how-to: re-using paper

i love finding ways to recycle paper that are more interesting than putting it in the recycling bin. i use newspaper to wrap presents and clean my windows and mirrors, print documents on the back of old flyers, line my ironing board with scrap paper when i iron on fusible interfacing to keep the sticky interfacing from gooping up my ironing board cover....

one kind of paper that always seemed to me to be begging for a good recycling is packing paper. you know, the thin-ish paper that you would use to wrap up your breakables when you move, or that comes as padding in a package. it's such nice paper, but always so crinkled post-use. i wondered if it could be ironed (without setting fire to my ironing board) and brought back to useability... so when i saw an offer on freecycle for a few boxes full of used packing paper, i jumped at it.



i set my iron to medium-low and gave it a shot, and it worked great!



the wrinkles weren't completely gone, but it was flat enough to work with, and really i like the way the wrinkles remain and give it texture.

i had an inspiration for its first use, now that it was relatively flat: as wrap tags for my napkins and coasters, which would bundle them together neatly, show off my logo, and identify them all in one fell swoop.

so the next question was: could i run it through my printer? i started by cutting it into printer-appropriate size on my paper cutter.



then crossed my fingers and ran it through. and...success! here it is after another trip through the paper cutter:



i'll admit, i did have one paper jam out of ten printings. but that's a ratio i can live with. and look how cute my products look in their new outfits:



i can think of tons of other uses for ironed used packing paper—flyers, small banners, wrapping paper (in fact, i already wrapped some presents in it this weekend....)—and i'm sure all you crafty people can think of lots more...share 'em in the comments section, please!

- cakehouse

Freecycle

Freecycle is a community of global groups sorted by location that helps people looking to re-use items either by giving them or receiving them. To quote from their website: "It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills." To sign up is totally free and you get emails daily with posts of people looking for specific items like boxes, and people looking to get rid of items like say, a coach. You can look through their regional groups and sign up for your local chapter to start receiving posts immediately!

It's also a great source for us crafty people looking for bolts of fabric, old sewing machines, sergers, flex shafts - post your wish list, you never know what someone will be trying to freecycle!

-Kimm
KimmChi.etsy.com