There are many ways to recycle newspapers and magazines. Upcycling by making a craft is a fun and useful way to reuse old newspapers and magazines. The craft ideas are endless, and extend from simple creations you can do with the kids to intricate art that is giftworthy.

For the Home

This craft begins with making magazine reeds, then covering a box or a picture frame. Once you know how to make a magazine reed, you will find lots of things to cover to create beautiful pieces for your home.

• Start by tearing out magazine pages. Don’t worry about torn edges being too clean, as they will be hidden in the roll. Then fold each page in half lengthwise and cut the page along the fold.
• Place a bamboo skewer at the bottom right corner of the paper at a 45 degree angle. Beginning at this corner, roll the paper snugly around the skewer, pulling the end of the skewer out of the reed a little at a time as you go.
• As you approach the edge of the paper, glue the edges and slide the bamboo skewer out of the reed. Continue these steps to make a pile of magazine reeds.
• The reeds can be glued with tacky glue to the lid of a small cardboard craft box in any design you wish. Once all the reeds have been allowed to dry firmly to the box top, the ends can be trimmed flush with the edges of the box.

For the Garden

Newspaper seedling pots are a smart and economical way to start your garden for pennies. You will need a newspaper, a drinking glass, masking tape and potting soil.

• If you are starting with a full sheet of newspaper, tear it in half along the fold.
• Fold it in half lengthwise.
• Place your drinking glass on the paper, roll the paper around the glass and secure with a piece of masking tape. There will be several inches of paper on the ends of the glass.
• Fold the paper over the bottom of the glass like you are wrapping a gift and secure with another piece of tape.
• Remove the glass and fold the top edges of excess paper down into the paper pot.
• Immediately fill the pots with potting soil to hold their form, then place them in a foil lasagna pan to add the seeds. The plastic lid of the lasagna pan can be used to cover the seedlings to keep them warm, like an improvised mini-greenhouse.
• When you are ready to transplant your seedlings, you can place the pots directly into the ground.

Now gather up your old newspapers and magazines and get crafty. Even if you just make a paper mache piñata with the kids, you can have fun creating items with recyclable material.