How to Make (No Cost) Biodegradable Confetti

Biodegradable confetti is actually REALLY easy to make and chances are you already have everything you need in (and around) your home. Wanna know how to make your own natural confetti in literally ONE minute or less? Keep reading…

For parties and celebrations, biodegradable confetti is becoming more and more popular, especially with outdoor gatherings. But why? There are a couple of reasons, but the first one is that biodegradable confetti is a sustainable choice that you can feel good about. And secondly, this type of natural confetti doesn’t require any cleanup because it’s made from nature – more specifically leaves. What’s not to love?

Eco friendly confetti is PERFECT for weddings too, imo. So if you have a celebration coming up, be sure to check out the very quick and extremely easy tutorial.

Why make eco friendly confetti when you can just buy confetti instead?

There are plenty of reasons to make your own eco friendly confetti:

1. It’s good for the environment. 
2. You don’t have to clean it up afterwards, if you’re outdoors.
3. It doesn’t cost any money to make.
4. Natural confetti made of leaves is very easy to make. 
5. You are able to use what you have instead of buying something new.
6. AND the finished confetti is really cute!

Making natural confetti with leaves is one of those meditative / zone out DIYs that you can do while watching tv, talking on the phone, etc.

I’ve been making biodegradable confetti for years now, way back to when I came up with 3 DIY gift wrapping ideas to go with my things to get your Dad list of lovelies. And I also did some bigger heart cut out kale leaves for a Valentine’s Day project way back.

Obviously, it is a few extra steps from just buying confetti. BUT its easy and it won’t cost you any money at all to make, if you already have a hole punch (assuming you have leaves from your plants to use around your home). Even if you have to buy a hole punch, that’s only $5 and you can make an endless amount of confetti with that one hole punch. Or buy one bag of confetti from the store for $10.

Additionally, this would be a great project to get kids involved with as well. You could turn it into a larger activity by adding a nature walk beforehand to collect all the leaves you can find that have fallen on the ground.

You could use this sustainable DIY confetti for so many occasions, including…

• weddings
• birthday parties
• Valentine’s Day
• graduation
• baby shower
• and so many other celebrations

Supplies Needed for Biodegradable Confetti 

• leaves in various colors and sizes – I used mostly variegated rubber plant leaves.
• hole punch – See below for types of hole punches that work best.
• 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!

How long does biodegradable confetti last?

The general rule of thumb for leaf confetti like this (and real petal confetti as well) is 6-12 months, when stored in a cool dry place. The longer its stored, the more it will dry out though, so the color and texture may change a bit overtime.

The good news here is that if you’re planning to make this type of confetti for a wedding, for example, you can start working on it pretty far in advance.

One of the wonderful things about biodegradable confetti is that even when it starts to dry out or break down, it’s still usable and beautiful.

What types of leaves are the best to use for natural confetti?

Flat(ish) leaves that have a little bit of weight to them are typically the best for making eco confetti. Hole punches are able to cut through them easily / crisply.

Best leaves to use for eco confetti are from:

• rubber trees
• fiddle leaf figs
• eucalyptus trees
• elephant ear plant
• birds of paradise
• banana tree leaves
• monstera
• and other common houseplants

Can you use flower petals instead of leaves to make confetti?

Yes, real petal confetti is also biodegradable!

And with real flower petals, you won’t even need a hole punch. You just have a to dry out the flower petals first. Well, I guess technically, you could just use fresh flower petals, like I did with my DIY confetti.

But if you want to dry them out instead, I have a great tutorial here: how to dry rose petals for bath salts.

Biodegradable Confetti You Can Buy

If you’ve gotten this far and have decided you don’t want to make your own eco friendly confetti, that’s okay too. To make things easy, I’ve put together a quick list of places your can buy natural confetti…

• This petal confetti on Etsy is so pretty – tons of different flower types in one batch.
• There’s also biodegradable confetti that looks like regular confetti, if that’s more your style. Pretty pastel confetti colors too.
• Amazon has a huge selection of eco confetti as well, right here.

If you’re searching for confetti for your next party, I hope you’ll think about making your own biodegradable confetti instead of buying the box store stuff. It really is such a fast and easy way to celebrate without the guilt of being wasteful or feeling like you’re littering.