Last Updated on September 29, 2010

Go Green With Your Craft Ideas

Saving the environment is a very cool thing, especially when you can make cool crafts out of recycled materials.  Most anything can be recycled and children will love being involved in such a great activity.  Before setting the garbage and recycling bins out every week, take a second to save a couple items for arts and crafts.

Children can have fun with the following:

Gift bag recycling

Reuse gift bags that you have received by transforming into something completely different.  What you will need is an old gift bag.  A brown paper bag will work as well.  With handmade paper, glue, a pencil and a pair of scissors, your child can open up his own present wrapping business.

Carefully unglue the bottom flaps at the bottom of the old gift bag.  Place the opened bag onto paper and draw the outlines slightly longer than the bag.  Cut the paper, leaving some extra room that is enough to cover the bag.  Apply glue to the old bag.  Make sure that glue is applied to the folds.

Place the handmade paper on the bag and align the bottom edges.  Attach it to one side of the bag.  Cut slits at the corners of the extra hanging handmade paper at the top of the bag.  This will allow you to fold the extra paper down into the old bag.  Make sure that you fold it down smoothly. 

Glue the bottom flaps.  You can then elaborate with ribbons. 

Kazoo

You can make a kazoo out of a toilet paper tube.  It is an easy and fun activity for kids.  All you need is an empty tube, black paint, foam brush, foam music notes, tacky glue, wax paper, a rubber band, and scissors.

First paint the tube with the black tube.  After it is dry, glue on the music notes.  Cut a 6” circle out of the wax paper and secure it with the rubber band at one end of the tube.  Create your own kind of silly music by tooting through the open end of the tube.  Have fun!

Kitty condo

This is a great activity for using recycling materials and entertaining your cat.  Here is what you will need:

•    Two or more paper bags
•    Scissors
•    Glue
•    Tape
•    Cardboard
•    Construction paper
•    Glasses or bowls
•    Pencil
•    Loose pictures
•    Your cat!

Lay the paper bags flat and using the bowls, trace a circle on the bottom of them.  Then open the bags and cut out the circles.  On the sides of the bags, trace circles by using the glasses.  Cut these circles out too.

Cut some strips of cardboard and lay them inside of the bags for support.  Place two of the bags top to top, and fit one of the bags inside the other about an inch.  Glue or tape them in place.  Continue these steps with the other bags.  Decorate the outside of the bags by using the pictures.  To add extra support to the cat condo, glue some construction paper around the windows.