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Saturday, October 31, 2009

how to get free rolls of paper

Happy Halloween! We hope you all had a spooky but safe night. I'm sorry I didn't get a recipe post up this week--I even promised Jessica I'd do it so she could have a bit of maternity leave! I was just way too busy putting together last minute Halloween treats. So fun!

I transformed this tea tin into a gift tin with Making Memories Spook Alley papers and embellishments. We'll do a tutorial using Christmas paper for you soon!




Then I used the rest of my supplies to make up little treat bags for my friends at work. I love the Spook Alley line. How are they going to top it next Halloween?



Okay, enough Halloween. On to today's post. Did you know you can get free blank newspaper from your local newspaper printing plant? Well, at least you can at the Seattle Times printing facility in Bothell, WA. I'm sure it's the same in many facilities around the country. When they print newspaper, they don't usually get to the end of the roll before they have to replace it. There is actually quite a bit of excess paper on those rolls, and they'll give it to you for free. Recently Stacy stopped by the facility near us and asked for any end of rolls they had. They gave her several, and she shared the love with me and our kids' preschool. So why in the world would you want the end of a roll of newspaper?

Here are a few ways I've used it:

*Table cover for craft night
*Table cover for kids craft activities
*Tablecloth for informal meals (plus you can let the kids color on it with crayons while they're waiting for their food like they do at some restaurants!)
*Floor cover for pumpkin carving (or other messy activities)
*Tracing kids' body shapes for various activities
*Blank paper for kids to color on
*Making your own sewing patterns
*"Green" gift wrap (let the kids paint it, first!)

I love that it's free, and that it's recyclable! We pulled it out more than once this Halloween season:


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19 comments:

  1. Angie - treasuresfortots@gmail.comNovember 1, 2009 at 1:56 AM

    A few years ago there used to be a BBQ grill that used newspaper as fuel - I can't remember the name of the grill!

    Anyhoo, we used a leftover newspaper roll we got from the Houma Courier. The BBQ wasn't very well made, but it would cook hamburgers, hotdogs, seafood, all kinds of stuff very quick and it tasted delicious too!

    It was small and very portable too - it eventually wore out - I miss that BBQ grill!

    I found a picture of it, but not the name!
    http://nannersbananners.blogspot.com/2009/09/miss-me.html

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  2. Kaye PrinceNovember 1, 2009 at 5:32 AM

    I always used to love playing with newsprint when I was a child! My Grandfather worked at our local paper and so he would bring some of the ends home for us to use (my Grandparents could not, and still can't, let anything go to waste). It's great for drawing, pattern drafting, tablecloths (especially good with kids around because they can draw on it), drop cloths, etc.

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  3. Teresa aka TessNovember 1, 2009 at 5:46 AM

    NOw why didn't I think of that. The free paper would come in handy with my cub scouts. I have 13 registered now and usually 8 10 will show up on any one given day. And sometimes all 13.

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  4. AnnieNovember 1, 2009 at 6:54 AM

    i've done that :) except at our dinky little newspaper, we have to pay $1. it' not too bad though :)

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  5. Live, Love, CraftNovember 1, 2009 at 8:05 AM

    Those cans are super cute! Thanks for the tip about the free paper! I will definitely check it out!

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  6. bedeliaNovember 1, 2009 at 10:52 AM

    yeah, our paper charged a buck too. Now they won't even do that. I wonder what they do with all those end rolls now.

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  7. Brakes and GasNovember 1, 2009 at 11:45 AM

    Great ideas! Love the custom wrapping paper idea!

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  8. Ann On and On...November 1, 2009 at 12:15 PM

    You put a lot of hard work into those Halloween treats!!! They look so cute!!!

    Fun post, thanks for the paper info.

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  9. AleNovember 1, 2009 at 5:50 PM

    I love this post!! Is very creative!!!

    Congratulations!!!

    I come back!!

    Ale

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  10. yufinatsNovember 1, 2009 at 8:22 PM

    the can looking great now!

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  11. IHaveANotion ~ Kelly JacksonNovember 1, 2009 at 8:28 PM

    I used to do that for Halloween and Easter. The individual gift bags. I wish I had the enthuasiam you have for these things now :)

    You do wonderful work and I love the idea of getting the news paper end rolls. Free is the best!!

    Thanks so much for sharing all your beautiful Halloween treats.

    Smiles,
    Kelly

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  12. Judson FamilyNovember 1, 2009 at 11:16 PM

    Those cans are super cute

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  13. The Harris FamilyNovember 2, 2009 at 5:19 AM

    Hi!!
    This is my first time commenting on your blog and I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading it!! I created your franken pops (Check it out here: http://aclassicbuckeyefamily.blogspot.com/2009/10/frankenstein-pops.html ) & they were a crowd favorite!!

    You have such creative ideas. I hope you and your family had a happy & dafe Halloween.

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  14. JillNovember 2, 2009 at 11:05 AM

    That an interesting tip...but I really wanted to comment on those cute Halloween treat bags...I want one!

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  15. ThreadBeaurNovember 2, 2009 at 12:25 PM

    That is really a great place to look for craft paper! I am off now to email my local newspaper printer, and see if I can get some paper too!

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  16. emNovember 2, 2009 at 2:40 PM

    I live out in Philly and have used end rolls for packing paper whenever we move. It's perfect!!

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  17. kristibNovember 2, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    I got an end roll in AL for a small fee, but totally worth it. We also used it for padding when we packed up our boxes to move.

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  18. AndreaNovember 2, 2009 at 10:17 PM

    I love your blog and have nominated you with the Kreativ Blog Award, thanks for sharing all your ideas and fun projects, it's such a fun time for me to sneak a peak at what you all have going on! Keep it coming! Check out www.healthyeasyrecipes.blogspot.com/ to see your nomination!

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  19. CherylNovember 3, 2009 at 9:43 AM

    We used to get those newspaper rolls too. As you said excellent for tablecloths and gift wrap. I hung it (low) on the wall so kids could draw on it (maybe not a good habit to get kids drawing on walls)! In college we'd cover the elevator doorway with the paper which freaked out the elevator riders. Many a school sign was made with that stuff! Tahnks for your ideas!

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