Creativity: Sometimes It’s a Disease (15 Ways to Reuse Packing Paper)

Recycling?

I know this will come off like bragging, but it’s really not. I’m confessing that I have a disease. It’s the disease of a brain that won’t leave well enough alone. It really is a curse.

My disease surfaced recently while visiting our engaged daughter. Wedding gifts kept arriving, often packed in perforated paper, hereafter called “perf.” She was going to throw out the packing paper, but I couldn’t let the perf go. This could be taken as a symptom of hoarding, but I prefer to think of it as a tendency to recycle. Reuse, repurpose, recycle, right? So I packed the perf in my luggage and took it home. How could I reuse this cool stuff?

I made a couple of Valentine gifts with it for my grandsons. I arranged packs of fruit snacks into a heart shape with some package tape. Then I covered these hearts with white perf, stretching it to look lacy. Tying them up with red satin ribbon was the finishing touch. They looked half-way decent and my grandsons are young enough to not be too judgmental. The main thing is that Grandma sent them something. Just using gift bags probably would have been better and definitely easier. But the disease had me in its grip at this point.

Green Gift Wrap

Perf is totally recyclable, so there is no real need to use it first. With the perforations it will decompose quickly into compost. However, I could use it to wrap Christmas gifts and to use less wrapping paper with inks. That’s a good thing and my family won’t mind. It’s also a good substitute for tissue paper in gift bags.

Then I started thinking about how the perf was similar to the decorative mesh so popular for outdoor wreaths and bows. This could be used on an indoor wreath that could be rather nice with a few small ornaments hung on. You could also give the white perforated paper a dusting of silver spray paint. The brown perforated paper would look great with a dusting of gold spray paint. And wouldn’t the brown perf make a great turkey for Thanksgiving? Beekeeper hat for a Halloween costume? Make a Fall decoration of a scarecrow from brown perf?

Cut perf into strips about 4 inches wide to use as a garland or bunting. With the holes you can even attach items to it. You might want to spray paint it after cutting, but I like the plain look too! This could be a nice natural look garland for a Christmas tree.

How about wrapping cardboard shapes with perf? Hearts, stars, and other holiday shapes could look great. Use ribbon or twine to tie the perf into place. Wrap cardboard letters with perf to spell a name or whatever. Spray paint if you like.

You could use a strip of perf as an indoor trellis for climbing ivy. Tack or staple it where you want the vine to go.

Basket filler? It’s nice an springy to nestle items in and you can even wrap a few of the items with it too.

There are some problems in using perf. Tape won’t stick to it even though it seems to be just paper. It’s a very slick surface. I tried using my hot glue gun on it, but even using chopsticks to protect my fingers, it was a hot mess. It seems that using something to tie it is the best approach. Ribbon, wire, string, etc. can hold it in place. Staples could work in some situations. It’s a bit of a challenge. Could be that’s why you don’t see perf used in crafts that much.

For teens or in a college room where it’s ok to be a little funky, there are all kinds of uses. It could be stretched over a bulletin board for a kind of cool textured look. How about stretched across a window as a lacy privacy screen? A paper lacy curtain that you tack to the window sill? I could see a lampshade cover that you can pin things to? Artwork? A paper necktie? Take photos of your friends with stretched perf over them?  Somebody stop me.

Still, I’ll probably just use it for gift wrap for the family’s Christmas gifts. I won’t use it as gift bag filler because then I’d be tempted to rescue it for further reuse. I tell you, it’s a disease.

Then again, maybe I’ll just let the cat play with it!