Reuse for the Crafty

As a crafty person myself, I thought I’d offer some reuse tips to other like-minded crafty people on this community.

~TOOLS~
First, here are a few items that may normally get thrown out after their “regular” usage has ended but can still be utilised by the crafty.

Toothbrush – Too worn for teeth, give it a clean and use it to create “splatter” paint effect! Great if you want to design your own wrapping paper or add an interesting panel to a “window” card. Not to mention loads of fun for the kids, especially if they have to wrap their exercise books up – they could add a little uniqueness!

Sponge – (this also works for those body mop items) once they have become a little tired, clean it, dry it and use with paint to give a cool sponge print effect on paper.

Thin cardboard - Cereal boxes are the best I've found, cut them up the seams and hold onto the large flat areas. These are great for making your own stencils (especially useful when using the above two tools!)

Eggbox – Egg boxes are invaluable! Whether its using them for mixing paint, holding glue or glitter or to separate beads, keep at least two of these with your craft box!

Burnt matches – For anything that small and fiddly that needs gluing (as a quiller, I found these were perfect for putting just the tiniest dab of glue on the end of the rolled paper!) Again, keep a stash handy.

Old Flour & Newspaper - Any flour that's past its best for using in the kitchen can be used (along with strips of newspaper) to create paper mache.  All you need is 1 part flour to 5 parts water, stir well for about 5 minutes and add a little salt.  When it's smooth, dip your newspaper strips in and then cover your mould!

~WRAPPING & TAGS~
Like many crafty people, I hate to throw things away especially so-called cut offs. These are always handy to keep in a store box that will be rummaged through frequently. It’s a good idea to start one of these boxes if you haven’t already!

Newspaper / Magazines – You’ve forgotten a birthday, managed to hurriedly get a present but then oh no, no wrapping paper! As a crafty person, you are sure to have a stack of newspaper on hand (after all, gluing, glittering etc is a messy business). Quick and simple present wrapping. You can also work it around the recipient, do they like fashion, then why not use a fashion or celebrity mag, a football fan might like it wrapped in the sports pages etc.

Material – Scraps of material come from all over, old pillowcases, ends of curtains you’ve turned up, old teeshirts that have been torn… Find a nice clean piece and use it to wrap a simple present. Instead of sellotape, hold it shut with a ribbon or twisted cord. If you have enough of a nice material why not stitch it into a small drawstring bag to add as an “extra” gift as well as wrapping source.

Cut offs – You’ve wrapped presents and ended up with small cut offs of the wrapping paper. Not big enough to wrap more, if there is a picture on it, cut out the picture and glue it onto a small piece of card (matching gift tag). If there are a few pictures on the cut off, then cut them all out and try your hand at a decoupage tag!


~BOXES & TUBES~
Having had enough experiences of trying to wrap awkward presents, I have learnt the value of boxes, bags and tubes!

Boxes – Never underestimate the use of a good box! I usually try and keep all good strong boxes from tiny to about shoebox sizes. This gives me a nice range for present wrapping. Boxes can be covered in paper (as in glued on rather than just wrapped) and can be an added extra as many people like them as storage boxes if they are pretty enough! Add some tissue paper, plop in the present and tie up the box with ribbon or string and its all neatly contained!

Cartons – Another good reuse is juice cartons! They are so nice and sturdy. Rinse them, cut off the very top then on two opposite sides cut out two V shapes, on the other opposite sides cut two inverted V shapes. Cover the carton in paper (glued!), add the present and then either stick or tie the two points at the top together. One method can be to punch three holes up either side of the inverted Vs and then “stitch” with a thick cord, the two halves together pulling the top shut.

Tubes – Start a collection of the cardboard tubes, add the small present inside the tube, with some tissue paper etc and wrap with wrapping paper (extending beyond the ends). Ribbons to tie the ends into a “cracker” shape! Use them to decorate the tree and as an extra treat!

CD Boxes – After recycling or reusing old CDs, keep the boxes. Design thirteen cards to fit perfectly within it, either hand made or if you have a computer add the following years monthly dates per card and photos (this is where you can be very creative and make the gift to match the person…are they a gardener? Pet lover? Sports enthusiast? These can then be fitted in the CD box. All the person has to do is open the box and flip it over so that it stands open (L-shaped) on their desk! (PS: I say 13 pages because I personally like having a “title” page!) :p


I hope this give a few ideas for those who might want incorporate the greenliness of Reuse with the creativity of being Crafty :)