The versatility of paper in crafts makes it an ideal medium for functional and decorative projects. The material comes in a wide array of colors, textures and weights, making it easy to match project requirements. Paper is also commonly stocked at craft stores, so you can visit the Michael's, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn locations near our Glendale, Arizona, community to supply your paper needs.
To help you get started exploring the world of paper crafts, here are eight projects you can try today.
Handmade envelopes are a great way to put the finishing touch on a greeting card or letter. They can be fashioned out of numerous materials, such as crossword puzzle pages, magazine covers, calendars and gift wrapping. Seniors who love creating artwork may want to paint blank cardstock or coloring pages to use.
Before getting started, check the post office's letter formats to see what shapes or sizes may require additional postage charges when mailing. Also, make sure the addresses are legible through the decorations to ensure mail carriers can get the envelopes to the correct destinations.
Creating custom markers is a fun way for seniors to make personalized gifts for the bookworms in their life. Making a bookmark can be as simple as cutting out a pattern or picture on a greeting card. However, crafters can also try folding and decorating origami bookmarks as a simple project they can easily do in a few hours.
The bookmarks require only a few folds, making them a great introduction to origami for older adults or their visiting grandchildren. The colorful squares offer a blank canvas well-suited for embellishments such as stickers or doodles. Several tutorials are available online to make cute animal faces that are sure to be a hit with young grandchildren.
Another project you might consider doing with your grandchildren is folding a paper bracelet. The folds can require a bit of practice, but the effort results in an appealing row of symmetrical squares.
You can choose solid colored paper or spice up the project with your grandchildren's drawings or paintings. Old maps, letters and gift wrapping instantly provide patterns on the finished bracelets, which can also double as accents on vases and faux candles.
Beading hobbyists may be intrigued by the idea of crafting beads out of paper for their projects. Though a paper bead may seem fragile, the finished rolls are coated in layers of glue, clear nail polish or sealant. The lacquer makes the beads quite hard and sturdy.
The appearance of the rolled beads can be changed by adjusting the length and shape of the paper strips. You can use templates from the internet to get started or experiment on your own to create different effects.
Instead of sending a thank you card in response to a loved one's gift, you might want to transform the greeting card into a clever container. Because most cards are only a handful of inches in length, the resulting gift boxes are small enough to house trinkets or candies.
You can also use customized pieces featuring photographs of your family members and favorite memories or the cards you've received from loved ones.
Many seniors probably remember weaving paper place mats and baskets during arts and crafts at school, VBS or camp. A good activity to do with young grandchildren, paper weaving can also be very engaging for teens and older adults.
Tutorials on the web can help crafters go beyond the simple patterns they were taught as children to complex designs. By picking colored paper that compliments your current decor, you can create eye-catching wall hangings for your independent living apartments here at LifeStream at Glendale.
Junk journals can be a fun spot for older adults to stash their memories. Though many contain fabric, ribbons and jewelry, the bulk of these objects are made of repurposed paper products such as book covers, wallpaper, receipts and personal mail.
Like scrapbooks, junk journals are wonderfully open-ended. They can be fashioned out of anything that's nostalgic to the owner or fits a chosen theme. Most contain a generous amount of blank spaces for writing and drawing, and they usually include pockets to tuck mementos.
Seniors who want a truly made-from-scratch project may enjoy creating their own paper. Making homemade paper is fairly straightforward, and there are many guides on the internet to follow. The resulting paper can be made into sheets or shaped with objects such as cookie cutters.
While most tutorials instruct you to use a blender, it's vital to remember not to use the same blender to make paper and food products. The inks and glues on paper can be highly toxic if ingested. To avoid cross-transference, pick up a blender at a local thrift store and designate it for craft use only.
