Those of you who are familiar with creativejewishmom.com already know that you can expect to see here lots of craft projects using recycled materials. Since I'm in the process of planning my projects for the next month or so I thought I'd give you all a bit of advance notice so that you can start collecting the necessary materials now! And of course to encourage you in general to think green!
(As a side note, those of you who live in Israel, please, please make the tiny bit of extra effort to recycle your plastic bottles in cages like the one on the right. And involve your kids in the act too, my kids jump at the opportunity to take a whole bunch of bottles to our local cage, that is when mommy isn't hoarding them!)
Recycled Materials To Save For Upcoming Projects:
- Wine corks (tell your friends to save them for you so you can collect more than just a few)
- Plastic bottle caps of all sizes
- Aluminum tea light holders (save after burning candles)
- Beautifully shaped wine bottles in an assortment of shapes and sizes
- Glass jars with metal lids
- Toilet paper rolls: you can go ahead and collapse them so they won't take up too much space
- Egg cartons: cut out individual cups and store stacked
- Non-glossy printed paper like phone books
- Old books
- Plastic drink bottles: You can cut them and save the top and bottom pieces in a nice stack as follows: With a sharp knife, cut off the bottom flower shaped portion (those bottles with this shape) such that it's at least one inch deep. Cut off the top portion of the bottle about five inches from the top. The middle portion can be tossed in the recycling bin.
- Heavy cardboard logo/brand name tags from new clothes
- Large round opaque bottles, such as those for bleach/cleaning fluid: you can cut off the top such that you have a basket shape, and use it to store some of the above items on the list!
Recycled Materials Good To Have On Hand Anytime:
- cereal boxes or any food boxes, stored collapsed
- metal cans with lids
- styrofoam trays (from ground meat etc.)
- plastic cutlery
- heavy weight disposable plastic cups
- packing styrofoam
- metal coat hangers
- old woolens (100% wool) such as sweaters for felting
- pockets from pants/ shirts
- heavy weight aluminum pans
- plastic sock hangers: use a hook taped to the back of your child's artwork!
- beautifully patterned plastic bags for fusing
- plastic grocery bags in nice colors for making "plarn" or fun bows
For lots of ideas using some of the items on this list, click here to see the wealth of recycling craft projects in my archives! Happy crafting
