Crafts that Reuse Tissue Paper

I dislike seeing things thrown away without ever being ever. We have thrown away large handfuls of gift tissue that comes in those gift bags and this is such a waste. I am thinking that we could put gifts in those cloth bags and use pretty towels or hand towels in it instead of the tissue. If you do have gift tissue, this can be recycled into beautiful crafts and things like stained glass windows, collages, and flowers to put into little pots and bottles or to wear in your hair.

Here's some ideas I came up with when checking about.com and brainstorming with the three Rs, which are reduce, reuse, and recycle

• Faux Stained Glass Window: Paint a window with liquid starch, stick on tissue paper, and paint over that. As long as the window doesn't get wet, it stays there. This wouldn't work in the winter months, but I can see myself making faux stained glass out of two sheets of plastic and hanging it on a pressure rod in the window to let light in during the winter when the window gets wet from the weather.

• Tissue Paper and Pipe Cleaner Flowers: I am going to keep a box of pipe cleaners, I love the number one, and number two. They can be used to make flowers instead of the gift tissue going into the landfill. To make the flowers, cut out a circular shape with scissors or pinking shears. Make a "J" at the top of the pipe cleaner to hold the flower circle shape on. Put the flower on at the bottom of the pipe cleaner by pushing it through. Bring it on up to the top and kind of squish it around the top of the pipe cleaner.
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• Pipe Cleaner and Tissue Paper Butterflies: Take a couple of squares of different colors and and secure with a pipe cleaner, making the two ends look like antennae. Then put on a clothespin for the body and hang up with a thread.

• Decorative Jars: I am going to make some stained glass jars by putting tape around the jar with the tissue paper arranged under the tape. I won't overlap the tape. I could use decoupage stuff, but I probably won't.

• Paste Flowers on Construction Paper: We did this at the library and it was great fun! We took a flower picture that was not colored in or we drew one, then we cut out little pieces of the tissue and wadded them up and pasted them on. I've included a picture of one we did for Christmas, it is still on our wall from years back. There are actually some beans on this decoration, but I probably won't do that on mine.

Blessings and have fun reusing things and recycling

By Robyn Fed from Hampton, TN