Recycled Greetings

i looked at that pile of old phone books and said to myself, what a waste. There must be something i can do with all that paper. Why not flowers?

Materials:
yellow pages
scissors
glue
blank cardstock (to make a greeting card if you choose)

1) tear out a few yellow pages, white and green if you have them (you can always color the pages with crayon, marker or pencil.

2) cut the yellow pages into thin strips and then round out one of the edges

3) squeeze a thin circle of glue onto the white paper and begin adhering strips to the paper

4) add another thin layer of glue and another layer of petals, keep adding layers until you like the appearance of your flower

5) if you choose, add a green stem and petals

I took mine and glued it to the front of a blank greeting card, but you can be creative and use it in so many ways. Be sure to share your ideas!

How to make recycled art postcards

Postcards are a great way to promote your etsy site. Many etsians have them printed using images from their shops. You can include them in your orders when you send them out or hand them out at craft fairs instead of business cards. They are not terribly expensive but they are little more then a business card in most cases.

These cards are miniature works of art! You can give them away and be sure that they will be kept and displayed or mailed out to someone special. And every single one of them will have you shop info on it to remind them of how talented you are.

Materials:
recycled thin cardboard box (like a cereal box)
ruler
scissor, x-acto knife, or paper trimmer
glue, mod podge, or varnish medium
good size flat paint brush
scraps of decorative paper
pen or marker

pick out a nice clean box with thin cardboard
rip it along seam so you can get the most cards from the box possible
measure out as many cards as you can size 4.25"x6", this is a standard size postcard and will be accepted by the post office for postcard rate

brush glue across the colorful side of the cardboard and paste paper to it, leaving brown side blank
make sure to put a layer of glue on top of your design to seal it
flip the card over and draw lines with a ruler for the address, then be sure to put your shop name and address in fine print (but still legible) across the bottom.

Not only are these good for promoting your shop, they are good for the earth! Be sure to post a link to pics of your creative designs.