Other Things you can do with Packaging Materials!!!

Alternative uses of shipping supplies!!!!!

Packaging supplies, while practical when utilized in the traditional sense, can also be a source of innovation, ingenuity and frugality when used creatively. Over the next few posts, we’ll look at 101 nonconventional uses for packaging supplies. Whether you’re a parent, teacher or business person, you’re sure to find something interesting!
1. Homemade cards – Kids and adults love to receive homemade cards, and what better product to use to create them than brown kraft paper? It’s sturdy and neutral, the ideal base for a memorable craft!
2. Homemade envelopes – Just as you used the brown kraft paper to create cards, you can also use it to create envelopes. (They can even be mailed!) Remember to make room for a legible “send to” and “return” address as well as a place for a United States postal stamp.
3. Canoes – No, really! You can turn regular brown kraft paper into small (doll-sized) canoes that really float! There are plenty of designs online, so finding a pattern is easy. You could even have a game at a kid’s birthday party – make a canoe and see if it can win a race!
4. Fingerpainting Surfaces – Brown kraft paper is perfect for messy fingerpainting projects. Not only does it absorb excess paint (and what youngster doesn’t lay it on pretty doggone thick?), but it also has a naturally textured neutral-colored surface that really makes the paint come to life.

5. Personalized Place

Mats – Another great craft for children is making homemade place mats using brown kraft paper and paint, crayons, markers, stickers, glue, glitter and whatever else will work! The placemats will be sturdier than those created on average-weight paper and can even be laminated for many months of usage.
6. Books – Kids and teens (and some adults, too!) like to create their own picture books, and brown kraft paper has a wonderful surface. It also is tough enough to be “stitched” (either using a needle and thread or even a sewing machine – slowly, of course) so any handwritten picture book or collection of illustrated poems will last for generations.
7. Homemade Beads – Did you know that you can make homemade beads out of brown kraft paper? All you have to do is cut the paper into very long, thin triangles. Create the bead by laying a knitting needle or disposable wooden skewer on the longest end of the triangle. Fold the long end of the triangle over the skewer, then apply glue to the rest of the triangle. From there, just start rolling! Eventually, you’ll wind up at the tip; if you’ve applied enough glue, the “bead” will completely adhere to itself. Remove the bead from the knitting needle or skewer and place on a non-stick surface (such as wax paper) to dry. Once finished, beads can be painted and strung on ribbons, yarn, leather strips, you name it!
8. Customized Wrapping Paper – Make holidays especially unique this year with customized wrapping paper! Just use your brown kraft paper as a base and then let your imagination go wild! Kids adore this activity, especially younger ones who cannot yet easily wrap gifts themselves but want to contribute to the process.
9. Fun Hats – Brown kraft paper is stiff enough to make a plethora of hats (you can find schematics online). From traditional “pirate fare” to fantastical robot helmets, these hats will be much nicer and heartier than their newspaper-based counterparts. (They won’t bleed newsprint on kids’ heads, either!)
10. Fun Playthings for Parties – Who doesn’t love popping the bubbles on bubble wrap? For your next party, give out strips of bubble wrap as “favors!” Sure, everyone will laugh and make a joke… but before long, they’ll be popping like crazy! It’s addictive… in a great way.