[cross-posted from iAnthology]
Welcome to the second iAnthology “Make with Me.” Again, these “make” projects are super flexible, so please feel free to diverge from the suggestions in any way you like.
This month we’re going to take some household object that you would normally throw away and make it into something you can use in a new way. (Thanks to Kim Douillard for this suggestion.) It could be anything from milk cartons to cans to boxes to paper.
Here are a few ideas:
- The wine bottle candle holder is an oldie but a goodie.
- I use milk cartons, plastic butter containers, plastic bottles, etc. to grow my plant starts in.
(Once Organic Valley sent me a bunch of free stuff because they were so excited about how I reused their milk cartons! You have to love social media.)Last year, I started decoupaging with little pieces of pretty paper on old plastic cartons to make planters.
I have a big artistic imagination, but not much skill in executing most of my ideas. I found decoupaging with Mod Podge to be something I could actually do though. A great site about Mod Podge projects can be found here. - Larger plastic jugs make great under-the-sink compost collectors.
- You can even recycle your own paper! This is a fun activity to do with kids. Here are a couple of tutorials on this from Instructables and Mother Earth News. When I did it, I used what I had around and built a small wood frame and covered it with cheesecloth. Also I didn’t use felt but put a towel underneath to support and absorb water.
We’re anxious to see what other ideas you have for recycling common objects into something new and useful. Don’t forget to post a picture!
Make with Me: Remixing as Recycling