Recycled paper hydrangeas.

MANILA, Philippines - An enterprising businesswoman has come up with a novel way of spreading Christmas cheer just by recycling magazines.

Carmencita Leung, co-owner of Christmas decor export company Tamilee Industries, has come up with a limited line of holiday decors made from glossy magazines.

"I just hate to see anything go to waste," Leung told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak in a phone interview. "And I was thinking, I accumulated lots of these magazines. It was using up space in my apartment so I needed to get rid of them."

"I know people buy and recycle, but I thought it would be good if I make something out of it," she added.

The results were quite pretty, Leung said. From cut-up strips of paper and special glue, she made flowers like roses and poinsettias, plus different kinds of leaves.

These flowers and leaves were arranged into garlands, wreaths or even Christmas trees.

Leung said the glue helps the paper absorb color and makes it sturdy.

These are washed with dye, in tones of red and green, so that the Christmas decorations are only partially covered by color and the magazine prints are still visible.

She was also able to make 3-dimensional stars. But these were destroyed, along with many of the company's shipments and products, when floods from tropical storm Ondoy hit the Tamilee Industries factory last September.

Special offering

Recycled paper poinsettia, considered a classic Christmas plant.

Buyers love the "recycled" line of decorations, Leung said. Tamilee Industries, established in 1987, has been known to produce upscale, export-quality (and thus slightly more expensive) Christmas decorations.

"In fact, many of the buyers who came here to the Philippines, they also liked it. I should make it as a special offering to department stores," she said.

Among Tamilee's clientele are luxury brands and department stores like Neiman Marcus, Harrod's, the Marmaxx Group, Fortunoff, Dillards and Bombay Co., among others.

Though she is still developing the recycled magazine product line, many foreign buyers like the Crate and Barrel store chain, have expressed interest in acquiring decorations in summer or spring colors.

Some companies requested designs like natural blue hydrangeas or flowers in yellow and orange hues. These designs can last all year round.

Leung's new line of recycled decorations are currently adorning the walls and ceilings of the Pan-Pacific Manila Hotel in Malate. The hotel has a tall Christmas tree with trims made out of recycled paper poinsettias.

Hard-up Christmas?

Paper poinsettia wreath.

However, Leung said only limited quantities of her recycled magazine decorations are available for the market.

The earliest that her recycled designs will be ready, she said, is in September 2010. For now, she is giving prototypes to friends and family, whom she said "all liked it."

"We are still busy preparing orders for hotels, stores and buildings. We're also developing products and samples," Leung said.

The product line would have been ready for market release, she said, if the storm had not delayed production.

She said the company lost 2 container loads of goods that were ready for shipment, and the company lost over 3 weeks of production time.

"Instead of working on my new product lines in October, I stopped for 2 to 3 weeks to clean, redo things that were destroyed. It was the only time I was a bit delayed. Good thing our buyers were gracious enough to give us a month's extension," Leung said.

Like many victims of the typhoon, Leung said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the disaster, and her temper was high. She was later able to realize that she was simply grieving from the destruction of all her company's hard work.

Though Leung admits that many Filipinos will be hard up this Christmas due to the recent typhoons, she is still optimistic about the coming holidays.

"I don't think Filipinos will ever let go of Christmas because of a typhoon. It may not be lavish, so long as it is special. You cannot kill the Christmas spirit for Filipinos. They will always find a way to celebrate it no matter how hard times are," she said.

Report by Kristine Servando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak. Photo courtesy of Tamilee Industries Inc.

For more information, visit Tamilee Industries Inc.'s "Color it Christmas" showroom at 325 P. Guevarra Street in San Juan, Metro Manila or "Color it Christmas" booths at the SM Mall of Asia (near Kamiseta) and Green Hills Shopping Center.