How to Make Newspaper Vases

Many of us remember making various things out of paper mache in school or at summer camp. For those of us who have maintained our enthusiasm for arts and crafts (as well as our newspaper subscriptions) making newspaper vases is a fun and creative activity--and it doesn't even require getting into the messiness of paper mache. Newspaper vases are a good way to recycle some of your leftover newspaper for use as gifts or even as items for sale on online craft sites, or you can just keep the vases for yourself and fill them with flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• 32-oz. or larger jar with lid
• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Spray paint, clear if you want the newspaper to show through
• Ribbon, yarn or rope to tie around the vase
• Clear sealer (optional)

Instructions

How to Make Newspaper Vases

1. Take three to five sheets of newspaper and roll them into a tube large enough to slide the jar inside. Make sure there are at least 4 inches of newspaper left extending over the jar once its been inserted into the tube. Once the newspaper is fitted to the circumference of the jar, tape it the newspaper together so it won't lose shape.

2. Place the jar inside the newspaper. Fold the bottom of the newspaper tube against the bottom of the jar, leaving at least 2 extra inches at the bottom of the tube to tape up against the newspaper touching the bottom of the jar. If you have more than 2 or 3 inches of newspaper tube left over, trim it off. Then tape the folded-over newspaper to the newspaper touching the bottom of the jar.

3. Place the newspaper-covered jar on a table or other flat surface. Fold over the top of the newspaper tube 2 to 3 inches, creating a sharply creased fold at the top of the tube. Then put the lid on the jar.

4. Spray paint the newspaper tube with your spray paint of choice. If you use clear spray paint, the newspaper content will show through on the vase, which is generally a nice effect, but if you want a black or red or rainbow vase, then feel free to get creative with the spray paint.

   Make sure you are spray painting in a well-ventilated area, preferably somewhere outdoors. After you've finished spray painting the entire exposed surface of the newspaper vase, let it dry completely, which will take at least several hours and possibly up to a day. A good indication of when the project is dry enough is that the newspaper has become stiff.

5. Remove the lid from the jar. Your newspaper vase is now ready. Tying a ribbon or other decorative string or yarn around the center of the newspaper vase is a nice visual touch that adds an element of support to the vase.

6. If you don't want to keep the jar as part of the newspaper vase, you can always remove the jar and coat the newspaper vase with a clear sealer to make it water-resistant. If you choose this approach you may want to use more than eight to 10 sheets of newspaper in making your vase.