04/15/2012 - Gift Tags

After a quick search, I found that a set of 6 gift tags can be purchased at Target for $3.99. This project proves that you don't have to be really crafty to make a cheap or no cost gift tag. These are just neatly designed clothing tags that had enough open space to be used as gift tags.

Reclaimed Material: clothing tags
Other Material: none
Tools: scissors, paper cutter, paint pen, glue

How I did it: For the tags with the birdies and circles, all I did was trim off two sides with text on them using the paper cutter. I used the scissors to round off the end diagonal from the original rounded end. Really simple! I glued one of the pieces from the birdies tags to the black tag to cover a larger block of text. I used my trusty ol' paint pen to mark out random text lines, but couldn't resist leaving the words of wisdom printed on it.

What I would do differently: Gift tags can literally be made from anything, but by using clothing tags that still have strings on them, you save a bit of time. Random ideas for tags are cereal boxes, magazine covers, plastic bits, etc.

04/06/2012 - Paper Mache Eggs

I got the family involved in this craft...and we had a messy, fun time of it. I haven't done paper mache since grade school, but what a festive use of newspaper.

Reclaimed Material: newspaper 
Other Material: balloons
Tools: scissors, all-purpose glue, mixing bowl, little bowls 

How I did it: I squirted the glue in the mixing bowl, added water and mixed it up thoroughly. I cut the newspaper into strips (about 3/4" x 4") and put them in the glue mixture to soak. I lined the table with newspaper (which really didn't help). We blew up the balloons to different sizes to make our egg shapes. We used the little bowls as stands to hold the balloons in place and began placing the soaked strips over the balloon to cover the entire surface, turning the balloon as needed. We repeated the steps so there were three layers of newspaper on each balloon. We left the tied end of the balloon uncovered. After the balloons fully dried (about 18 hours) and popped the balloons and pulled them out through the uncovered hole.

What I would do differently: I should have used a little bit more glue in the mixture, but we still had a good time getting ready for Easter.

03/31/2012 - Cardboard Gift Tube

Three months of recycled crafting down! Only nine more to go! 

The nice thing about being a garbage picker/collector is that people save me their nice garbage they think I can use. Grandma Betty June gave me this neat little tube with a lid and bottom, but she didn't remember what she got in it. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until I went to a fancy little chocolate shop that also sells beautiful paper crafts with a French theme to them and they had these on sale for $10. 

Reclaimed Material: cardboard tube, scrap paper
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue, brown shoe polish, gold paint pen, thin wire

How I did it: The base of the tube was glued on so I used a little wire to pull the edges away a little so I could tuck the paper under it. I used a bit of paper leftover from my SCRAP name badge project and cut it to cover the tube and glue it on. I painted parts of the instruments with the gold. I rubbed the shoe polish lightly over the paper to give it a vintage look. I used my finger as a paintbrush and lightly rubbed gold paint over the whole piece.

What I would do differently: It seems like the tube is missing something...like a pop of mauve or something. I also should have used tea to stain the paper. I do want to learn to do more vintage, Victorian-era, turn of the (19th) century crafts.

02/29/2012 - Telephone Book Origami

I can't remember the last time I used a telephone book to find a telephone number, but they always seem to be floating around. I think origami is such an interesting skill, so I thought I would practice and make my own sheets from the telephone book.

Reclaimed Material: telephone book pages
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors 

How I did it: I only remember one origami folding technique from when I was a kid, so I needed to beef up my repertoire via Google. There is a great site with thorough instructions with step-by-step pictures: Origami-Instructions.com. I cut the telephone book pages into 4"x4" squares. They were smaller than recommended, but they still worked. I created a little box and various flowers.

What I would do differently: Practice makes perfect, so I just need to keep experimenting with different folds. But I have to hand it to the Japanese culture for creating such a delicate craft.

02/19/2012 - Paper Flower Wreath

I am in love with these paper flowers. I found a blog with great instructions for these paper roses and the blogger has some other fabulous instructions: Crafting with Intention.

Reclaimed Material: junk mail, plastic lid, gift bag ribbon
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue

How I did it: I followed the Crafting with Intention instructions for these little beauties. The junk mail I used was black and white with splashes of red so I found a red plastic lid I had hoarded away to match. I cut out the center of the lid to make the paper flower wreath. I used the ribbon from a gift bag I used in other daily crafts for the hanger. I glued the flowers and ribbon to the plastic lid.

What I would do differently: I would have made more little flowers to fill in some of the gaps but ran out of the red, black and white junk mail. Don't worry you will see these again in other projects. I heart these.

02/13/2012 - Scrappy Valentine's Day Card

Quick little project - my homemade Valentine's Day card for my hubby, awwww, aren't I such a nice wife? This is more scrapbooky than anything else. There are lots of great scrapbooking supplies that people can buy, but you can save a little money by checking your garbage or recycling bin once in a while for supplies. My printer ink was out, so I couldn't use the picture I printed for its original purpose and used it on this card.


Reclaimed Material: cardboard food box, leftover gift bag scraps, misprinted picture
Other/New Material: none
Tools: glue, scissors, markers

How I did it: I don't think this really requires and explanation but I cut out the box to the card size and glued the picture and hearts cut out from the gift bag to the front. I colored the back panel with a marker and glued a few hearts on the back. I used one of the ribbon handles from the bag to wrap around the fold. 

What I would do differently: I could have gone fancier with the card, but wanted to use up some scrap pieces.

02/05/2012 - V-Day Garland

Since I have a little one now, I am trying to do a better job of decorating for the season/holiday, but I am also a cheapskate so I don't want to spend money doing so. My little Zoe got a sweet Valentine's package from some wonderful friends in Chicago and a 3 year old + gift bag = torn/crumpled gift bag that can't be reused. Most gift bags are paper covered in a plastic film, so they can't be recycled once they cannot be reused. 

Reclaimed Material: discarded gift bag, plastic grocery bag
Other/New Material: none 
Tools: scissors, hole punch

How I did it: The gift bag was covered in hearts so I just cut them out and was happy not to have to make a template. After I cut out the hearts I punched a hole on either side of each heart. I then cut off the handles of the plastic bag so the top was even, then began to cut the bag into a 1" strip around. I cut the bag kind of like an apple peel so I could have one long piece for the garland. I then strung the plastic "string" through the holes on each side of the hearts so that the long part of the "string" was behind the hearts. I tied loops on both ends of the garland and trimmed off the excess plastic "string" then hung it up. When Zoe got up in the morning she said "Mom, we have Valentine's decorations!"

What I would do differently: I saved the scraps from the bag that I cut the hearts out of, so I will end up using them for some other craft to celebrate this month-o-love.

02/01/2012 - CD Cover Wallet

February is here and I have one month down of my New Year's Resolution! Hooray! This is a project I have been meaning to do for a long time. CD covers have the coolest artwork and when we consolidated our CD collection a few years back I save all the covers and neat artwork and gave away the cases (but now regret that :). I tried experimenting with fusing newspaper bags in the past, but would give up before I let the plastic get hot enough to melt. I had seen an awesome pattern for a fused newspaper bag messenger bag in the, sadly now defunct, Ready Made book which made me want to experiment with it. I am happy this finally worked and this process is pretty much like a homemade laminating machine, so if you want something laminated, this is an easy at home way to do it.

Reclaimed Material: old CD Cover, newspaper bags
Other/New Material: bias tape
Tools: scissors, iron, ironing board, sewing machine, thread, measuring tape, scrap cloth

How I did it: I sandwiched the CD cover inside the newspaper bag and then covered both sides with the cloth and used the iron to melt the plastic. I melted three layers on both sides of the cover, then repeated these steps on two more sheets that were included with the CD. I cut the outside of the wallet to 8.5"x3.5", then cut the next sheet to 3" and the last sheet to 2.5" using the same width of 8.5". I sewed the bias tape along the top edges of each of the these sheets, then stitched a little center left on the two shorter sheets to make little pockets. I made sure the pieces were flush along the bottom then wrapped the bias tape around the three remaining edges. I folded the piece in half and ended up with a rockin' wallet.


What I would do differently: Next time I will use parchment paper to melt the plastic bags to the paper. Also, I am going to use a thinner bias tape.

01/31/2012 - SCRAP Name Badge

I signed up to volunteer at one of my favorite Portland places, SCRAP PDX and was given a plastic sleeve filled with all kinds of goodies to create my volunteer name badge. I love the idea of having the volunteers make their own name badges using random scraps of paper and bits.

Reclaimed Material: paper scraps, name badge holder, lanyard, aluminum flowers left over from the hair pin project, metal clip from a coffee bag
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, glue stick, glue dots, super glue, markers, rubber stamps (included in SCRAP pack), stamp pads

How I did it: The pack that I picked out to make my name badge contained a badge holder and lanyard; magazine picture of a wood carving of a woman; photo copy of a turn of the 19th century advertisement; a card that someone else had decorated with green hearts, gold foil and drew on; metallic card with flowery design and hold punched in it; camel colored and maroon colored paint samples; large greenish-brown card stock; fancy green paper; "z" stamper; "f" stamper; and plastic white dove. I felt the need to list it all out because I love the awesome randomness that somehow all flowed together. I used the "f" stamper to make a template for name on the red and cut it out. The rest is just random designs and additions and there isn't much to explain.
 
What I would do differently: This project is one that depends on the creative mood -- it could be completely different if I did it a month from now. I am not sure if I like how the letters I cut out in red look with the black outline, but that would be a minor change. I think this is a fabulous idea for any reuse/recycling organization, or any group for that matter, to use up office scraps for meetings and conferences.

01/30/2012 - Cardboard Tube Owl

Whooo" loves this project? I do! The flu bug has stricken my household and this was all the energy I could summon to fulfill my New Year's Resolution. This was a great pin I found on Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/pin/181621797442261216/. Not sure if that link will work, but here are some similar instructions: http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2010/10/owl-family-play-set.html. 

Reclaimed Material: toilet paper roll, fabric scraps, map 

Other/New Material: googly eyes 

Tools: glue, tape, scissors

How I did it: The first thing I did was cut the map (that came with junk mail) to fit around the roll and glued it to the roll. I focused the map on my new home state of Oregon. I folded down the top of the tube to make the owl's ears and taped it down. The scraps I used for the wings and beak are from a Christmas fleece project and are green and yellow in honor of my hubby's Oregon Ducks. I cut and glued the scraps on and added the googly eyes.

What I would do differently: Next time I will include my daughter on this owl-rific adventure...once the flu bug has left the premises. I just covered the roll, but will paint it next time. I also saw a cute little picture of this project where both ends were folded down to make a little gift box. Too cute.

01/16/2012 - Game Card/Toy Wire Notebook

This is a very simplistic project, but was fun to do. The game cards are from an old Magic Trolls game I intercepted from the garbage. The paper I just pulled out of our recycling bin and I found another use for the toy wire - hooray me!

Recycled Material: game cards, paper, toy wire
Other Material: none 
Tools: paper cutter, small hole punch, round pencil, long nosed pliers  

How I did it: I trimmed about 25 rectangles to the size of the game card using the paper cutter. If you don't have one, this can be done by hand with scissors or sneak into a FedEx Kinko's to use their fancy paper cutters. I made sure the printed side of the paper was facing down and used 2 cards, one for the front and for the back. I took a shorter piece of the toy wire (about 7" long) and wrapped it tightly around the round pencil to make the coil and ended up with 7 loops. I stretched the coil as evenly as possible to the length of the top of the cards and paper then evenly marked the placement for the holes on the back of the front cover and punched 7 holes. I used the cover as a guide, then took about 5 sheets of the paper and made them flush with the card and punched the holes in the paper. I continued this until all the sheets and the back cover were punched and put the covers and paper together. I started twisting the coil in by inserting one end into the first hole and started twisting the coil, guiding the end of the coil into each hole until I reached the end. I used the pliers to bend both ends inward about 1/4".

What I would do differently: I thought this was a cute little project that kids could do easily. They could use yarn or ribbon to tie it together, but this wire seems o.k. for kids to use since it is coated in plastic...unless you cut it, then it will have sharp edges and need to be filed down. Another idea would be to reuse the coil from a used notebook.