How to Make (No Cost) Biodegradable Confetti

This project is a great way to engage yourself and your family. Using biodegradable confetti not only helps to minimize waste but also allows for a guilt-free way to add a festive touch to any occasion. Whether it's fluttering down during a wedding send-off or sprinkled over a birthday party, biodegradable confetti provides a colorful and eco-conscious option for celebrating special moments. By choosing biodegradable confetti, individuals can enjoy the fun and beauty of confetti without harming the planet, making it a responsible choice for those who want to make a positive impact on the environment. This project is sure to put a smile on your face once completed.

Supplies Needed for Biodegradable Confetti

• leaves in various colors and sizes – I used mostly variegated rubber plant leaves.
• hole punch
• scissors

What kind of hole punch should I use for making leaf confetti?

You can use a regular single hole punch, that cuts small circles similar in size to typical confetti. Or you can use a shape hole punch, in any size smaller than the leaves you are using, to create larger shapes for your confetti. I used both (see photos for the heart shaped hole punch and standard single hole punch I used) and they both worked really well.

How to Make Biodegradable Confetti

1. Pick and gather the leaves.

You can pluck leaves off of an existing plant or search for leaves that have already fallen, on the ground. The leaves can be fresh or older and more dried out.

I like typically like to pluck leaves off of the plants in and around my house that are damaged, so I can make confetti that has pretty green colors in it. Leaves that have leaf scorch are typically the ones I’ll pluck. I just cut off the damaged areas and use the rest of the leaf for confetti.

Another option is using dried up leaves that have fallen on the ground already. They are completely fine to use, they just may be a more used or brownish color. And may be a bit more brittle for hole punching.

2. Clean the leaves.

I find that cleaning the leaves with a damp cloth helps a lot. Brings back the natural beauty of the color variations in a leaf and get rid of any dirt (or bug) buildup.

It’s not something you want to have to think about after the confetti is already cut. That would be way to much work to clean at that point.

3. Punch the leaves.

Using a hole punch, any size and shape, punch through the leaves as many times as possible, all the way around.

Once you’ve gone around the entire outer area of a leaf, and can no longer reach further in with your hole punch, use scissors to cut that part off. Then start again with a new series of holes all the way around the perimeter.

Keep doing these two things (hole punching and cutting the ends off) until the leaf has been completely used up.

You can also use scissors to cut the remaining leaf scraps into tiny pieces to use as confetti as well. Obviously, those pieces won’t be the same shape as the rest of your confetti. So if you want everything to be uniform, skip using the last leaf scraps.

4. Collect your newly made biodegradable confetti.

Collect all of your newly made eco friendly confetti from the hole punch(es) you used. And you’re ready to party!