Lotus Flower Notecard Made Using All Recycled Materials

Handmade Recycled Paper Bead Necklace

It’s been my mission for several years to find a purpose for all the catalogs, junk mail and other paper products I’m constantly throwing away or tossing in the recycle bin.  I’m a creative person, I thought, there must be a way to reuse and repurpose these raw materials. I’ve tried numerous notecard ideas, handmade paper, paper beads and more.  The problem has always been that, though the finished product may be beautiful, it simply took too long to assemble and therefore, wasn’t saleable. 

Monogram Letter A Notecards Made From Recycled Materials

The lotus blossom notecards pictured at the beginning of this post are my latest attempt.  They’re made almost entirely from recycled materials.  The card stock came from cereal boxes, the white background paper was put together from junk mail or other scrap, the colored paper was taken from mail order catalogs and the brown paper on the back was once packing material.  Although it’s not recycled, the cards are fastened with sustainable hemp cord and the envelopes are made (elsewhere)from 100% recycled paper.

Lotus Flower notecards are all stamped on the back “Made Using Recycled Materials”

The lotus flower notecards, so far, have come the closest to being worth my while and I admit, they are fun to make.  I’ve listed several of these recycled cards in my Etsy shop, Catalina Inspired and I plan to offer them at the Catalina Festival of Art in two weeks along with my tile necklaces and crochet headbands.  Whether anyone else finds them as fun as I do, remains to be seen.