Going Green

As we all need to save and use what we have to keep costs down, I thought it a good idea for you all to start collecting items that can be easily reused. There are many items that we throw away each day that can be recycled into something new and useable.
We all at some point have bottles, jars, tins cans etc, that can be made into holders for the kitchen, bathroom, garden and living room. Bottle tops can be altered into necklace pendants, fridge magnets or used in decorating cards as toppers. Plain candles can be altered into very pretty centre pieces for birthday parties, christmas tables etc all by using easy items that we throw away.
Buttons, beads, old clean clothing can also be used. When I want fabric to use in my craft work I look through all my old items of clothing and see if I can use it before I finally throw away. Lace can come from old slips and the fabric is great for painting on. Newspapers can be used to cover tissue boxes rubber gloves boxes and either painted or stained using an old tea bag! Before you open that bin and throw it away think! What could I use this for?
In the coming months I will try to start to add new ideas on the blog, with the help of tutorials so you can all experiment. My favourite recycled idea was making use of coffee mate tins, these are probably the simplest of items to make for holding pens, paint brushes and more, so far I have a shelf in my craft room thats full and I can find what I need easily. Recently I took to saving ice cream pots, these I came across in Tesco the little ones with lids they are clear and you can place beads, buttons all smaller items in them to store in your areas. Large sweet tins are ideal but you will need to label them I keep wool and lace well all sorts in mine and they stack pretty well too. Old diaries I have used too, the hard covers of these can be altered into note books by using the hole punch and threading ribbon through to hold it together or you can simply strenghthen the outter cover after removing the pages. Old paper or scrap paper can be used to make paper flowers, these can be cut from a template I will add one on the blog for you and then coloured with felt pens. There is so much that can be used and you will have fun reusing the items. You can also use the PVA glue watered down to create a glaze that will protect your crafts this saves on buying the glazes available. I use charity shops, markets, family and friends for odd items rather than buy these days, crafts can be an expensive hobby if you do not use what you already have available.