Here are creative ways to recycle, a.k.a: Eco-friendly craft tips!
As crafters, a lot of material pass through our hands. From scraps to glues, a lot of it ends up in the trash. I’m sharing steps I take to make a difference. These are all small things, but they add up in the long run. The best part is they are easy to incorporate!
RELATED: How to recycle as a crafter
Eco-friendly craft tips
– Bubble mailers: I get these in the mail all the time and I reuse them to send my own mail out. I like to cut the large ones in half and use to mail two small items. They also work great for packing.
-Paint water: Pour into a cardboard box and set it under the sun , the water will evaporate, leaving the color on the box. you can then cut that up and use it in a project!
– Used Fed Ex/UPS Overnight Boxes: I cut these up into different sizes of squares, from 4×4″ down to 1/2″. Why? I use them as my “pop dots” in my shadow boxes, shrines, greeting cards, etc. They work great for layering images for a 3D look. The boxes are awesome because they are so smooth.
– Leftover wrapping paper: During the holidays, I always buy way to much wrapping paper. You know – the five rolls for $5 kind? Now I use it for packing boxes. Not only is colorful, but it is very sturdy.
-Unwanted clothing: Turn into yarn, washcloths or unpaper towels.
– Extra glitter: Pour the excess glitter from your projects into a separate container – the mixed version is very pretty! you can use it on future projects!
– Paper clippings: Save them in a jar as well, you can use them as stuffing for gift baskets or gift boxes. Same with your shredded paper. If you really want to go next level – make new paper with it. Create pages with them and stitch into journals.
– Unwanted printer paper. Save pages that you print out and use them as your sketch paper. Save all your sketches in a binder!
– Paint bottles with a little bit of paint left: If they are acrylic craft paints, add water and shake them up. Great for watercolors, spray bottles, spritzing, tinting cotton fabric.
– Pretty boxy shopping bags from department or gourmet stores: Staple the backing against the wall in your craft room so you can have extra storage to hold lightweight, oversize items like rolled up posters, prints, yarn, etc.
– Empty thread spools: Use to hold yarn or embroidery floss remnants.
– Cereal and other food boxes: Hello! Perfect for when you need lightweight chipboard to make books or little shrine boxes!
– Old dishtowels: Put up a towel bar to hold these as rags in your studio, so you won’t use paper towels.
– Unwanted beads and findings: Make elastic bracelets with mismatched beads. Pour them in a glass sun tea jar and use as a door stop. Or use them in a resin project!
– Fabric you don’t like anymore: Dip or tie dye it to give a new look.
– Fabric scraps: Sew pieces together to make a big piece of collage fabric – then make totes bags.
