spend share save

Here’s a project I can’t wait to replicate. Eliza and her mom crafted this project after being inspired by a Spend Share Save box at a friends house.

The idea is simple, start by digging an empty box out of the recycle bin:

Divide the inside into sections (scotch tape and cardboard):

Using a sharp knife, and adult supervision, cut the lid into three pieces to match the sections created on the inside:

When all the chopping and taping is done, decorate your bank and start dividing up your funds. My favorite part is the ’share’ section.

Thanks for the great idea Eliza!!

With winter in full swing, there’s sure to be a glove or two that goes astray. What to do with its lonely only other half… Glove Bunny!!

This Baby Glove Bunny only takes one glove to make. A chop-chop here and a stitch stitch there, here a stuff, there a stuff and there you have it.

I have included a visual layout of how to transform your stray glove into a precious little softie, below. The dashed lines need to be cut with sharp scissors and then sewed together

The two middle fingers are turned into the bunny arms, the legs are cut up from the wrist and sewed apart. The face details can either be stitched on, or adorned with buttons and trim. Be creative… this is only a jumping point!!

For recycled stuffing ideas see my post on Stray Sock Stuffing.

Holiday catalogues…

wooden scraps

chop chop and a little thread

assemble

..dangle & dazzle!

With the holidays approaching you’ll soon find yourself knee deep in packaging waste. This is the perfect time to add another type of recycle bin to the home. A projects bin, like this one, can be used to collect empty packaging and other discarded items that have art-project potential. Everything, from the plastic and twist ties holding dolly in place to empty candy containers and wrapping paper, can be re-imagined into something useful.

This project takes a simple idea, and multiplies the fun!

You start with a shoe box, or a box of similar size, and create a room for your toys to dwell. The best thing about this project is not only do you get to do it over and over, at different times, with different friends, etc., but you get to take them all home, and assemble each piece into a grand mansion.

The bedroom, for instance, could have been made at a cousin’s house over Thanksgiving, the kitchen, at a sleepover and the playroom on a rainy afternoon. Creating add-on houses is great for holidays, sick days, vacation days and sleepovers.

The examples below are from one of ingenious kids I spend time with. She used wallpaper and wrapping paper scraps to adorn the walls. Altoids tins became closets and beds. Popsicle sticks are now hardwood floors and stamps transformed into artwork.

Click on the pictures below to get a closer look at the creative uses for everyday trash.

(You MUST click on the pictures to see the incredible detail!)

It’s all Star Wars all the time!! (at least to my little bud, it is)

While my 4 year old friend is not making these projects all by himself, it’s the time we spend together.. digging through the recycle bin, tearing the tape, looking through books.. that makes doing projects together so much fun!

Not only that, but he truly cherishes his homemade toys. His x-wing fighter has been smooshed, squished and stomped on, but it still flies missions alongside the store-bought ones.

While I don’t expect everyone to have the same items we used, after reading through the rundown below, I hope you get some good ideas on how to fashion your own.

Here’s the rundown: The bottom of the snow speeder is a discarded plastic tray from dog bones. We used an awl to pop some holes in it and thread the orange straws through.

The top is a juice bottle bottom, cut with a sharp kitchen knife. The top and bottom are joined in the back with clear packing tape. We put 2 layers on the outside, then 2 layers on the inside, to create a hinge, so the top opens and closes.

We jazzed it up with some craft foam strips, and in the very back is a broken Nerf bullet.

—

Now hit up the recycle bin and make some fun!!

Creating this beautiful floating herb garden is simple, all you need are a few empty jars and a quick trip to the hardware store. The steps to make your own are outlined in the gallery below… be sure to click on the pictures to see the detail.

(click on an image to enlarge)

When my young friend started pretending his Star Wars toys were parachuting in the other room, I instantly remembered those cheapo plastic parachute toys I used to get from the gum ball machine as a child. They were so much fun! So I dug through the cabinets and constructed this quickie craft…

The steps are outlined below. Click to see a larger, more detailed image:

Spending too much time with me can turn you into a collector, of sorts. Instead of collecting things you think will be of value to someone in a number of years, you collect random things (okay… trash, more or less) that you think you’ll use for an art project!

You’ll find yourself hanging on to empty spice jars, socks, stockings, styrofoam, boxes, broken jewelry, empty food containers, juice bottles, sippy boxes, baby food jars… you name it, I can make something with it!!

Fine! Good! Reuse!

But you must remember to USE WHAT YOU SAVE, otherwise you just end up with a heap of junk.

This recycled sculpture was done by a 7 1/2 year old girl (who held herself up in her room with her little brother so that she could surprise me with this awesome gift).

There got to be such a mound of ‘collectibles’ in the house that the old ‘Use it or loose it’ adage was tossed around a tad too frequently! So.. she stepped up to the plate.

This project was made entirely out of things she saved, rescued from the trash, or collected around the house.

The Rundown: There’s a sock wrapped around a juice bottle, on top of an empty cookie container. Then another sock balled up, with an empty ribbon wheel, some craft straws and pipe cleaners holding up an ART sign, written with Sharpie on a fabric scrap. The sculpture is cleverly held together by (massive amounts of) clear packing tape.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Take one empty box…

Fold in the flaps, like so…

In a medium sized bowl, mix wall paper paste and water until you get a medium-watery adhesive glue. Cut paper into medium sized strips and squares.

**We used blueprints found in the trash**

Line your work area with newspaper topped with parchment paper (to keep the glue from sticking to the paper). This gets messy!

Dip your paper into the glue, then apply to the box…

Continue applying layers of paper in an overlapping fashion until the entire cardboard box is concealed. Use your hands to smooth out any lumps or air bubbles as you go along.

Work swiftly while the project is wet, because as the glue begins to dry, the paper is more likely to rip.

I put mine on top of an old plate while drying…

Allow this project ample time to dry, overnight is best! As the glue dries the paper will harden to the surface of the box.

Once dry, you can use your new creation for whatever you want. This one is the perfect Paper Recycle Bin…

Tip: Make sure you have plenty of supplies prepared before you get started, because once you get your hands dirty you should just keep going until the project is done.