There are many ways to repurpose items that would have been sent to the landfill. Here are some crafts you can do with items that are often thrown away.
Junk Mail Beads
- Cut paper into long narrow triangle shaped strips (1/2 inch at wide end by the length of page). Try different widths and lengths for various shapes of beads.
- Roll paper triangle around a skinny straw or bamboo skewer (straws from juice pouches work great). When you get to the last few inches brush on a thin layer of glue to stick the bead together.
- Optional: Seal and water resist your beads by coating them with a thin layer of acrylic sealer or clear nail polish.
- When beads are dry, string on twine or fishing line and add other small beads to embellish.
More paper bead crafting ideas and instructions:
www.paperbeads.org
www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper-Beads
Bottle Cap Magnets or Pins
- Use an old fridge magnet or a pin from an old button, cut and glue it to the top of a clean bottle cap.
- Cut out a picture or design from a magazine to fit inside the bottle cap, a quarter makes the perfect size stencil.
- With school glue stick the round image in the underside the bottle cap.
- Squeeze or pour in a thin layer of clear gloss medium (available at craft stores in the paint and varnish section) to cover the image and fill the base of your bottle cap “frame”.
- Allow to dry flat for approximately 24 hours or until gloss is hardened.
More bottle cap craft ideas and instructions:
www.artistshelpingchildren.org/bottlecapsartscraftstideasprojects.html
Repurposed Planter Boxes
Do you have an old cooler, colander, or bucket? You can repurpose these old items that may be broken or rusty into a planter box! If there are some small holes, this will work great for drainage. You can line your repurposed item with used coffee filters, newspaper or junk mail to help hold the soil in you new pot. Refresh the look of your pot by painting it. Be creative and give your trash a new purpose!
Additional repurposed crafting resources:
www.instructables.com
www.craftgossip.com
Wrapper Bracelets
Crafting A Green World
