Semi-Crafty

We recycle. And I'm not going to lie, the reason we recycle is my 5 year old son. I was fine with throwing everything in the trash and then last year in pre-k my son paid attention to one thing, recycling. Every time I would throw something in the trash, he would inquire, "Shouldn't we recycle that? We can make new stuff out of old stuff." So, to begin with, we started to recycle to please him and then the more we did recycled, the more I really started thinking about the stuff we throw in the trash.

Now that he's got my mind thinking and the summer his here and almost gone, my quest to do crafts with the kids, and find new things to keep them busy these last couple weeks before school is in full effect. As I go to the recycling bin, to put things away, I keep wondering what kind of crafts can I make with paper towel rolls, toilet tissue holders, milk jugs and egg cartons.

Honestly, I'm not the craftiest person.

I don't know if I lack motivation or the chaos of my daily life interferes with the thought process for me to even come up with an idea. But I search, find things to do, and carry them out, so that counts for something, right?

So, I've searched long and wide and here are the top crafts I found that use things around the house:

1. I think this idea is really cute, especially with the holidays around the corner. Making cupcake for a neighbor, family member or friend? Use the old carton crate as a cupcake holder, decorated by your kids. Let them paint, sticker and draw on the outside. If you make your own chocolates or candies, you could probably use this too. Line the spaces with cupcake liners and fill with the candy of your choice.

2. I know I did this as a kid. And I will be doing this craft this week, as my daughter would love this one. Use and old tin can, chenille stems and the egg carton to make Egg Carton Tulips! Cut out the individual cups of the carton, cut the ends into tips or scalloped edges and let your child paint, color on or even apply glitter. Poke a hole at the bottom and run your chenille stems through the bottom. Make a bouquet, gathering them together and tying with a ribbon. Or make a pot of flowers, use an empty decorated soup can or a small plastic flower pot, add some foam at the bottom and stick them through for your own flower pot.

3. This very easy craft, and it's the easy stuff that usually keeps them occupied for a while. Make Binoculars from toilet paper holders. All you need is 2 toilet paper holders and some string.Staple the two together at the top and the bottom, punch a hole in either side and attach  with some string, long enough to go around your child's neck. Your child can even decorate the binoculars if they wish. Once done, let you child roam around and see things through his new point of view!

4. A little princess of diva in your life? Make bracelets from toilet paper holders. Cut the toilet paper holder the width you want with a slit in the back for the opening. Use glitter, construction paper, markers, sequins, ribbon, stickers and whatever else you can find around the house. Let them decorate the bracelet as they wish.

5. This is something my mom always did for the kids when they were younger. Kids, especially infants and young children, love music makers. If you have any plastic jugs around the house, once empty, fill them with rice or noddles, make sure to tighten the cap securely and let the child shake, rattle and roll about. This idea is so incredibly simple and easy to do and it always them happily entertained. Just be prepared for noise!

6. I got this idea from a friend of mine who is a teacher. If your kids are anything like mine they constantly ask, "When is my birthday?" When is Christmas?" "When does school start?" They ask enough to drive it into the ground, where I can't wait until the even comes and passes so they don't ask anymore. Well, my friend suggested I take construction paper, make rings and loop them together in the amount of days until that certain event or holiday. Then number the rings and swag it in a doorway.  Then everyday, the child removes the rings and see how many days are left until the event or holiday. We did this with the pending birth of our third child, because every morning they would ask if the baby was coming today. I used blue, yellow and green construction paper decorated by the kids, and we assembled it together. It was something we could do as a family and removing a ring and seeing how many were left satisfied their inquiry and put the amount of days into a little bite more of a perspective

What are your favorite crafts to do with items found around the house?