The beauty of crafting with paper is the versatility of the medium. It can be cut, punched, folded, glued, stapled and rolled, among many other things. These 100 blogs are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to paper crafting, and cover everything from scrapbooking to origami, decoupage to quilling, card making and flowers, just to name a few. These works of art can be shared with friends and loved ones, used as decorations in the home and on packages, and much more. For more details on the many different ways you can craft with paper, check out these 100 blogs.
Scrapbooking
As digital photography continues to advance it’s becoming more common for people to forgo traditional scrabooking in favor of a digital approach. However, for those traditionalists who enjoy having a hard copy of their photos complete with handwritten sentiments, there are plenty of ways to create a unique, handmade scrapbook, and you need little more than scrapbooking paper, photos and a little know-how. Take a look at these 10 blogs for different scrapbooking techniques for background papers and layout designs.
- Make Quick Photo Grids for Your Scrapbook Learn how to make photo grids for your scrapbook layouts to keep your pages clean and balanced.
- Scrappy Shaving: A Scrapbook Tutorial Try this fun technique for making your own scrapbook paper using shaving cream.
- A Week of Tutorials/ Simple Hybrid Scrapbook Page Start your project by digitally creating a scrapbook page and then print out a hard copy version to put into your actual scrapbook.
- Hello Age Four You can get tons of photos onto a page if you follow the example in this scrapbook layout.
- Confetti Pockets: A Scrapbook Tutorial Get out your sewing machine and learn how to create these pockets that can be used to hold confetti or other small things to mount on your scrapbook page.
- Traditional Scrapbook Layout—Beach Club Pool Fun Follow the directions on this post to create a similar layout to the one detailed here.
- Free Scrapbook Album Instructions and Templates Download these instructions to scrap a layout like the one shown on this post.
- Fall Maple Leaf Scrapbooking DIY Tutorial Make this project and hang it on the wall during the fall, then remove it from the wall and mount it into your scrapbook.
- Video Tutorial: “Plastic Wrap Background” Watch this blogger as she tells you how to create your own background paper using plastic wrap.
- Ideas and Tutorials for Adding Dimension to Scrapbook Pages Figure out how layering can add dimension to your page without making it look cluttered.
Origami
The ancient art of paper folding is often thought of as a relaxing hobby. Origami purists maintain that true origami is done without any cutting or gluing, however, there are some origami projects that require both. Smaller projects can be created with a single sheet of paper, and are easy enough for a child to make with some instruction. There is even a myth that says that if you fold 1,000 origami cranes you will be granted a single wish from a live crane. These 10 blogs will teach you different origami projects and give you some background on the art of folding paper.
- Origami Fireworks Watch this video to learn how to make a complex firework-inspired project out of various colors of paper.
- Origami Video Translation This video shows and explains how to create a flower that is called a Kusudama Flower.
- Origami—How to Make an Origami Mouse Follow these origami instructions to make a small mouse.
- Learn How to Make a Tomato-Shaped Origami Box This interesting box can actually hold small items that you can give someone as a surprise.
- Bear: Instructions Follow along with the video to create your own grizzly bear out of paper.
- Origami Rose Instructions: Printable Instructions and Video Sometimes you can’t see clearly on a video, so this blogger has included diagrams to follow as well.
- Origami Western Dragon Instructions This is not a project for beginners. The video alone for this complex dragon is over two hours long!
- Bug Origami: Water Bug There’s no video for this project, but there are clear instructions and a diagram.
- How to Fold an Origami Crane This project is simple enough for the kids to make, and the cranes are said to bring luck.
- How to Make an Origami Box with Lid Watch the video on this project to see how simple it is to make your own boxes out of paper.
Decoupage
In the simplest terms, decoupage is an art form that decorates another object by gluing paper to it. This can be tissue paper, a napkin or even a magazine picture. The glue not only holds the image down, but it protects the final product from damage as well. Japanning, which is similar to decoupage, has been around since the 18th century and used varnish instead of glue. You’ll find several different decoupage projects on these 10 blogs.
- Falling for Fun: Decoupage Candle Holders This simple project only has a few steps and is the perfect starting place for beginners.
- Decoupage—Parisian Treasure Box To create a similar project, you’ll need to find your favorite printed tissue paper.
- Easy Fall Décor—Decoupage on Glass Pitchers and Glasses Tutorial You’ll need an inexpensive set of glasses and a pitcher for this one-of-a-kind project.
- Mid Century Inspired Lampshade with Martha Stewart Crafts Decoupage Medium Use this new product to make your own lampshade.
- Make It: Decoupage Lace Pumpkin Decoupage medium will attach lace onto a faux pumpkin.
- Tutorial: Recycled Altered Decoupage Bottles Transform an ordinary glass bottle into a work of art by finding the right paper, napkin or tissue paper to decoupage onto it.
- Table Top Decoupage/ How to Redecorate with Mod Podge Projects Turn these generic TV trays into something special by covering them with a favorite piece of art.
- Map Covered Shelf Organizing Boxes Instead of purchasing expensive boxes at the store make your own with the help of these instructions.
- Update a Tote Bag with Martha Steward Decoupage Who says you can’t decoupage on fabric? This project will show you how to turn an old tote into something you’ll be proud to carry.
- Decoupage Canvases [DIY] Create your own canvas artwork by using decoupage medium and some scraps of fabric like this seamstress did.
Quilling
In quilling, narrow strips of paper are rolled up and then pressed into various shapes. This hobby originated with the monks in the 16th century when they would use the discarded edges that had been trimmed off the paper they used to document historical events. The paper was edged with gold and pricey, so it was used in lacier scroll work instead of the tighter rolls seen in modern quilling. Quilling can be done on a flat surface or can be made into a 3-D object. To learn more about quilling, read these 10 blog entries.
- Upsie Daisy Quilled Earrings Tutorial These step-by-step instructions will help you create your own unique set of earrings.
- Rustic Quilled Decorations If you’ve done quilling before you’ll notice this project is a little different because it requires quilling with strips of corrugated cardboard instead of paper.
- Recycled Paper Quilled Flower Have you ever seen the strips of paper that come out of a shredder? This project uses those strips to make flowers.
- Tutorial: Quilled Monogram Letter Follow the photos in this blog post to understand how to make your own quilled monogram.
- How to… Make Paper Quilled Butterflies You can use these butterflies in a scene with flowers or add some hardware and make them into earrings.
- How to Make Quilling Sunflower Step-by-Step DIY Tutorial Instructions If you’ve never used a quilling comb before, this is an easy project to start with.
- Get Craft with Quilling Learn how to make simple flowers, animals and insects using your quilling tool.
- Tutorial—Dimension Addition to Quilled Flowers Using a simple cone you can make your quilled flowers seem like they are popping right off of the paper.
- Tutorial: 3-D Quilled Fairy Girl Instructions Quilling is not just for flat projects anymore; you can make this 3-D fairy by following the instructions on this blog.
- {Tutorial} Giant Quilled Snowflakes from Sugar Plum Fairy Party These snowflakes make the perfect winter decorations.
Card Making
Making your own greeting cards is a labor of love. It was once thought that ‘homemade’ cards were cheaper than buying cards from the store, but today’s handmade cards are so intricate that they are often every bit as expensive as store-bought ones. People who make cards do so because they truly enjoy the hobby and those lucky enough to receive a handmade card should cherish it and appreciate all of the time and energy that went into making it. If you appreciate paper crafting, you may enjoy some of these 10 card making blogs.
- Paper Craft Tutorial—Woven Paper Aperture For this project you’ll need to trim some paper into thin strips, weave them together and use the woven paper behind a cut-out to make a card.
- Darkroom Door Rubber Stamps Tutorials These stamps are made from photos, so they give a whole different look to your cards.
- Making the Most of Your Digital Product: A Scrapbook Tutorial Using your digital scrapbooking program you can print out elements and build a card with them.
- Make Amazing Pop-Up Origami Dinosaur Invitations Follow the step-by-step instructions to make these clever invitations for your child’s next party.
- Project: Quilled Hearts & Flowers Valentine For something different for Valentine’s Day you may want to try this hearts and flowers design for a loved one.
- Strawberry Shaped Swinging Card Impress your guests by using these cards as invitations to a party or just as a way to say hello.
- Card Making Tutorials Watch this video to learn how to make a dimensional anniversary card.
- Tutorial for Handmade Card Making: Personalized Lab Coat Card for Doctors Whether you have a soon to be graduating doctor or you want to say a special thanks to your doctor, this card would be perfect.
- Window Cards Using Double-Sided Paper You can create visual interest by making a window on the front of your card.
- Card Making Tutorial: Simple Father’s Day Card Watch the video on how to make this Father’s Day card, which can also easily be made to celebrate any other holiday.
Flowers
Tissue paper flowers are becoming more popular as decorations for parties and holidays. The big colorful poofs of tissue paired with hanging paper lanterns will make quite the statement at your next gathering. Other paper flowers can be used in vases and will add a bit of whimsy to any tablescape. Try making some paper flowers of your own using the instructions on these 10 blogs.
- Simple Guide to Creating a Traditional Scrapbook: Make Your Own Brad Embellishments Use the thin tissue paper found in dress maker patterns to make these flowers.
- Origami Box with Handmade Paper Flower Watch the video on this blog to learn how to make a paper flower that can be used on gifts or cards.
- Paper Flowers Follow the instructions and photos here to learn how to make zinnias out of paper.
- Lunch Bags into Paper Flowers Try this simple, earthy project that creates flowers out of a paper lunch sack.
- DIY Paper Flower Bouquet for a Bridal Shower Follow the steps on this blog post to make your own paper flowers using circles of paper.
- Accordion Paper Flowers These flowers are made from hexagons. You can use a tool to help create them or cut your own and fold the hexagons to make the flower.
- How To: Tissue Paper Flowers This flower isn’t your standard tissue paper flower.
- Paper to Petal Try your hand at making these frizzy style paper flowers for your next dinner party.
- A Tutorial: Paper Flowers These flowers are similar to each other, but can be made to look totally different by changing how you round the ends and what colors you use.
- Easy to Make Paper Flowers These unusual flowers have a surprise chocolate center.
Holiday Decorations
Paper is so versatile that you can make everything you need to decorate your home for the holidays with it. You can top the tree with a 3-D star, create a paper garland to drape around the tree, make unique 3-D ornaments and even make paper Christmas trees to use around your home. If you are intrigued and would like to try some of these ideas for yourself, follow the directions in these 10 blog posts.
- Wrapping Paper Chains and Baubles You may think paper chains are not special enough to decorate with, but check out how the same paper chain technique can create a paper bauble.
- {Holiday Home Tour} It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Get ideas to decorate your own tree and home with the paper decorations on this blog.
- Geo Paper Christmas Decorations + Printable Template Download this template onto patterned paper to create unusual shapes to hang around your house.
- Christmas Theme: Vintage Book Page Ornaments & Decorations Check out all of the paper decorations on this tree – the book pages give it an antique look.
- Starstruck at Christmas Try making these 3-D stars, which can hang on your wall, turn into a garland for the mantel or be used as ornaments for the tree.
- Border Punched Ornaments You can use your fancy edged scissors when making these contemporary ornaments for the tree.
- Paper Decorations {Winter Edition} Use these templates to cut and fold unique shapes to hang on your tree or from a mantel.
- Rolled Paper Christmas Ornaments You can make these ornaments any size you’d like by changing the size of the squares of paper and the base circle.
- Paper Ball Ornaments Using whatever designer paper you want you can make these paper ball ornaments to hang from doorways, tree branches or gifts.
- DIY Modern Paper Ornament This spiky ornament is just the thing to add to your tree to create more texture and interest.
3-D Packages
When you give a gift to someone, do you just hand it to the recipient or do you wrap it up in a nice way? Sometimes the packaging can be just as much fun as the gift. You can make your own boxes and greeting cards from paper, and handmade packaging gives each gift an extra special touch. To learn how to make unique handmade boxes, check out these 10 blogs.
- Country Confetti Cone Make this cone and fill it with confetti and birdseed to send off the newlyweds in your life.
- How to Make a Simple Stationery Organizer Create this accordion folder out of designer paper to keep all of the cards that you make.
- Five-Sided Box with Pentagon Top Print out the pattern to make your own pentagon box and use it to give a special gift to someone you care about.
- Gift Card Gift Boxes! While thin, these boxes will make giving a gift card a bit more special than just throwing it into a store-bought card.
- Geometric Gift Boxes with Free Printable Make your gift giving unique with these paper boxes.
- Creative DIY Gift Box Design Ideas with Free Templates Try these templates to break away from square-sided boxes. They’re so special they don’t even need a bow!
- DIY Gift Boxes: Free DIY Miniature Pillow Box Printables These pillow boxes are perfect to fill with candy to keep on hand for last minute gifts.
- State Your Case These boxes are special enough to be the gift!
- Lego Gift Boxes (With Free Templates) The boxes on this post are easy to put together and work perfectly for holding party favors at a Lego party.
- DIY Paper Gift Box Free Template This box is perfect for May Day baskets or Easter baskets.
Zentangles
Some people like to craft, but find that they really don’t have the time or energy to mess with everything that’s entailed with more intricate projects. ‘Zentangling’ is a relatively new hobby that incorporates doodling inside a shape. Many people find Zentangling to be a very ‘zen’ experience, and often get lost in their project. All you need is a pen and some paper to get started, and you’ll quickly find that zentangling can help reduce your own stress levels too. Projects and pattern examples can be found in these 10 blogs.
- Zentangle Pumpkins In the mood for fall? Try this zentangle pumpkin to relax and do some doodling.
- End of Second Project (Lion Zentangle) This lion shape is filled with all sorts of Zentangle patterns.
- Zentangle Valentines DIY Start with a heart shape, divide it up into segments and fill it with patterns.
- Zentangle Projects Zentangles don’t need to be limited to regular shapes; why not try your hand at making a fairy?
- DIY Zentangle Rocks Make some of these Zentangle rocks to use as paper weights or conversation starters on the coffee table.
- A Window on Zentangle You need only to use what you’ve got when Zentangling. There’s no need to spend a ton of money on supplies, and this project proves it.
- Make a Zentangle Shrinky Dink Keychain Pick up some shrinkable plastic at your craft store to get started on this keychain project.
- A New Leaf Zentangle With leaves on the inside and a leaf shape on the outside, this Zentangle gives you many opportunities to fill in patterns.
- Zentangle Did you know you can Zentangle objects as well as paper? Check out these shoes and throw pillow that have been Zentangled.
- Zentangle Make a greeting card using Zentangle designs.
Bow Making
When people think of bows they typically think of ribbon, but you can create some impressive bows by using paper. These 10 bloggers share examples of paper bows and give you the steps so that you can try making some for yourself. The next time you wrap a present and find that you are out of bows just refer to these blogs and make your own.
- Wrapping Paper Bow No need for ribbon to dress up your packages; instead, try this project where you curl the wrapping paper.
- DIY Modular Gift Bow Cut your paper into the shapes shown on this blog post, put each section together and then stack them up to make a bow.
- Paper Bow Tutorial & Hybrid Roundup You can make a paper bow that looks like packaged bows.
- Pretty Paper Bow Flowers Dress up your packages with these paper flowers bows.
- Tutorial: How to Make a Bow Out of Recycled Magazines Use up those colorful magazine pages and save money by making bows from recycled magazines.
- Easy Paper Bow Tutorial and 3-D Decoupage Easel Card Using simple strips of designer paper you can make a bow for this stand up card.
- Paper Bow Tutorial Watch this video to learn how to make a paper bow that you can use to adorn any gift.
- First Evah Tutorial—Paper Bow Made with Oval Punches Put together these paper bows with just a few punches.
- Tutorial: Folded Paper Bow-Tie for Father’s Day Cards & Gifts Follow the instructions on this blog to make this unique bow tie.
- Pretty Paper Bow Tutorials These unique bows will add some spice to your presents.
