Story Molly McHugh and Simone Nash-Pronold

Photo Tara Khoshbin

With the idea of eco-consciousness so pervasive, people are trying to find ways to recycle, reduce, and reuse. But there are still objects we use that don’t have a place in the recycling bin. Try this do-it-yourself (DIY) project that utilizes old magazines to create a unique vase that can hold anything from fake flowers to pencils and pens.

The DIY community uses materials from beyond the craft store. After spotting an expensive vase made of old magazines at a trendy art store, Kyla Postrel asked herself, “Who would pay for that if they could just make one?” Postrel’s love of eco-conscious crafts and saving money led her to create the vase from old Newsweek pages.

Materials:

• Old magazines

• Glue stick

• Hot glue gun 

Instructions:

1. Run glue stick across a magazine page, then fold the page into a tight flattened tube. Make a large number of these tubes.

2. Tightly coil the tubes end-to-end into a spiral, using hot glue to secure them together as you go. 

3. Once the base is the size you want, start building up the sides until it has the height and shape you desire. 

Note: This vase cannot hold water. If you want to display real flowers in it, wrap the tubes around a cup or vase.