If you regularly craft with paper, today's ideas for crafting with paper scraps will give you a reason to save the scraps from now on. You can make super interesting and fun things with the leftovers. So get out the paper, scissors and glue and get started! Whether simply for a craft afternoon or for making gifts for grandma and grandpa, mom and dad or other loved ones - snippets are useful for many purposes.
Make a star with scraps of paper as a wall or window decoration
- colorful scraps of paper
- any foil
- Glue
- String for hanging
- Ribbon
- funnel
- Template for a star
Print out any template for a star, place it under the foil and trace the outline. Place the other foil on top and sew the outline of the star together. Don't forget to leave a small opening through which you can later pour the paper scraps in using the funnel. Once you have sewn the star, you can cut it out and fill it. If necessary, you can push the snippets through the funnel with a pen.
You can then either sew the opening shut or seal it with glue. You should also include the cord for hanging. Then stick a bow on it and you're done. You can make such a star in any color using scraps of paper, for exampleto spring, for Christmas or in harmony with the rest of your home decor.
Crafting with scraps of paper – decorate the star with tissue paper
Looking for ideas aboutCrafts with children, which you can give as a gift, such a colorful star is great. For this idea for crafting with paper scraps, all you need is the scraps, any star made of metal or another material and napkin glue. Coat the star generously with glue and then pour the scraps over it.
Press them gently and let the glue dry a little. Then add another layer of glue to seal the snippets. As soon as this layer has dried, your pretty decoration is ready. Of course, you can also decorate any other shapes in this way. How about a matching heart, for examplefor Mother's Day soon? The paper can also vary. In addition to tissue paper, normal, crepe paper and tracing paper are also suitable.
Making rainbows with small children
You can not only craft with scraps of paper, but also with other materials left over from other craft projects (e.g. foam rubber, cardboard, felt, corrugated paper, etc.). And searchCraft ideas for toddlers, this rainbow might be just the thing for you. You need:
- Snippets in multiple colors (rainbow colors)
- cardboard
- Pencil
- Scissors or even better, a craft knife (for adults only!)
- Glue
Drawa rainbowonto the cardboard along with the strips and cut it out with a knife. Now the child can use the scraps to stick the different rainbow stripes. If you prepare the paper scraps specifically for the project, you can also cut certain geometric shapes that you can then practice with the child (triangles, squares, rectangles, etc.). This is a great idea especially if the project is intended for small children.
Make a picture out of scraps of paper
Pictures made from scraps of paper are very popular when making crafts with scraps of paper. It doesn't matter whether specific motifs are designed or a simple jumble of colorful paper. That's why such ideas are great for crafting with2 year old childrensuitable. Prepare the scraps as well as a sheet of paper or cardboard and the children can get creative and stick as they please. How about, for example, a tree whose trunk you paint on and the crown you make out of scraps?
Tipp:Small children cannot handle glue yet, so instead you can simply place a piece of self-adhesive foil on the table for the child to spread the scraps on. For this purpose, the film can also be attached to a wall orat the windowbe fixed.
Mosaic images asCraft ideas for children
You need a piece of cardboard and optionally some paper motifs. In the example wasan autumn picturemade with leaves made of paper, but of course you can also come up with your own theme. Glue the designs onto the cardboard and cut up more paper to make scraps. To make crafts with scraps of paper, simply distribute them around the motifs to create an interesting mosaic pattern.
Collage of snippets
Older children and adults can go for oneUse collage scraps of paper, which should look a little more organized. Such paper scraps pictures are a great basis for larger greeting cards or wall decorations as gifts. You can also combine the paper with pieces of fabric and other materials. Then the picture becomes very interesting in terms of its texture.
Geometric tree
Make geometric collage with scraps of paper
How about this great idea for crafting with scraps of paperfor a collage? In the example, the snippets are cut geometrically (rectangles, squares and circles), but of course all types of shapes are suitable for this purpose. Then cut out a window from white paper. Arrange the snippets in any way you like: next to each other, on top of each other, overlapping, straight, at an angle – anything is allowed.
You stick the individual elements onto a surface (e.g. a colored sheet of paper or a canvas). Finally, glue the white paper with a window onto the collage. If you have several of theseMake collages, you can compose a large picture from them, as in the example. The result is a modern and cheerful wall decoration.
Crafts for children – make paper from scraps
You can collect all your notes, letters, newspapers, shopping lists, old drawings and the like instead of throwing them away and make new paper out of them. This idea for crafting with scraps of paper is sustainable, fun and the new paper is pretty nice to look at, especially when you decorate it with different things. We will now explain what we mean by this and how exactly you make paper:
- Picture frame in the size that the DIY paper should be
- Metal fly screen
- short nails
- old paper, cut into shreds or torn
- food processor
- Bowl or tub, at least 30 x 40 cm
- Fleece cloths, at least 30 x 40 cm
- rolling pin
Crafting with scraps of paper – instructions
Build a sieve out of the picture frame and grid. To do this, simply nail the fly screen to the frame. You can also build the frame yourself from wooden strips and angle pieces. Put shredded paper and the water in a food processor and process them into a creamy paste. Put this porridge in a tub and add enough water to make it roughly the consistency of buttermilk.
Now immerse the frame with the grid vertically in the tub. When immersing, turn the frame horizontally so that the grid ultimately points upwards. The aim is to use the grid to absorb the paper fibers from the water (alternatively, you can also spread the mixture from the food processor directly onto the grid). Place the frame on the edges of the tub to allow water to drain. Lay out a fleece cloth on a surface. Take the grid with the slurry and quickly tilt it onto the non-woven cloth to transfer the slurry onto the cloth. This has to be done quickly so that the porridge doesn't melt.
Carefully remove the frame and place another fleece cloth on the still damp paper. Now roll the rolling pin over the cloth. In this way, the remaining water is pressed out of the paper and absorbed by the cloth. Remove the top fleece cloth and hang the other cloth with the paper still on it to dry. Allow the paper to dry for a while, then remove it from the cloth and let it dry completely on a flat surface. Repeat these steps until the slurry becomes too thin.
Tips & tricks for homemade paper
- The paper can be written on more easily later if it is ironed after it has dried.
- Paper can be tinted with watercolors and food colors.
- You can add flower or spice seeds to the porridge, which is a great idea for gift cards. A piece of the paper can then later be stuck directly into potting soil where the seeds can germinate.
- Flowers and other plant parts make the paper even more beautiful.
- Mix coffee grounds or spices into the porridge.
- Glitter makes the paper particularly effective.
- The paper can be cut directly and used, for example, as bookmarks, signs and other things.
Lovely garland made from scraps for crafting with children
Such a simple idea, but one that you probably wouldn't have come up with so quickly: The snippets with their different shapes and sizes can become a beautiful garland that can not only serve as decoration at parties, but also in everyday life in the children's room. There are two ways to make the garland: either you simply glue the scraps to a string or even sew them together. Without a doubt, both variants are very likeable!
Although the garlands with the asymmetrical snippets look very original, you can of course also use symmetrical ones. Circles, squares, rectangles and other rectangles are just some of the possibilities. It's your go-to paper scrap craft craft project and you can do whatever you want with it!
Typically confetti is made from small paper circles, but that doesn't mean you can't make some out of your leftover paper. Simply chop it up into tiny pieces or use a hole punch as usual if you insist on the round shape. Any other punch can also be used to create stars, snowflakes, triangles and many other shapes.
You can then use the confetti to make other great things yourself, including a confetti bomb, beautiful vases or decorative plates filled with confetti, laminated bookmarks filled with confetti or party cups covered with scraps of paper. Be creative!
Decorate gifts and party items
Colorful snippets for bookmarks and decorative bowls
Also very useful:What can you make with leftover wrapping paper? 7 sustainable ideas for every occasion
