Top 5 Recycled Craft Ideas

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Posted 2020-04-25 by Sue W ⇒ follow

Do you want to make a craft that doesn't cost much money and is good for the environment? Then make something useful, from something you were about to throw out. It is rewarding to know that you have saved something from landfill, while making something beautiful for your home. Half the fun is looking at the item and working out how to make it work for you. The ideas of what you can make are endless! If you have kids, they will also enjoy getting creative with you and they are learning about recycling and up-cycling, along the way.

These are 5 easy crafts ideas that you can make at home today, using items you may already have in your home. Once you start looking at your recycle bin or rubbish bin, you will be amazed by what ideas you can come up with...

1/ Soft Drink Bottles

To make this self-watering pot above, cut through a soft drink bottle one-third of the way down. Drill a hole in the lid and thread through some jute twine, then knot it on the inside of the lid. Screw the lid back on. Fill the bottom of the bottle with water. Turn the top of the bottle upside down and rest it in the bottom section. Fill the top part with dirt and plant a succulent or seeds. It is the perfect solution to keep your plants hydrated during summer!

2/ Empty Cans

When you have finished with your empty ring-pull cans, give them a coat of primer (or sand them), before painting with two coats of acrylic paint. For the hanging garden pots below, I drilled small holes on each side of the cans to attach the twine (which was threaded through and knotted inside to secure). I then drilled holes in the bottom of each can for the water to drain, and made sure there was one right in the centre to thread through the twine. It was then a matter of putting them all together, one on top of each other, knotting the twine in place inside each pot. Add dirt and succulents and you brighten up a boring area of the garden!

3/ Beer Bottle Tops

For this picture frame project below, my daughter painted the inside of each bottle top individual colours and then glued glitter cardboard circles inside. We then used blue-tac to attach each bottle top onto a photo frame, to display in her bedroom. We originally thought the bottle tops looked like little flowers, but by the time we were finished, it looked like Jimmy Giggle was lit up in spotlights! Other ideas could be to drill holes in them and make wind chimes out of them, turn them into magnets, make earrings out of them or use them as numbers on a clock. Get creative and come up with more ideas!

4/ Plastic Milk Bottles

There are a wide range of uses for plastic milk bottles, however my daughter loves me to make her a gardening set with two, 3 litre milk bottles. To make a simple watering can, simply take the lid off and drill 5 - 6 small holes in the lid and put it back on. Fill it with a small amount of water so it is easy for small hands to carry. To make the plastic trowel, see the photo below. Trace around the handle and down to the bottom and cut it out with a sharp craft knife. It isn't the sturdiest trowel for adults to use, but kids love it for playing in the sand or soft dirt. The best part? When they start to get too dirty and bendy - you can just make more!

5/ Glass Jars

Glass coffee jars, jam jars, condiment jars, spice jars and salsa jars all have interesting shapes and can be washed out and used for a variety of end uses. One idea is to paint them with primer and then add a couple of coats of acrylic paint and you have a painted glass jar that you can give as a gift, use as a pen holder or display as home decor. To make a snow globe for your kids, use a hot glue gun to attach a plastic toy or clay figurine under the lid, fill the jar with glitter, water and clear glue and screw the lid back on to create a pretty snow globe. Experiment with different ideas with different shapes!

Do you like any of these ideas? Then do something for yourself, and the environment, and get recycle crafting today!