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Fun In The Making
Looking for lots of crafts made from recycled materials? You’ve come to the right place. I go beyond soup can pencil holders here. It is all about greening up your crafting and moving toward a more sustainable way of living. This site is full of eco-friendly crafts for children and adults. Making use (re-use really) of otherwise unwanted materials is good for the pocketbook and good for the environment.
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Categories
- chickens
- children's activities (recycled materials)
- children's crafts (recycled materials)
- crafts (recycled materials)
- eco-friendly living ideas
- furniture, redo/ upcycle
- garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas)
- gift wrapping, eco-friendly
- gifts from recycled materials
- give aways
- holiday crafts/activities: April Fool's Day
- holiday crafts: 4th of July (recycled stuff)
- holiday crafts: Christmas (recycled stuff)
- holiday crafts: Halloween (recycled stuff)
- holiday crafts: New Year's Eve (recycled stuff)
- holiday crafts: Peace Day (recycled stuff)
- holiday crafts: St. Patricks Day
- holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff)
- home décor (recycle and upcycle)
- home school
- imaginative play
- links
- local environmentalism (doing our part)
- Nature: plant and animal identification
- organize
- party décor (recycle and upcycle)
- party favors
- party: Circus
- party: robot
- recipes
- reuse containers, ice cream
- reuse straws, plastic drinking
- reuse "trash"
- reuse appliances, broken
- reuse bag, plastic mesh produce
- reuse bags, brown paper
- reuse beads salvaged/ vintage
- reuse berry basket, plastic/ paper
- reuse blankets: old or damaged
- reuse books
- reuse bottles, plastic
- reuse boxes
- reuse buttons
- reuse calendars
- reuse can, paint (plastic)
- reuse cans
- reuse chopsticks
- reuse clementine box
- reuse cups, tea
- reuse dinnerware
- reuse door, wooden garage
- reuse down from jackets
- reuse egg shells
- reuse elastic bands
- reuse electronics
- reuse fabric from drapes or other
- reuse fabric items
- reuse fishing pole
- reuse fishing wire
- reuse flatware
- reuse frames, picture
- reuse game pieces
- reuse glass bottles/ jars
- reuse glasses/ sunglasses, vintage/ old
- reuse handkerchiefs
- reuse hangers, coat
- reuse jars, spice
- reuse jeans
- reuse lamp or other lighting
- reuse license plate
- reuse magazines
- reuse magnets, promotional flat flexible
- reuse milk carton
- reuse panty hose/ tights
- reuse paper
- reuse paper printed material
- reuse pen, broken
- reuse pie pan, aluminum
- reuse plastic/ metal bottle caps
- reuse pot, coffee
- reuse sheets, bed sheets
- reuse skis
- reuse straws: drinking straws
- reuse stuffing, from pillows etc.
- reuse sweaters
- reuse sweaters, wool
- reuse thread spools
- reuse toilet paper or paper towel rolls
- reuse toys, small junk
- reuse twist ties
- reuse wood/ lumber
- reuse x-rays
- seasonal: fall
- seasonal: spring
- seasonal: summer
- seasonal: winter
- sewing
- Uncategorized
- use for dryer lint
- use for fabric scraps
- use for natural stuff: vines, sticks…
- use for vegetable scraps
- use for wire scraps
- use for yarn scraps
- vintage
Like Two Peas In A Pot Valentine Craft: A Plant Your Own Peas Kit
Posted Dec 28, 09 -Filed Under crafts (recycled materials), garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas), gifts from recycled materials, holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), reuse straws, plastic drinking, reuse milk carton, reuse paper printed material, reuse straws: drinking straws | 4 Comments
Make one for mom/ Dad/ Grandparents … My daughter gave out one for each of her classmates one year.
[This is a craft project that I developed a few years ago and I’m just now getting around to sharing –Best, Hester Jane]
Here is a child’s Valentine gift that does not include candy.
How To:
Collect empty milk or juice cartons; the kind kids get at school with their lunches. Then wash them out.
Cut out pictures of pea plants from old seed catalogs and paste them onto the outside of the milk carton/pot.
Add dry potting soil and drop in two pea seeds. Alternatively you can place the pea seeds in a mini envelope/ Valentine card.
Staple the top closed.
Save straws (optional) if doing this project for home. Don’t waste a new straw; reuse a straw that would otherwise be on its way to a landfill. The straw becomes a support as the pea plant grows taller.
Print Valentines or design your own.
Valentines for milk cartons or seed envelopes
Versatile Pouch Made From Recycled Pant Leg
Posted Feb 4, 09 -Filed Under crafts (recycled materials), gifts from recycled materials, holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), organize, party favors, reuse buttons, reuse fabric items, reuse jeans, sewing | Leave a Comment
This clever little pink pouch was designed by an eleven year old (my daughter). She independently came up with the idea to recycle the bottom part of a pair of old pants to make a pouch/ bag.
This project is simple enough to do at a children’s party. Kids will love designing their own unique pouch.
This pouch could also be used to hold your Valentine card collection. Do you have a collection of special Valentine cards already started? They would fit nicely into a home-made pouch. My daughters each have a small collection of valentine cards that grows each year.
Add a strap if you would like to make this pouch into a purse.
I think a pant leg pouch/ bag would make a wonderful eco-friendly gift wrapper too: place gift inside.
I used the design of this pouch and took it a little further: See my post for instructions on how to make a jean sketch book pouch.
Special Valentine Message Magnets Made From Salvaged Materials
Posted Jan 26, 09 -Filed Under crafts (recycled materials), gifts from recycled materials, holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), reuse game pieces, reuse magazines, reuse magnets, promotional flat flexible | 2 Comments
Send a Valentine message to someone special in your heart. This sweet gift will be a constant reminder of your love.
How-to:
A. Cut letters from magazines. You will find a great variety of fonts in all sorts of colors. Go searching for just the right ones. You may want to find all the letters in the same color or you might want the letters to be as varied as possible. Cut out the letters and make sure they fit on the tiles.
B. I used the tiles from a salvaged My First Rummikub game which was missing some of the pieces. Paste a letter on the front of each tile.
C. The magnets I used are promotional flat flexible magnets. (Promotional flat flexible magnets are often given out by businesses for promotional reasons, are usually business card size and are easy to cut.) This is a perfect use for those unsolicited magnets. Use scissors to cut a piece large enough to cover the back of the tile and glue it there.
See my other post for additional ideas and uses for tile magnets including using them as a teaching aid.
Origami Gift Box Made From Reclaimed Paper (3 of 3)
Posted Feb 9, 08 -Filed Under holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), party favors, reuse paper | Leave a Comment
Make a sweetheart box from a valentine card you received (don’t just throw them away). Cards will make sturdy boxes but will often be tiny due to the limited size of the original card. Yet, what a nice memento. Alternatively, it would be nice for your child to give them to their special friends with a simple gift inside such as a home-made bracelet made with scrap yarn and a wooden bead.
A 4.5 inch square piece of paper yields a box top of 1 9/16 square inches and 13/16 inches tall.
How 2: See my post on how to make origami gift boxes: easy to follow photo instructions. They are easy enough for adults and older children to make. I hope you have been inspired.
Origami Gift Box Made From Reclaimed Paper (2 of 3)
Posted Feb 9, 08 -Filed Under crafts (recycled materials), holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), party favors, reuse magazines, reuse paper | Leave a Comment
Make valentine gift boxes from salvaged catalog paper and glue a vintage children’s valentine on top. You don’t have to use vintage cards, you can use a valentine card saved that your child brought home from school last year. Put something special in this small box and give it to your sweetheart. Maybe even tuck a love note inside.
An 8 inch square piece of paper yields a box top of 2 7/8 square inches and 1 7/16 inches tall.
How 2: See my post on how to make origami gift boxes with easy to follow photo instructions. They are easy enough for adults and older children to make.
Origami Gift Box Made From Reclaimed Paper (1 of 3)
Posted Feb 9, 08 -Filed Under crafts (recycled materials), holiday crafts: Valentine's Day (recycled stuff), party favors, reuse magazines, reuse paper | Leave a Comment
Make sweet little gift boxes from a picture in a magazine, advertisement or catalog. You will find paper thickness will vary. If the paper is too thin your box will be too flimsy. If the paper is too thick then it will be hard to fold. You will have to experiment a bit here. Fill with candy or fair-trade chocolate and pass out to friends or give as party favors.
A 6 inch square piece of paper yields a box top of 2 1/8 square inches and 1 1/16 inches tall.
How 2: See my post on how to make origami gift boxes with easy to follow photo instructions. They are easy enough for adults and older children to make.