It's Earth Day today. Besides using less water and electricity, what else can we do to help"heal the world and make it a better place"? Craft Queen Martha Steward has many brilliant recycle ideas, here are my favorite ones.
1. Cork Trivet
What a brilliant idea! You will need around 50 corks to make a medium sized trivet. Don't start to drink today. It might take a while to get 50 corks.
Step 1: You can just start to collect. Ask for corks when you go to a bar or a restaurant. You will find people are happy to give them away.
Step 2: Surround corks with an 8- to 10-inch metal hose clamp (sold in the plumbing section of the hardware store)
Step 3: Tighten the clamp to bind the corks together and then trim the excess clamp with metal clippers.
2. Cereal Box Organizer
Every American family has cereal for breakfast and then toss the box in recycle bin. Maybe you can start to make use of empty cereal boxes by turning them into handy holders for your desk. Large boxes work well for books, small ones for supplies.
Step 1: Cut box with a utility knife at desired angle and height.
Step 2: Wrap decorative or contact paper around box to see how much you'll need; unwrap; cut.
Step 3: Secure paper with double-sided tape; trim excess.
3. Piggy Bank
I have been storing coins in cups, plastic bags and trays. Time to make my own Piggy Bank. Easy peasy.
Step 1: Find an adequate plastic bottle; rinse and let dry.
Step 2: Cut features like eyes, nose, ears and body from construction paper; glue them to the bottle.
Step 3: Hot-glue empty thread spools on for legs.
Step 4: Cut a slot at the top for coins, and a hole in back to insert a pipe-cleaner tail.
4. Bottle beauty
How many glass bottle do we throw out everyday? How many times do we go to IKEA to buy a vase? You can transform everyday vessels into elegant vases by coating their interiors with glass enamel.
Step 1: Wash the bottle inside and out with soapy water; let dry.
Step 2: Buy dishwasher-safe enamel paint, which can be found at most crafts stores.
Step 3: Pour in a small amount of the paint's surface conditioner, which primes the glass for the enamel. Swirl to coat fully, then pour out excess. Stand bottle upright, and dry for an hour.
Step 4: Pour in enough enamel to easily coat the inside. Swirl, and return excess to container for reuse. Dry bottle upside down on a paper towel for 48 hours, periodically wiping excess enamel from the rim with a damp cloth during the first hour.
5. Doorbells
They look cute, don't they? And they are made of egg holders. A total green idea.
1. Cut the cone-shape pieces that separate the eggs out of a cardboard carton (one egg carton will produce five bells).
2. Paint each divider, using acrylic or poster paint. Let dry; apply glue along the edge of the divider, all over the outside, or wherever you like, and sprinkle with glitter.
3. Thread an embroidery needle with yarn, poke a hole through a bell's crown, and pull yarn through partway. For a clapper, slip a jingle bell onto the end of the yarn; tie a knot above the jingle bell. Tie several bells around a doorknob, staggering the lengths of the yarn.
6. Tin-Can Jack-O'-Lantern
You don't need to buy a big pumpkin to add some Halloween atmosphere. Let's take advantage of our empty coffee cans, soup cans... We can create a new Halloween tradition by punching robotlike faces into cans. Add votive candles, and the heads come to life. Place in window, or stack as a centerpiece.
Step 1: Clean empty coffee or soup cans and removing labels. Fill can with water, and freeze.
Step 2: Steady frozen can on a bag of rice, and punch holes with an awl and hammer.
Step 3: Defrost and dry.
Step 4: Paint exterior with oil-based enamel.
No comments:
Post a Comment