Use Everyday Stuff for Great Crafts

October 3, 2008

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Everyday Stuff = Great Crafts

Do you remember how imaginative you were as a child? How you could pick the simplest things up and turn them into some sort of artwork. Imagination is one of the great things about children. Take the three R’s – recycle, reuse and reduce and put them together with a child’s imagination and they will have loads of fun. Here are some ideas to help get them started.

photo credit: Orin Optiglot

Use recycled cardboard tubes to make crafts with your kids

Plastic Pop Bottles:

Butterflies – The size of your pop bottle will determine what size butterfly stencil you need. For a large bottle (2 liter size) a four inch square butterfly stencil is a good size. For a smaller bottle (12 ounce size) a two inch square stencil will work best. Trace the butterfly stencil onto the bottle and then cut it out. You can pierce the center of the cut out butterfly with a needle and then hang them either inside or outside.

Ocean in a Bottle – For this project you will find that smaller bottles work best, the 12 ounce bottles are perfect for this project. Start with non toxic oil like canola oil and fill half the bottle with it. The other half of the bottle gets filled with water. Now you can add glitter, food coloring, lightweight plastic items and even confetti in the shape of your child’s favorite animal. Once you have everything added make sure to place the cap on and recap tightly.

Cardboard Tubes:

If you find yourself stuck in the house on a rainy afternoon, have some fun with rainsticks. Here are a list of supplies you will need:

• Masking tape

• Paper towel tubes
• Tempera pain
• Elmer’s glue or other white craft glue
• Rice, lentils, or other small beans

Follow the directions below to create your rainstick:

1. Paint the tube and allow to dry
2. Poke toothpick sized holes into tube
3. Cover one end of tube with tape
4. Place handful of rice or beans into tube
5. Cover other end of tube with tape

You can now let your child play with their rainstick. Make a couple different ones, using different materials. You’ll notice that different materials make different sounds.

All you have to do is take a good look around the house and you will surely be able to find items that can be used to create a masterpiece. Think about egg cartons the next time you use all the eggs up and go to throw it away. Save it instead and you can craft some tulips or bells. What about tin foil? Did you know that you can wash it and make picture frames? Instead of wasting old newspaper create some paper mache. Baby food jars can be used to make luminaries and snow globes. Use tin cans as planters for starting seeds.

Make sure that you let your children use their imagination to come up with their own ideas. You might be surprised what they come up with. Maybe they’ll turn a paper grocery bag into their very own suit of armor. You never know but it’s important to allow them to use their imagination and creative thinking skills.

45 Re-Crafting Projects