How about that?? I ended up making a very cute little duckling which also served a purpose! This is a little container that I made for my daughter Little Missy. She uses this to store little trinkets and is delighted with how tiny and "kawai" it is! 

I actually had a few sticks left over, after completing a recent project, so wanted to use those remaining sticks. And well, this was the size I could make without having to roll and paint new ones! So a duckling instead of a duck! I should addceyes, I guess, but I thought it looked good even now, no? 

Another first for me is that I have woven this as a free form, that is, I usually have a base form over which I weave. But I wanted to see how it went without a form and I think it has come out fairly well.

Model Details:

Model: Duckling shaped container

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

This little heart box is my attempt to organise my desktop with a few recycled boxes. For the first one, tried out a heart box. The base is made from cardboard, since I wasn't too sure I would be capable of weaving a heart shaped base!! 😄😄 The heart-shaped cardboard was covered with newspaper that was then painted the same colour as the tubes.

Based on the size of the box, I started with tubes placed at an interval of 1.5 cms. I find this is the ideal placement of tubes. I tried 2 cms distance but I found the weaving to be too spaced out. Smaller distances makes weaving difficult for me! So 1.5 cms it is.

After that, it was a very simple weave with 2 tubes. Finishing off was also pretty easy. Then it was just a matter of glazing the box to give me a really hard and sturdy heart-shaped organiser for my desk.

Model Details:

Model: Heart Shaped Desk Organiser

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Tutorial for making the edge: Youtube

After the strenuous coiled or root-woven tray from my last post, I was more than happy to try out this acorn box made from black newspaper tubes.

I have been trying out various acrylic colours which will completely blot out any print in my newspaper tubes. For the lighter colours, I have no choice but to use white or mostly-white tubes. Otherwise the print is very obviously visible and I just don't like it. As a consequence, I find that I am left out with a  lot of tubes that have newspaper print/coloured pictures on them.

One way to go is to use them as-is and weave my boxes with the print and pictures visible in the end product. I find that there are a lot of people who like this and I have had some orders where I have been specifically asked to use the newspaper tubes without any colours added.

On the other hand, I have also been experimenting with dark colours that I can use on these tubes, to hide the print, and the very best colour is, of course, black. Other than black, dark blue, prussian blue, deep red and dark green also work well.

So for my acorn box, I have used black tubes to form the base and the lid. The base was woven with a form, which was a plastic bowl of the required size. I tried out a 3-strand weaving, which I liked very much. The lid started off as a flat plate, with the edges turned down to convert into a lid. I added the little knob at the very end.

Model Details:

Model: Black Acorn Box

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Shades of Blue is my current version of the bowl that I had initially tried out a few days back. I am very pleased with the way this bowl has turned out. The base of smoother than my previous efforts and the weaving is much improved, even if it is not where I want it to be!

As in my previous attempt, I went ahead with a gradation in colour. The paper I have used is without any print, so the lighter colours have turned out clear and without any marking. For the darker blue, of course, the tubes with print works just as well as the tubes without print, since the print is barely visible.

To achieve a more graded colour change, I weaved a couple of rows with a mix of dark and light blue, before switching to the lighter colour. I like the effect this produces.

The side view gives a good view of the rim of the bowl. The weaving pattern is the same as the base (tutorial link at the end of the post). The rim is harder to weave than the base, because it is narrower than the base. But that gives a fuller and smoother appearance I thought. What do you think?

The bottom of the bowl is by far, my favourite part of this project! I love the evenness of the base and I think I have much improved in this one area. Of course, this is the part that is lease visible! 😆😆 But that doesn't stop me from admiring my improved attempts!! 😂😂

So what do you think? Do you like it? Should I try other colours? Do drop a comment 😀

Model Details:

Model: Woven Bowl - Shades of Blue

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Picture Tutorial for the thick rimmed bottom: Stranamasterov

My second attempt at making a bowl was a better success I think! I have been repeatedly told that the tubes in which the print is visible, are much more unique in appearance. So I went ahead with printed tubes which were coloured in shades of blue.

The base started off with a deep blue, which forms the rim of the bowl. As in my previous post, the base is formed using the same method. One thing I noticed is that, the deeper the colour, the lesser the print is visible.

I had used 3 shades of blue. Deep blue at the base, a lighter version in the middle and finally, a light blue to finish it off. The finish needs some work and hopefully this will become better in the subsequent attempts!

Once the bowl was complete, since I had some more tubes, I decided to go ahead and make a pen stand. This turned out quite sturdy and useful.

Finally, a coating of varnish to strengthen and protect the pieces and I am all set!

Ok, New Year and new trials! 😆 So my latest trial in newspaper weaving involved attempting a bowl. And this has been a project of new attempts!

First, till now, my problem has been getting a good bowl shape. Why? Because one cannot use a base form when weaving the top half of the bowl. This is more of weaving by look-and-feel and frankly speaking, I am not yet very good at this look-and-feel weaving!! But, I am getting there. I hope!! 😄😄 And this bowl was my first attempt at that.

In addition, I tried out a new way of moving from the base to the walls of the bowl. This gives a nice, thick rim to the base, which makes the bowl much more stable than usual. I found this style of weaving quite difficult, but in the days to come I hope to master this technique.

And last, I ended up using a mix of 2 colours randomly! A rust-coloured base with a orange coloured tubes in the rim of the bowl. Well, this is my attempt to try out new combinations in the hopes of striking something interesting! I don't know if I have achieved what I hoped for, but at least I had a go at it!!

Model Details:

Model: Woven Bowl

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Picture Tutorial for the thick rimmed bottom: Stranamasterov

So, turns out that newspaper tubes that actually show the newspaper are very popular. I have had repeated demands to make more such products and that is exactly what I have done.

This box, made from brown and yellow newspaper tubes, is about 6 inches tall and has a diameter of around 4 inches. For relief, I added some brown wooden beads. And I am also figuring out how to add an indent at the edge, so that the lid fits in well. I still have not perfected this bit, but I believe I will eventually get it 😊

Altogether, I am pleased with the outcome. Still some way to go before I am perfectly happy with what I make, but not too shabby for now, huh? 

After doing quite a bit of newspaper weaving, I tried my hand at magazine art. In both kinds of art, the principle remains the same - reusing old paper to create new objects. So paper from magazines and newspapers can be rolled in the same way, to form long paper tubes. These paper tubes can then be used in a  variety of ways.

In the case of newspaper weaving, since the paper is not very glossy, it is more conducive to colouring and weaving. Magazine paper is glossy, shiny paper, so colouring the paper is very difficult. And in any case, the glossy print stands out without the addition of any colours. But of course, given the shiny nature, it is quite difficult to weave using this paper. So I decided to convert the magazine tubes into pen holders.

The process for making the pen holders is pretty easy - glue the tubes to form a long rectangular strip and then roll it around a cardboard base to form a pen stand. But the process is quite tedious and quite time consuming. The pen-stands though, are really eye catchy!

Well, that was my bit to save the environment 😃 I think any one can give it a go. And end up with unique, handmade pen stands which make great gifts as well. Please gift only to those who appreciate handmade things though.. Else, it is just a waste of time!

Since I am fairly confident of making circular dishes using newspaper weaving, I decided to venture a little further and try my hand at other shapes. The model I had readily available with me was a square dish, so I decided to use that to make these knick-knack dishes.

I made a series of them. The first was made using pastel coloured newspaper tubes, that were actually left-overs from previous projects. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out!

For the next couple, I used a mix of brown and yellow tubes with the newspaper print visible. I have come to realise that people are more attracted to the products which show the print, rather than those made from the plain, coloured tubes. I guess when the print is visible, it provides additional proof that it is really made from paper? I don't know, that is just a guess 😀

Anyway, I have also developed a liking for these rolls, so I hope to make more products using similar paper. For now, I am happy with the way these dishes have turned out. The brown ones have been confiscated as soon as they were done - apparently my brother absolutely needs them to organise his office desk!  And the pastel one has, naturally, been taken over by Little Miss. So that was that. 3 dishes done and I still lack dishes to organise my own desk! 😄

Well, a recent order for a pot holder made from newspaper rolls with order to 'go crazy!' gave me the liberty to try out this cute snail pot holder. Since I wanted the newspaper print to be visible, I coloured the paper with print in brown and cream and ended up with a real cute holder.

To hold the snail shape, I threaded the tubes with wire - that meant I was able to shape it well and it also made the weaving a lot easier! Finally 2 too big eyes and a coat of varnish and the holder was ready 😊

Here is the holder with a small pot in it. The picture really does not do justice to how well it turned out! And once the order was complete, I needed to make one more, since Little Miss had fallen in love with it. So the next one I made was smaller and was more of a pen stand. I reused some of the newspaper tubes from another project and ended up with a yellow and purple snail pen holder.

By far, my most professional attempt at my paper weaving projects, this orange and grey newspaper woven cup and saucer is my personal favourite. 

The tubes were actually part of my previous project - a coffee themed oval container. I loved the colour combination, so decided to make another project using the same. 

A lot of planning went into this set - from the way to start off and the method to interchange the colours, the reverse rope pattern in the centre, the edging of the saucer and also the cup - everything was planned. And I must say I am quite happy with the way it turned out. Specifically, I love the cross-pattern of the bottom and the beauty of the edging for both saucer and cup. 

To add durability to the handle, I ended up threading a wire through the 2 main anchoring tubes. So once I varnished it, the handle became incredibly strong. And overall, the cup can hold quite a bit of weight. 

I believe I have waxed eloquent about the project!! I do realise that the height is not even and this is my biggest problem. I am yet to figure out a way to maintain consistency, but I believe I will get there 😊

A Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there! This Mother's Day, I had made a couple of newspaper woven heart containers (photographed only one though) to 2 special ladies in my life - my mom and my mom-in-law.

These two women have always been supportive of everything I do and have encouraged me to go after my dreams. They are both strong women and have been instrumental in helping me become stronger, both mentally and spiritually. And to these wonderful women, I wish a very happy Women's Day :)

To create these heart containers, I decided to use some lovely card stock paper with pink and blue hearts. Little Miss helped me pick out matching grosgrain ribbon for the bows. I went with an odd number of base tubes so that the dark blue/light blue combination would show up better.

I must say that forming the dip at the top of the heart was quite challenging. I still have to perfect it. Since the shape was something different, I ended up having to make a base form. This ensured that my piece did not go out of shape. I have finally got the hang of managing the height of the containers. So in the heart box, the height was pretty much consistent. 

So that's about it. I already have a couple of orders for making these heart boxes. So I'll get cracking and will be sure to post pics of the completed items. And once again, a happy Mother's Day 😃

A round storage box measuring 6 inches tall and 9.5 inches across is my latest foray into the art of newspaper weaving. For this container, I did not paint the tubes, but rather used the regular newspaper tubes with print, to weave the box. Once everything, including the lid, was completed, I painted everything with white acrylic paint. While I was able to get a good, white container, I must say it is much less tedious to paint the tubes before weaving! Painting the nooks and crannies of the completed object is really really tiresome.

Finally, to add some colour, I included some decoupage using decoupage napkins and I must say I love the effect.

The lid has a little bow on top, though it turned out a little too small. But it works as an effective handle.

As soon as the work was done and everything dried up and hardened, Little Miss came right along and picked up the container and declared that it was hers as she had absolutely nothing to store her things! 😄 So that was that. Apparently if I needed one for myself, I better make another one, this one was not available..

My second attempt at making an oval container has been quite a success, if I do say so myself! My first attempt was the blue box which was not that great, frankly speaking. Naturally, I wanted to retry it, but this time I decided to go with a decoupaged cardboard base. And I wanted a closed box, so decided to try the lid as well.

The decoupage tissue was in orange and grey, with a coffee theme, so I went for the same colour combination for my paper tubes as well. The orange came out very well. The grey was a hit and a miss - it looks a little grey and a little brown!

The style of weaving remains the same as before - a Layer-wise Rope Style Pattern. I used 3 grey tubes followed by an orange tube for a total of 32 tubes. The lid was a basic lid with a little loop to help open it. Finally, I double-glazed the entire thing to make it real hard. In addition to making it hard, it made it a little glossy as well, which I am not too happy about. I prefer a matt finish to a gloss one.

When it comes to newspaper weaving, I tend to colour the tubes before I start weaving. But for a change, I attempted a weave with the newspaper print still visible. I saw an apple container while surfing the net and decided to have a go at it. And this was the result.

The start of the apple container and lid was done using black newspaper tubes. And the rest was made of regular newspaper tubes - no colour. As much as possible, I went for plain print without any pictures and other colours.

I love the way the stalk came out. Wetting the tubes before winding it works wonders and prevents cracking. The leaf also came out great. While the container was nothing unusual, the lid was done differently. To give an apple-like shape, after winding the stalk, there is a dip and then the lid is formed. Well, the dip came out well, but the lid turned out to be slightly skewed.

I added a little decoupage to the container. And that too turned out great I think.

I thought it came out great for a first attempt, but clearly there is still work to be done. 

In recent days, I have been experimenting with newspaper weaving. So what exactly is newspaper weaving? In this art, we roll up newspaper strips into tubes, paint the tubes using acrylic colours and then weave the tubes into various shapes.

Easy to write, very difficult to do - at least for me! I have been trying out various methods of rolling, painting and weaving the tubes. Have been fairly successful, but if I browse the net for what others have done, I can see exactly how amateurish my attempts look!

But in recent attempts, the output has been pretty good, if I do say so myself! My latest attempt at weaving is this cup and saucer combination, made from lavender and brown tubes. Tutorials abound on the net, both written and video tutes and I have used them as much as possible to finally complete this product. And I must confess, I am quite proud of how it has turned out :)

The saucer measures about 7 inches in diameter, the cup (which is attached to the saucer) has a 5-inch base and measures about 6 inches in height. The toughest part was making the handle, I just couldn't figure out how people got such close loops!! Finally, practise paid off and I managed to shape the handle well.

At the end, I coated the entire thing in a mix of fevicol and water and allowed it to dry overnight. And now I have a good, very sturdy (you would be surprised to see how sturdy newspaper tubes turn out to be!) and pretty cup and saucer set, made entirely from newspaper!

An excellent way to recycle, I think :) 

I am sure most of us have tried our hand at weaving paper mats, at least when we were kids. I have made quite a few paper mats and then moved on to making little bowls by using the same technique.

Recently, my sister-in-law, whose office is eco-friendly, wanted me to try using newspapers to make an eco-friendly waste paper basket for her office. It appealed to me very much, so I got to work folding newspaper sheets into thick strips to form the basis for my woven basket. Unfortunately, the end wasn't very appealing!

I searched around for another way and with Youtube to my rescue, finally figured out how to roll newspaper tubes and use these as the basic material for making my basket. This tutorial gave me a good start. I made a bowl initially and since that turned out quite fine, I then made a basket.

As per instructions from my daughter, Little Miss, I coated the finished products with a layer of glue/water mix - apparently that is how it is done in some of the art shows that she watches on TV! The end result was a very stable, recycled, eco-friendly bowl/basket, that is great for storing a variety of things. I am yet to make the waste basket though!