Craft Projects for Kids Made from Used Items

Before throwing away used items in the garbage see what you can save for your children to use to make craft projects.  This can cut down on the amount of items that you throw out and bring hours of fun for your kids.

Coffee Can Bank

Give your child a used coffee can once you have clean it out.  Your child can glue construction paper around it.  Give your son or daughter crayons, markers and glitter to decorate the can.  When your child is finished, put the lid back on the can and cut a slit in the top.  You child now has a great new bank to put his or her allowance money in to save for a special treat.

Coat Hanger Fun

If you have a plastic coat hanger that has been better days, allow your child to weave or bedazzle the coat hanger.  One option is to give your child some yarn and let them weave a braid around the hanger.  Use fun and bright colors.  Another option is to help your child hot glue fake rhinestones and gems onto the hanger.  Your kid will be excited to show their “designer’ hanger off to their friends next time they have someone over for a play date.

Make Your Own Bowling Game

This project serves as both a craft and a game that can be used over and over again.  Collect a set of used plastic bottles.  When you have enough, set your child up with a smock and paint and allow he or she to decorate the bottles.  Once the paint has dried, you and your child can set up the bottles in the formation of bowling pins and have a fun afternoon of indoor bowling.

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New Uses for Ruined Clothing

Do your children have stained t-shirts or ripped pant that you were about to throw out?  Stay away from the trash can.  There are many ways you can save soiled or torn clothes.

Tie Dye

If your kids have a shirt with a stain that just won’t budget, allow them to turn the t-shirt into a tie dye shirt as a project.  Tie dye works best on light colored shirts.  The tie dye design should hide the stain nicely.  Make sure that your child wears a smock while creating their tie dye project as it can be messy.  You do not want to ruin yet another piece of clothing in the process.

Jeans

If you child has ripped or ruined the bottom of their jeans, you can cut them into a pair of Capri pants or shorts.   Cut the shorts to your desired length and then sew a cuff in place.  You can also take this opportunity to add on fun extras such as lace or rhinestones.

Shrinking

If your child has an outfit that you accidentally shrunk in the washing machine don’t just throw it away.  First, see if it now fits one of your younger children.  If you do not have another child of the same gender, you can even see if your child can use it to dress up a doll or a stuffed animal.  If neither of those options work you can always give the clothes to a friend or neighbor with a smaller sized child.

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Ways to Make Items Last Longer

Due to the economy and an increased awareness of eco responsibility, more people are looking for ways to make items last longer.  Using a few simple steps and taking a few extra minutes can help you to get the most out of what you already have.

Milk and Eggs

Keep your milk and eggs towards the back of the refrigerator and they can last several days past the expiration date on the carton.  Even though refrigerators seemed to be designed to keep these items towards the front, the back of the fridge is much colder and will keep these items a lot fresher.

Jeans

Don’t wash your jeans after just one use.  Jeans are very durable and will not smell after only one wear.  You can wear jeans for up to two weeks before washing them as long as you don’t get a stain on them.  The less you wash them the more durable they will be and they will keep their color longer and rip less.

Stretch it a Little

Stretch what you have a little longer.  Add a little water to shampoo or soap that is getting low.  When you have ketchup or mayo in a squeeze bottle that seems like it is about to run out, start storing the item upside down and you can get a lot more product out of the container.  Don’t throw away left overs.  Combine left overs from a few meals to create a new meal.  You can make soups, stews, casseroles and sandwiches out of food that you may have previously thrown out.  Also, send your kids to school with left overs for lunch.

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Accesories made from Recycled Materials

What if you could be fashionable and help the environment at the same time?  You actually can if you buy accessories made from recycled materials.

Candy Wrapper Handbags

These hot items are most often made from gum wrappers, but you will see them made out of gum wrappers as well.  The bags are very popular amount teen girls and celebrities.  Candy wrapper handbags are normally hand made.  You can get one at any eco friendly store or even try to make your own. If you get a hang of learning how to weave candy wrappers, you can even use this tactic to make cool friendship bracelets for your group of friends.

Used Maps

Another trendy recyclable is used maps: park maps, subway maps, theme park maps.  Most people just throw these items away, but crafty eco fashionistas have been making them into clutches and key chains.

Jewelry

You can make your own jewelry buy using soda can tabs.  Collect a whole bunch of tabs and then weave them together using the thread color of your choice.  Your friends will be wondering where you purchased your hot new bracelet.

Recycled Glass

More and more eco friendly designers are selling accessories made out of recycled glass.  Glass comes in so many beautiful colors that it is a perfect medium for designers to work with.  Designers have a special way of smoothing out the glass, so this is probably something that you want to purchase from a professional shop and not a project that you should try on your own.  You can purchase beautiful earrings, rings and necklaces.

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Spicing Up Your Old Clothes

If you are sick of your tired old wardrobe, but don’t have the money to go out and buy new clothes, you can utilize what is in your current closet to create fresh, new looks.

Denim

If you have jeans that are on the older side and ripped denim is back in style again, you can cut or shred your jeans to make this style for yourself.  Your friends will not know the difference between your recreated pants and a brand new pair.

Mix and Match

Put pieces together that may have not belonged together in the past.  If you have a full suit, take the jacket only and pair it with a chic top and trendy jeans.  Add a thick belt that came with a dress to a blouse.  You can also wear a dress with leggings under it to give it a new look.

Layer

Reuse that plain white top by layering two or three shirts.  You can also spice up the outfit with multiple necklaces or bracelets.  Don’t be afraid to try new things, you never know when you may start a new trend.

Use Items Differently

Have you ever thought of putting leg warmers on your arms?  What about using a big necklace as a belt?  Celebrities do things like this all the time and you can too.

Embellish

Use rhinestones to enhance a plain dress, top or jeans.  You can border the sleeves or neckline or even create a pattern.  You can also use beads, buttons and other items of your choice.

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How to Make Mesa Buildings Environmentally Friendly

When it comes to making a business or dwelling eco-friendly, Mesa property management specialists know some good tricks. Not only can you make changes that benefit the environment, but the changes can benefit you personally, too. You’ll find increased performance in your tools and reduced costs in many of your bills.

Appliances

One of the smartest moves you can make in creating an eco-friendly house in Mesa is replacing your appliances. While this might seem like an expensive step to take, you will find that it actually saves you costs in the long run. Look for appliances that are labeled as environmentally friendly and have an energy efficiency rating (EER). These tend to use less water and electricity. You can help the environment and your pocketbook even further by running appliances that generate heat in the evening when temperatures are cooler. This keeps your air conditioning costs down in the summer and helps with heat in the winter.

Lighting

Use compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) light bulbs instead of your energy-hogging bulbs. These use up to three-quarters less electricity than an incandescent light bulb. Many property managers keep energy in mind when landscaping, using trees to provide shade near windows where heat is intense and light where heat is less intense.

Insulation

Go through your home or business and make sure everything is well insulated for optimal energy efficiency. You might want to add weather stripping to your windows and doors. This keeps the cold air (or hot air depending on the season) out so your energy bill doesn’t go up. You can use padded strip sets or vinyl bulbs as weather stripping devices. Or, you can use thin brass or bronze strips nailed to the inside of a door jamb.

Follow advice from the experts, like Mesa property management, when turning your house or office into an eco-friendly environment. You can rest easily knowing you are helping the environment.

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Eco-Friendly Clothing for the Great Outdoors

Buying eco-friendly clothing from clothing re-sellers is an easy way to be fashionable while still supporting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle, but what happens when you need to purchase quality outdoors clothing for your next camping, hiking, or outdoors adventure? When you need quality clothing goods, it can be harder to rely on recycled clothing stores. So use these tips to hunt down a clothing manufacturer that keeps to fair trade and sustainable practices.

New fashion with truly sustainable clothing is not easy to find. After all, no matter how earth-conscientious a clothing retailer is, it is still difficult to find, produce, and market a product or line of products that are completely sustainable (unless perhaps you are willing to wear loincloth). Consider the incredible amount of resources that went into putting your favorite pair of jeans together and put them on the shelf where you could buy them. Although you will be hard-pressed to make a purchase that eliminates the resources that are drained from the environment and economy to bring you those jeans, you can at least make purchase that will lessen that resource drain.

If you have to make a purchase of brand new clothing from a quality outdoors clothing retailer, know what you are buying. Generally, certain fibers and fabrics are more eco-friendly than others, such as recycled polyester, wool, and cotton rather than nylon. If you want to get even more serious about eco-friendly clothing, you can use completely recycled materials or sustainable materials like soy, hemp, or bamboo.

There are some outdoor clothing retailers that are manufacturing eco-friendly clothing on the cutting edge of technology as well as a dedication to environmentally-sound resources, labor, manufacturing, and marketing practices. Instead of buying a new quick-dry running shirt made of nylon and other materials, you can now purchase outdoor apparel made from coconut shells or wood pulp. Shop for recycled cotton long johns or recycled polyester outer shell jackets that are not only going to perform well, but are helping to decrease the negative impacts of clothing resource surplus and exploitation.

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Where to Shop for Recycled Fashion

The good news about the environmental debate is that environmentally-friendly and sustainable living has become wildly popular among the fashionable trend-setters in first world countries. Soccer moms love to carry their grocery tote-bags into the store. Young students enjoy wearing shoes made from recycled material and by fair-trade standards, such as the Tom’s Shoes brand. Many people shop at organic health food stores like Whole Foods. Sustainable, eco-conscious living is the hip thing. And eco-friendly clothing is another way that eco-friendly hipsters are expressing their concern about the environment.

There are several ways to wear eco-friendly clothing. One is to shop at consignment stores, thrift stores, or other stores where you can buy used clothing. Consignment stores and thrift stores are just as popular as ever with fashion-conscious hipsters. Consignment stores such as Buffalo Exchange have opened a chain that accepts used clothing at discounted prices, and then resells the clothes at a slightly higher price. It’s possible to exchange clothing, or to buy clothing at the discounted price. The chain is very selective about the type and quality of clothing that it accepts for re-sell, as it caters to a picky group of fashion fiends who do not want to waste time searching through stacks of old bathrobes. Consignments stores and clothing resellers are often more fashion-conscious than thrift stores, since they are more selective, and cater to a specific fashion audience.

Another great option for buying recycled clothing is via online shopping in auction sites like Ebay, where individual owners will re-sell their unwanted new or used clothing at discounted prices. These sites allow unwanted clothing to end up with the owners who specifically want them, taking the principle of a thrift store or consignment store and expanding it across the country or even across the world. It is possible for a woman in the MidWest to order a pair of jeans from a woman in Singapore, and to have the jeans mailed to her house within a few days. All of these methods make recycled fashion more readily available and easier to find than ever before.

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The Sewing Machine: The Eco-Friendly Fashion Fiend’s Best Friend

Steampunk Sewing Machine

Image by Bekathwia via Flickr

For the eco-friendly clothing fan, one of the best investments you can make for your recycled materials wardrobe – and for your budget – is a quality sewing machine. Sewing can be time consuming and technically challenging, but if you have time to spare, want to pick up a new hobby, or are dedicated to making eco-friendly clothing a part of your wardrobe, then consider making the purchase. You will be able to mend old clothes in a jiffy, transform old clothes into wearable, fashionable outfits, and have fun getting creative with your projects. Best of all, you will be helping to minimize the demand for new clothing, which contributes to the exploitation of labor as well as the environment.

Sewing fanatics can make the old new with a few sewing tools. While it is possible to do your mending with just a needle and threat, it can be even more time consuming, and more technically challenging, than using a sewing machine. A machine can sew quickly and accurately, and all you have to do is know how to operate the machine on a very basic level. First, pick out the right color of threat, make sure it is long enough, then thread the needle, turn on the machine, place the area of the clothing item underneath the foot of the needle apparatus, and then begin sewing.

Besides mending and alterations, you can cut fabrics to add on or subtract from a favorite piece of clothing. You can think as big or as little as you want – perhaps just a fun fabric pattern around your headband would make you more willing to wear it. You might be surprised by how a small sewing job can transform your clothes from mediocre into hip and cute.

Lastly, once you have got the hang of your sewing machine, you can use it to make just about any article of clothing. Think beyond the typical sweater vest or pajama shorts, and try something totally unique, like a Japanese-inspired kimono as your new bathrobe or a matching handbag and coin purse.

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How to Transform Your Grandma’s Jewelry Box into Fashionable Accessories

Ever rummaged through your grandmother’s jewelry box and wondered if there would come a day when those bulky necklaces would come back into style? Or have you ever come across a piece of heirloom jewelry that you cannot bring yourself to wear, but also could never bear to give it away? For those fashionistas who love to make the old new and restore old clothes or jewelry, do not be afraid to use those hand me down necklaces, anklets, brooches, and jangling earrings in your next do it yourself arts and crafts project. Your grandmother would more likely be happy to know that you have found a way to incorporate her jewelry into your wardrobe than find out it has just been collecting dust. Plus, you will be getting creative with your jewelry stash and being just as eco-conscious about your accessories than you are about the rest of your eco-friendly lifestyle.

What to do With Brooches
These outdated accessories can be tricky to salvage, but if you have one with potential, consider making it into a necklace. Use a necklace chain from another old necklace, or pick one up from the jewelry store or crafts store. If you have two brooches that are similar, consider making them into earrings, or use hot glue and magnets to turn them into refrigerator magnets.

What to do With Anklets and Armbands
If anklets and armbands are not your thing, try resizing them into bracelets. Resizing metal jewelry involves precision cutting and heating, so take your jewelry to a professional who can do it for you.

What to do With Handkerchiefs
Heaven knows your grandmother probably has a horde of handkerchiefs that she probably has not used in decades, if at all. Turn them into headbands or scarves and you are in luck.

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