- Repurposing old items into new crafts is both budget and earth friendly.craft a card! image by Shirley Hirst from Fotolia.com
Crafting is a hobby enjoyed by many, but purchasing new supplies can quickly deplete your budget. One way to decrease the cost of crafting while also being "green" is to repurpose things from around the house into new crafts. Nearly any item or material can find new life in a craft project and might even inspire increased creativity for crafters. - Clothing of all types is a popular medium for repurposing into craft projects. Unravel a chunky knit wool sweater and reuse the yarn in another knit or crochet project such as a hat, scarf or blanket. Another option for repurposing wool sweaters involves felting the sweater in the washing machine and then cutting the resulting fabric and sewing it into something new, such as a hat, purse or squares for a blanket, according to Craftbits.com. Denim from worn-out jeans makes for squares for a quilt or strips for a rag rug. Craftbits.com suggests turning the leftover denim scraps into fabric roses, which can adorn shirts, hats or canvas shoes. Sew a ruffle or two onto the bottom of a fitted woman's t-shirt, and turn the shirt into a little girl's dress. Other options for repurposing t-shirts include pillows, handbags, reusable shopping totes or quilt squares.
- Paper and plastic items from around the house can find new life as altered or recycled items. Kaboose.com suggests repurposing cereal boxes into magazine holders by cutting off the top and part of one of the sides. Turn scraps of colored paper into a flower arrangement with a little help from the kids and some scissors, glue, glitter, mismatched buttons and Popsicle sticks. Decorate plastic frosting containers with scrapbook paper scraps to create a holder for odds and ends or turn it into a pencil holder. Repurpose plastic grocery store bags by cutting the bags into strips and knitting or crocheting them into a rug or a sturdier, reusable shopping bag. Children can use heavyweight paper or cardboard and turn it into bookmarks or flashcards with the help of stickers, markers, glitter and glue.
- Rather than throwing out seemingly useless items, give them new lives. Dye unused coffee filters with flavored drink mix to make flowers to decorate for summer holidays. Another type of repurposed decoration involves cutting old greeting cards to make a garland or banner for the holidays. Marthastewart.com suggests making a hole in the center of the design and then stringing the cards onto yarn to form a garland or banner to hang. According to Craftbits.com, old vinyl LP records, even warped or bent ones, can return to life as bangles, bowls, jewelry or soda can holders. To make a bowl or jewelry from an LP, warm the record in the oven on an old baking sheet lined with aluminum foil at 480F until it looks soft. Wearing oven mitts, manipulate the plastic to form the desired shape. Turn broken bits and pieces of crayons into crayon cakes by putting the pieces in an old muffin tin and warming them in an oven heated to 300°F for 5 to 7 minutes. Allow them to cool, then use a butter knife to release the crayon cakes.
previous post