Flashback: Creating Repurposed, Upcycled Crafts

Flashing back to an article I wrote this past spring after presenting repurposed craft ideas at the Live Green Expo in Plano, Texas. Today I'm presenting at Plano's Little House in the 'Burbs, and this article is a good resource for our attendees who want to make holiday gifts from repurposed materials. 

Repurposing items from around the house is a green way to save items that may otherwise be destined for the landfill. Using repurposed items for crafting can save you money while also giving you the creative opportunity to make something one-of-a-kind. Nearly every item or material can find new life in the right craft project. Crafts don't have to be pure decoration -- you can make things that are useful and have a specific function. Think "crafting" like an artisan instead of crafting like summer camp.

What You Can Do With Clothing

• Unravel an old wool sweater and use the yarn for new knitting or crochet projects. You can also felt old wool and then use the felted wool material to make hats, blanket squares and absorbent cloth diaper covers. 
• Denim from worn-out jeans can be cut into strips for a rag rug, or cut and fashioned into a bag or laptop case. 
• Old t-shirts can be cut into memorable quilting squares -- my sister-in-law made me a fabulous quilt out of my sons' sentimental baby clothes. T-shirts can also be made into pillow cases or cut into reusable bags. 
• Men's ties, whether out of style or worn out can be fashioned into belts, bag straps or cut down and sewn into items like a cell phone case. Below is an iPhone case I made from one of my husband's discarded ties.
• Bits of a favorite shirt or old linens can be made into rice bags -- ice them as boo boo packs for injuries and sore muscles or warm them for aches and aromatherapy. The airplanes ones below are my boys' aromatherapy boo boo bags.
• Towels can be sewn into crate liners or beds for pets.

What To Do With Paper and Plastic 

• Cereal boxes can be made into magazine holders or file boxes. 
• Old frosting containers or soup cans can be decorated with paint or paper and made into pencil holders or short flower vases. Coordinate your paper or paint for a unified look. 
• Plastic bags can be cut into strips and made into "yarn" then crocheted into floor mats or tote bags. My mom made the crochet tote bag pictured here.

 

 Other Household Items

• A photo frame, with just a bit of decorative paper and a dry erase pen, can become a glass white board customized for your home or office. I made several of these for Christmas gifts, and they were a big hit. The one pictured below reminds me to "write it down."
• A canvas, some foam core and some old linens such as sheets or drapery can be refashioned into a functional mail sorter. I have one hanging in my kitchen for incoming mail. The one pictured below is a custom recycled fabric one I made for an Etsy client.
• An unused pencil case with a window, some rice and some random toys and tidbits can used to make a child's I Spy case. The I Spy pictured below belongs to my son, and it has toy airplanes, dominoes, dice, coins, a brass saxophone charm from a broken keychain, an interesting button, and quite a few other scavenged pieces I found around the house.
• An unused 7-day pill case makes an adorable Get Well gift with a little paint and some sticker letters spelling out GETWELL and filled with M&Ms.

 

Items Otherwise Known as Trash

• Add a metal handle to an empty Altoids tin painted red and you've got an adorable mini tool box, a great gift for any guy. I use mine, photo below, for business cards.
• Empty Capri Sun pouches are popular raw material for making wallets, purses and totes thanks to TerraCycle's school upcycling programs. I made the ones pictured here after watching this YouTube video describing the basic process. Check out my eHow article on making the pouch-style wallet. The one with the zipper was my first-ever zipper attempt!
• Beer caps can be made into custom magnets.
• Wine corks can be glued onto a backing for a custom message board -- any shape you want! 
• A cleverly folded wire hanger makes a magazine holder or easel from Artists Helping Children. I made the one pictured below with a wire hanger, a wine cork and green florist's tape.