Scrap Paper Garland

I used to be a paper scrapbooker. Years ago. I still love to make handmade cards and other crafty stuff, but I don't really paper scrapbook anymore. Not in the traditional sense anyway… Project Life? Yes! Anyway, I have stacks and piles of scraps of patterned paper. This scrap paper garland is a great way to use paper scraps and pieces that probably won't be used for anything else, and it's pretty cute, too! It's super simple, so get the kids involved. My daughter loved working on this with me.

First, we tore the paper up into little pieces. No measurements, nothing precise… just tear. We used Elmer's glue thinned with a little bit of water (you could also use Mod Podge) and a foam brush to adhere the scraps to a sheet of white card stock.

I think the easiest method is to brush the glue on the paper (work a section at a time so the glue doesn't dry before you're finished) and stick the scraps to them. Overlap the pieces so that there is no white left showing. It doesn't matter if they aren't stuck all the way down because once the white paper is covered, you brush a thin layer of glue over the entire sheet.

Once the white card stock is completely covered and you've brushed a layer of glue over the top, let the mosaic paper dry completely before completing the next step.

Turn the paper over and trace hearts over the entire sheet (we used a cookie cutter as a stencil). Cut the hearts out and punch a small hole on each side.

Thread a thin string (or ribbon, yarn, cord, whatever) through the punched holes of each heart to create the garland.

We used our garland to decorate for Valentine's day. The great thing about this is it can be adapted for any occasion depending on the colors/patterns of paper you use and the shape.

Getting Kids to Help

I shared this simple idea via Instagram and Facebook last week and got a lot of response and questions, so I thought I'd also share it here. Post-It Notes are my way of getting my kids helping with our Saturday jobs:

I write down all the jobs that need to be done on individual Post-It notes (I usually use small square ones, but I was out so I just cut normal-sized ones in half for this week). I put all the jobs on the fridge, and my kids just keep picking and doing jobs until they're all gone. They can only pick one job at a time, so they can't get a new one until they finish the job they've already picked. This prevents kids from picking all the easiest jobs right at the beginning (yes, there have been some who have tried). Someone asked me if I color code them. Not really. If I have some I want done first (in case we have a busy day and run out of time or something), then I'll put them on different colors and say "yellow jobs first" or whatever color. That way I make sure the most-needed jobs definitely get done that week.

Does your family have "Saturday jobs"? Do you have one day of big jobs, or do you spread it out throughout the week? (Saturday jobs are our big weekly cleaning jobs, but we often do them on Friday afternoons if we don't have anything going on so we can take Saturday off.)

What systems work for you? (Always looking for new ideas to incorporate!)