How to Make Photo Confetti

What to do with all of that extra scrap paper lying around the house? Waste not, want not. How about putting it to use by making personalized confetti for a wedding reception or other special event? It's high on the "great idea" factor and the perfect craft activity for kids in the family who are "bored!" Here are some great ideas.

Things You'll Need

• Old paper (photo, construction, velum, regular, you get it)
• Computer and printer
• Digital collection of favorite photos
• Paper cones (made from paper remnants)
• Stickers
• Hole punches and die cutters

Instructions

1. Gather up all of your scrap paper from the kids' crafts, photo printing, plain office paper printed on one side and whatever else you can muster up.

2. Collect digital photos you'd like to feature on the confetti. If it's for a family wedding, for instance, you can ask other family members to forward photos of the happy couple to use for the project.

3. Consider including images of "favorite things" like flowers, candy, toys, beaches; you get the drift. Use royalty free sites to search for images or just for inspiration to take your own shots (see Resources below for links to free photo sites).

4. Upload your photos to a photo mosaic program like the Flickr Mosaic Maker from Big Blue Labs (see Resources).

5. Print the mosaic on the scrap paper, then create the confetti using different sizes and shapes of punches and die cutters (see Resources).

6. Use the same punches and die cutters on colored scraps of construction paper and velum to create the colorful confetti effect.

7. Form colored paper into cones. Secure with a sticker and fill with the confetti for a wedding or special event.

8. Make several batches at once, for instance, a set featuring close friends that you can bring to their house as a hostess gift or a set of the kids to break out during cake time at the next birthday party.

Tips & Warnings

• Save the templates you use, so the next time you want to make photo confetti you already have it formatted.

• Borrow punches and die cutters from friends who are into scrapbooking.

Resources

• Shutterstock
• Fotolia
• iStockphoto
• Dreamstime
• Free Digital Photos
• Big Stock Photo
• Mosaic Maker
• Michaels Scrapbooking