station Adventures to... (more)
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