Recycling Project: Light bulb ornaments

Happy holidays everyone! Today I am writing to you from the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Maarten, where I am spending my Christmas with my grandparents.

Picture courtesy of: Me

Today I wanted to show you an awesome recycling project for Christmas. The next time your light bulb goes out, don’t throw it away! You can make it into a lovely ornament for the tree or for the garlands.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36420053@N07/5156276597/?rb=1

Materials needed:

Lightbulb

Acrylic paints

Paint brush

Wire

Wire cutters and pliers

Hot glue

Marker (optional)

Recycling Projects: Plastic Bottle Butterflies

Plastic Bottle Butterflies

         Parental supervision may be needed for this project as it requires the use of sandpaper, sharp tacks, and cutting plastic with scissors, which can be difficult.

Picture courtesy of: http://seedtofeedme.blogspot.com/2013/02/butterfly-facts.html

         Supplies needed:

         Empty 2-liter plastic bottle

         180-grit sandpaper

         Scissors

         Paints, paintbrushes

         Marker

         Pins or tacks, a surface to pin on

Recycling Projects: Easter Egg Fireflies

My family never got into decorating real eggs for Easter. It takes time, and I was usually bored after the second one. We didn’t hide those eggs, we just decorated the kitchen table with them for a little bit and then ate them. I was all about the hunts. I love Easter egg hunts. I still love them, even though I’m eighteen years old.

Plastic Easter eggs are awesome, because you don’t have to spend all that time painting them, and unlike hard boiled eggs, you can stuff them with goodies. Pocket change, candy, hints for a scavenger hunt, and if you’re lucky, maybe a five or ten dollar bill.

But of course… plastic is not biodegradable and not good at all for the environment. I couldn’t find any specific numbers online, but I think it’s safe to say that we go through a LOT of plastic Easter eggs each spring. And, like most “disposable” items, I’m sure more people throw out their plastic eggs than not.

So, what can you do with all of those eggs you now have laying around? Inevitably, some of them broke. You could recycle the busted ones and save the rest for next year (hopefully you’ll remember you have them before you go out and buy more), you could take them to a thrift shop, you could donate them…

Or, you could repurpose them into something new and fun. I found this project and thought it would be perfect for the month after April. I hope I caught you before you threw them out.

 Easter Egg Firefly Toys/Flashlight

Supplies Needed:

Plastic Easter eggs
Flameless LED tealights (3 pack for a dollar at Dollar Tree)
Pipe cleaners
Duct tape
Scissors
Nail and hammer (can be substituted with glue)
Paint and paint brush/ permanent markers

Recycling Projects: Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder

Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder

Supplies Needed:

• 2 liter plastic bottle with cap
• String or wire
• Scissors, knife, hole punch, wire cutters
• Wood dowel or chopsticks (used or unused)
• Super glue or hot glue gun
• Ruler
• Spray paint and/or acrylic paint and paintbrushes (optional)
• Bird feed

 This project was adapted from a more decorative, intricate project I found online, which you can find here: http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/Plastic-Bottle-Birdfeeder#
My version is more simplified. Mine is also less aesthetic, but don't let that discourage you from using your plastic bottle bird feeder. You can customize your bird feeder in any way you like to make it look, well, less like a plastic bottle. The bird feeder made from favecrafts.com is beautiful! So, if you're feeling crafty, check out the link above.

 This project involves some cutting, so please supervise your children or do the cutting for them to make sure they don't get hurt. I'm going to make my own plastic bottle bird feeder as I write this post, and add pictures of my progress as I go!

Recycling Projects: Cereal Box Magazine Holders

Cereal Box Magazine Holders

Supplies Needed:

• Cereal box (or cracker box, or wine box, or pancake mix box, etc.) about 10.5 inches tall
• Scissors
• Glue and/or tape
• Ruler
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, paint, paintbrush etc.
• Construction paper, scrap paper OR
• Wrapping paper, designed paper

This will be a fun project for the kids that will allow them to draw and color and be creative. Be sure to supervise them with cutting the boxes, or do it for them, so they don’t get hurt and so the measurements are done correctly. If you’re going to let them do the cutting, it might be easier to mark the boxes beforehand so they know where to cut. Also, avoid buying new paper for this project. Use paper that you already have! Reduce, reuse, recycle!