Happy Earth Day everyone! It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Portland, I hope you are having great weather as well wherever you may be. In honor of the Earth Day holiday, I thought I'd share links to some of my past projects that re-use magazine pages, as well as some of my favorite crafty tips for being more "green" and getting the most out of your crafty stash.
First, here are some projects that you can do with old magazines (or any paper you have lying around, phone books, junk mail, old notes and lists would all work as well!).
Office style gift card envelopes
Paper Twine - Great for tying up gifts!
Recycled Paper Beads Just use paper and mod podge to make tons of unique beads for jewelry and more!
DIY magazine envelopes Perfect for all of your correspondence, can be made to any size :)
Besides these ideas, you could also use scrap paper for making paper mache projects, collages, art journal pages and more!
Not really an abundance of paper in your life? Well, fear not, I still have some great earth friendly ideas for other crafty items!
If you do a lot of sewing, you likely have a lot of fabric scraps. If they are large enough, you may want to look at this craft project roundup of things to do with those scraps! If you find you have lots of small scraps, don't worry, there are still things you can do with them without throwing them away! I like to save up a bag with my tiniest fabric scraps and then mix them in with batting when I stuff fabric toys; it can save you money on extra batting, give your toys a nice texture and is soft and washable. Small scraps can also be used in mixed media art pieces.
If you are looking for an earth friendly craft activity to do with friends, think about hosting a craft supply swap. Have everyone get together some of their old supplies (I know I have tons of extra beads, paints, yarns etc. sitting around that I used for only one project) give them new life by trading with your friends for something new to your stash that they weren't using anymore! If you have leftovers, try to find a local school or after school program that needs craft supplies to take the rest :)
Do you have any other earth friendly ways to use up craft supplies? Post a comment with your ideas or "green" projects I'd love to see them!
There are some great ways to re-use old thrift store sweaters. If they're 100% wool, the sweaters can be felted i.e. purposely shrinking them in hot water. This felt can be cut and sewn into stuffed animals, made into sturdy bags, or sewn together to make a super, warm and cuddly blanket.
ReplyDeleteOr if you're a knitter or crocheter, there are some ways to rip out the knitting of some sweaters and re-use the yarn (or dye it a different color) for projects.
Yeah! I totally didn't think about felting! It's also great when you have an old wool sweater you just can't really handle parting with entirely, I never seem to find anything good at thrift stores anymore.
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