Smart parents know you can turn just about anything into a craft project. With a little paint, paper towel tubes can become swords or caterpillars. Shoeboxes can become dollhouses or a little red fire engine. Why not use everyday trash or recycled items and turn rainy day afternoons into crafty afternoons? Here are five eco-crafts made from trash or recycled items.
1. Jazzed up origami.
Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, teaches children to follow directions and make some pretty amazing projects. A collection of old magazines can become a star mobile or a lantern they can hang in their bedroom.
2. A milk carton birdhouse.
Use a clean and dry milk carton, white glue, tempera or other non-toxic paint, twine, and scissors.
Glue the top of the carton shut. Paint carton with paint and let dry. Cut a 2-inch hole about 4 inches up from the bottom of the container. This is the bird’s entryway.
Poke a hole through the top of the feeder, string a piece of twine through the hole and hang your feeder on a tree. Place a bit of birdseed inside the container to attract birds.
3. Use old socks to make neck warmers.
Fill a ski sock or other large sock with buckwheat and dried lavender. Sew up the end of the sock and you have a neck warmer. Pop it in the microwave to heat the buckwheat to soothe sore neck muscles and enjoy the aromatherapy. Pop the sock into the freezer and place on your neck to use during warm days or to place on injuries to reduce swelling.
4. Making Robots.
Collect small metal items – cans, bottle caps, bobby pins, buttons, and square spice or other food containers and have your children make their own robots. You can also use mismatched silverware for their arms. Plastic lids work well for heads. You’ll need a good craft glue that can bind metal to metal and plastic to metal. Old screws, bolts, electrical wire and nuts will add to your child’s imagination.
5. Gee Wiz Jeans!!
Old jeans also make a variety of fun projects including a book bag or a notebook cover. Adults can do the large sewing jobs or for smaller projects, children can sew by hand. A notebook cover needs to be measured for size, making sure to leave enough overlap that the cover can be closed, cut and hemmed on all sides. A button fastener can be attached to keep the cover closed.
Book bags can be made by cutting the seat of the jeans off mid-thigh, cutting through the place where the legs join and then sewing front and back together. A handle can be created to carry the bag or a zipper can be sewn in the waistband.
There are literally a thousand craft options to make good use of your trash or your recycled items. These are just a few ideas to get you started. Have fun!
Tags: eco-craft, recycle, trash
