Papercraft Inspirations

* INVITATIONS: I’m sure your parents get many beautifully printed wedding invitations.

a) The front of the card usually has pictures on it, but the rear is almost always blank. This can be cut and folded to make greeting cards of your own.

b) The covers of wedding invitations could be carefully opened out with a paper knife. Fold the cover backwards along the same folds and stick on opposite sides to form new envelopes. Never mind the printed matter on the inside of the envelopes – you can still use them.

c) Many a time you will find the contents of the printed invitation on a double page that is stuck inside the card. Tear this page off. Cut the page into equal-sized small pages. After you’ve collected a few such pages, arrange them in such a way that all the blank pages are facing upwards. Punch two holes on top of this pile. Put a small satin ribbon or a thick twine through both holes and tie a bow. What you have now is a memo pad. Your parents will be delighted to use it to make grocery lists.

d) The front portion of the wedding invitation can be used to make beautiful bookmarks. Either punch a hole on the card’s top edge to tie a satin ribbon through it, or laminate it with thick plastic paper, or use it as it is.
You could write a quotation or a personal message on the blank side if you want to gift these bookmarks to your friends in school.

e) You could even give the cards to your elder brother or sister who is always in need of rough paper to work out Maths sums. The blank side would serve this purpose.

* OLD NOTEBOOKS: At the end of every academic year, before you give away your exercise books, check for unused pages. Tear these out and get them bound to form rough books for your next class.

* NEWSPAPERS:

a) You can use newspaper over  brown paper covers to cover your notebooks. When your teacher asks you to submit your notebooks, just remove the newspaper covers and submit them. When your books are returned, replace the newspaper covers. This way, your brown paper cover will be clean and neat throughout the year as it is protected from being handled every day. You will also save on brown paper cost.

b) Budding artists can use newspapers to practise their paintings!

c) Be innovative. Decorate the paper with paintings or paint it over in solid block colours to wrap gifts. Poster colours will even thicken the newspaper and make a nice gift wrapping!

* PAMPHLETS: The blank side of pamphlets can be used:

a) to make one-sided memo pads

b) as rough paper

c) as a scribbling rough pad

The most popular, recycled form of all kinds of paper remains paper packets. More so, because polythene bags have disappeared from supermarkets and malls. Paper is also used to make papier-mâché models, masks and other craft.

Can you think of any other uses? Write to us right away at [e-mail] and we’ll be glad to publish your funky ideas!