Simple Living
(featured column)
Crafting with Trash
by Deann
Curtis
When I
plan projects to do with my children or with the children I work with at Camp
Fire, I try to think of free materials I can use. That usually means
digging through my stash of trash. I use egg cartons, toilet paper tubes,
cans, plastic jars, ice cream buckets, newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes and
other unusual finds that I come across.
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Saving
these materials doesn't have to take much time or space. Most of them can
be neatly stacked or stashed in a drawer. You may be asking yourself what
I do with all of this trash. Well, the answer is only limited by the
imagination. Some things that we have used our stash for are outlined
below. But please, don't limit yourself.
Think
of all the trash you throw out each week and try to come up with a good use for
some of it. Not only will you lighten the load in the can each week, you
will also be teaching your children a good life lesson and saving your
pocketbook.
EGG CARTONS
Make animals using the cups and pipe cleaners and paper scraps. Directions
for some animals can be found at www.Enchantedlearning.com
Cut
the cups apart and decorate them to hang on your Christmas tree as bells.
Cut the cups apart and fill with birdseed. Hang them on a tree branch near
a window so you can enjoy the birds.
Fill the carton with potting soil and plant some seeds in them. Once they
sprout, you can break the cups apart and set them in your garden.
TOILET PAPER TUBES
Make puppets out of toilet paper tubes. Many different ideas and patterns
are available at http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/tp_roll.htm
Make
a set of binoculars just by wrapping some tape around them.
Tape a piece of black paper over one end. Then using a straight pin, poke
a few holes in the pattern of a constellation. You now have a mini
telescope, just point it at the light to see the stars. Make several and
you have the beginnings of a study in astronomy.
CANS
Decorate a can with anything you can find in the house or in nature and you have
yourself a unique pencil can made just for you.
Turn two cans and a piece of string into a string telephone.
Use two large juice cans to make a set of stilts. All you will need is two
pieces of rope, a can opener and two large cans. Open one end of each can
and throw away the ends. Then use the juice and wash the cans out.
After you have washed out the cans, use the can opener to puncture two holes on
opposite sides at the other end of each can. Thread one end of the rope
through each of the holes and tie a night inside the can. Then stand on
the closed ends and holding onto the ropes, take a walk.
PLASTIC JARS
Fill a jar with water, oil and a little food coloring to make your own personal
ocean.
Fill a jar with bird seed and add small odds and ends such as paper clips, a
bead, a Lego, or whatever else you have on hand. You can customize this
craft for any special occasion. This project is fun to do for someone who
is sick in bed for the day. Just give them a list of the items and they
will be kept busy all day.
Use a plastic jar to pack away a time capsule. Put in a picture of
yourself, a piece of string as long as you are tall, a tracing of your hand and
a list of all your favorite things. Be sure to label the lid with the
date. Put it away for a year or two. Then open it and see just how
much you have changed.
Now that I have got your creativity flowing, come up with some new ideas for
yourself. You will make some fun crafts with your children and some
cherished memories that they will always carry with them.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Deann Curtis
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