Easy Recycled Crafts for Kids
Raid your recycling bin and discover an abundance of useful and creative craft materials. With a bit of imagination and some basic supplies like glue, tape, glitter and fabric scraps, kids can turn empty cardboard boxes, glass jars and plastic deli containers into new toys, room decorations, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, gifts and more.
Cardboard Boxes and Tubes
Give your kids a pile of cardboard boxes and tubes of all shapes and sizes. Add paints, markers, glitter glue, tape, glue, chenille stems, buttons, feathers, yarn and anything else you might have in your craft closet, then challenge them to create something with the boxes. Inspire them with a few simple ideas.
For example, make a spiral arm band or bracelet with a paper towel tube. Cut it down to 8 inches, then cut along the tube's seam to create a spiral. Cover the band with aluminum foil and embellish it with adhesive backed plastic gems. Gently unwind the coil and slip it over your child's upper arm.
Two pudding boxes can be turned into furniture for a Polly Pocket doll. For instance, a four-poster bed can be made by cutting a rectangular-shaped headboard and footboard from one pudding box. Make a miniature wide-screen television by covering another pudding box with aluminum foil. Glue a small magazine picture in the center for the picture.
Peanut Butter Jar Lids
Kids can create a miniature scene inside the lid of a peanut butter jar. Thread a piece of ribbon through the hole and create a loop, then tie ribbon ends together. Kids can glue small plastic toys and magazine cut-outs inside the lid to create a miniature scene.
Encourage kids to create a scene that represents a favorite hobby or interest. For instance, a boy who loves trains could cover the back of the lid with a mountain scene from a magazine, then cut train tracks out of brown construction paper. A small train could be glued to the tracks. Hang the miniature scenes on your Christmas tree or give them as gifts to grandparents.
Plastic Deli and Bakery Containers
Turn clear plastic deli and bakery containers into a charm bracelet. You will need #6 plastic containers; look for the recycle mark and the #6 on the bottom of the container. Use a 2-inch punch to cut six circles from the plastic. Ask your child to draw pictures on the circles using color pencils. Punch a small hole on the left and right sides of each circle. Heat the plastic with a heat gun until it shrinks to approximately a third of its original size. Attach jump rings to the charms and add them to a link bracelet.
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