Crafting holiday ornaments from recycled materials

This CD was painted with the recycle, reuse, reduce logo.Go green this year at Christmastime by making ornaments from recycled materials. With a little imagination, it's possible to recycle a whole range of items into festive decorations, and this has the twin benefits of keeping rubbish out of landfills and reducing the need to buy new items.

Tips for Making Ornaments from Recycled Items:
This Grinch is a painted incandescent light bulb. It's moved over to make room for the energy efficient LED.• Start collecting recyclables early. Keep a box for unusual and interesting colored and textured materials. Naturals are shells, bath tissue rolls, old Christmas cards, used incandescent light bulbs, individual cereal boxes, pinecones and popsicle sticks.
Leftover dough from holiday pies can be reused to make charming dough ornaments.• Use low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint for additional color.
• Foil wrapping papers are great for adding sparkle to decorations.
• Save wrapping paper and gift bags from birthdays and special occasions – these can often be recycled for Christmas use with the addition of some festive adornments.
This whimsical painted Santa is made from a found starfish.• Tissue paper can used to wrap clothes or delicate items is very useful for a variety of things. This can easily be ironed with a warm iron to remove any crinkles. Re-purposed tissue paper and gift wrap give old glass ornaments a new face, and scraps decoupaged on provide a nice stained glass effect.
Has your Scramble game lost some letters over the years? Use the rest to make cheery holiday greetings.• Recycle old telephone book pages into paper cones filled with candy. For a variation, try newspapers – both black & white and four color.
This found pinecone sparkles with a coat of gold paint.• Children's block letters can be used for personalized ornaments representing each family member's initials.
• Old buttons, used corks and puzzle pieces can be used for decorations, or strung together with yarn for colorful tree garlands.
• Ribbons of all widths make perfect hangers.