by Barbie L.
Some of your child’s artwork is worth keeping and relishing, of course, but let’s face it: a lot of it gets snuck into the recycling bin after bedtime. With my kids home from preschool during the COVID-19 shutdown we seem to be going through paper faster than ever, so I’ve been searching for interesting ways to reuse paper that’s been colored, painted, or written on. Some ideas we’ve been trying are listed below. Some of projects are so exciting that my kids eagerly repurposed artwork they had been stashing around the house for months.
Origami Toys
Origami creations aren’t only pretty, some of them can also be functioning toys. My kids were delighted to see their artwork turned into sailboats that actually float and frogs that jump!
Floating Boats
This is a nice one to do with crayon art, as the wax will help the paper hold up against the water for just a little longer. We used this One Little Project tutorial, which is compatible with many pieces of artwork as it begins with an 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper.
Jumping Frogs
These origami frogs are a hit because they really do jump! We ended up holding a paper frog Olympics where our frogs raced and competed at long jump to win prizes. We first tried a simpler version of an origami frog, but it didn’t jump that well, so I recommend the above tutorial. The back legs are a little tricky, but I believe in you. We cut down artwork to 8.5″x8.5″ squares to begin, and that size worked fine.
Spinning Tops
These are a little too complex for toddlers to make themselves, but when I showed my kids the video of the spinners they happily handed over three pieces of artwork each for me to incorporate into their tops. And, they still helped me with creasing the folds and assembling the top from the three components. The tops were so easy to spin even my two-year-old could do it; she was delighted. This tutorial from Sunder Origami is clear and nicely-paced. We cut artwork down into 8.5″x8.5″ squares, and that size worked wonderfully.
Paper Flowers
During the COVID-19 shutdown people have been posting shamrocks, teddy bears, Easter eggs, rainbows, and other artwork in their windows to cheer up the community. One of our members cut up some of her sons recent artwork to make a flower garden in her window.
Homemade Wrapping Paper and Cards
Sometimes I tape butcher paper to the table when my kids are doing a particularly messy craft. Instead of just throwing the butcher paper out after, I’ve taken to having them decorate it a little more after the original craft so we can reuse it as wrapping paper.
And, no need to buy cards for family members or your kids’ friends’ birthdays when you have so much extra artwork laying around. Fold a painting in half and write your own message!
Handmade Recycled Paper
Plantable Wildflower Seed Note Cards or Gift Tags
You know those “plant me” recycled paper greeting cards you can buy with embedded wildflower seeds? Turns out they’re relatively easy to make, even for a toddler. We followed this tutorial from The Spruce Crafts. All we had to buy was wildflower seeds; we already had everything else we needed at home. To make it more fun, we molded them in cookie cutters to make fun animal shapes.
Sheets of paper for new artwork
Making a whole sheet of paper is much more involved and finicky than making small gift tags or note cards, but I enjoyed doing it with my kids because it made us all think twice about how much paper we use. If we had to hand-recycle all the paper we used we would definitely cut back; it was exhausting! My kids were engaged in helping out for 3 or 4 sheets, then started to wander off, so set reasonable expectations for how many pieces you’ll be able to make. We followed this tutorial from Paperslurry. To make sheets you need a mold and deckle, which you can make or buy. We had everything else we needed on hand!
Sticky Spider Web and Flies
Make a web out of tape in a door frame and tell your kids that that the flies have to be made by scrunching up used paper they’re ready to let go of. Sit back and watch them clear the house of all the old artwork laying around and stick it all in one place for easy disposal.
How have you upcycled your child’s old artwork?