31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Material - Tea Boxes

Tea Boxes Decorated

What are you going to do with your empty tea boxes that you have, throw them away, recycle, put them in the compost or do you make something from them? Yesterday I showed you a way to alter them and make something crafty, here are a few other ways.
Always one for experimenting I wanted to see how many different ways the tea boxes could be decorated based on some of the supplies that I have. Whatever you have in your craft supplies there are some amazing techniques to try.

Here are 4 ways that I decorated mine so far, this is a great way to use up some of those smaller pieces of your supplies – paper, embellishments that may be too small for one of your larger projects but may be just right for this one. (No it isn’t an excuse to start to hoard, though it can sometimes feel as if you are surrounded by a mound of ‘use it for later’ supplies).

I will be doing a series around the tea and tea boxes, so watch this space, and even follow along. I might even do a monthly tea box challenge with some giveaways each month!
So for the boxes I covered this one with handmade paper, brads and topper that was a free decoupage topper form a magazine. (You can make your own decorative paper with painted recycled paper. I then tool string and beads to decorate the front, and stamped the inside with a homemade stamp.

Quinoa Box
When I had loads of outdated quinoa, I wanted to use it to make a creative covering for the box and applying glue sprinkled it all over and let it dry. I then finished off with broken jewellery, ribbon and another homemade mini box.

Friend Box

Covered with stamped masking tape and glitter paper, with a tag on the top with the stamped message of friendship. I also used a clay embellishment on the top.

Sequin Box
This has handmade paper, paint, sequins and an encouraging word tag on the top. If you keep the embellishments simple your box will last longer and be more sturdy. It is great fun having these decorative containers and it would be great to do a series.

You can see how I went about altering the boxes HERE

Perhaps you will join me with the monthly makes and you can sign up HERE if you want to know when a new one is coming.

31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Promarker Pen Holders - Day 7

Creative Recycling, one box/can/bottle/ at a time!

Do you have lots of pens all over the place that need a home?

Do you want to see what you have and don't want to hide them? 

Have you a small amount of space to work with?

Then look no further!!  Over the next few days as part of the '31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials' and the 'Ultimate Blog Challenge' I have a few 'pen' storage ideas to help you with your problem.

I have always had this problem in my work space when I started out, especially when I worked from the edge of my kitchen table.  Many moons later I have a bigger space but still need to be mindful about what I store and where.

Moving into my current space I wanted one of those racks you see in the magazines, but surrounded by so many milk cartons and boxes I knew that I would be able to create something to my specification and at a fraction of the price.  

Creative Thinking Cap on to do something with this little lot!

I wanted something a cross between the one below but that could fit on my desk. You can check out the one below and they also have others which may work for you.

 

The holders that originally came with the pens were these and these didn't work for me considering the amount of pens that I have and the space that they took up.  I am going to have to find an alternative use for them:)

I wanted to make an upright holder and began to think of the best possible materials that I had and the design.  I didn't follow a pattern, I just knew how I wanted it to look and then just kept going and this was born.  

This was the before and the after, quite a transformation!
 

The Before - milk cartons and cardboard

The After

 I painted it an gave it a 'shabby chic' look and finished it with varnish and gold metallic rub.  I am able to view all the colors and keep everything organised.  

The one thing that the pens could do with now is the color indicator on the top.  The pens that I originally brought were the old design, you can purchase some labels or again make your own.  

The top of the storage allows me to keep to hand the pens I am using in a project and the rest can be stored horizontally as needed.

I might add some swirls or stenciled designs to the storage container, but I am please with the results and the much needed storage that I now have for my pens.  Come back to see what I have done with my Alcohol Markers

For more inspired recycling ideas and useful tips check out Zero Waste Barbados and Journey to Zero Waste 

Have a look at some of my ideas on my Pinterest Recyled Board

Blessings

31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Birds - Day 6

Welcome to My Day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  I am running slightly behind and hope to catch up with all the things I want to share with you.  I was inspired to make the ducks after watching Heather Santos on a course called Soul Food run by Mystele  There are always nuggets to take away in Mysteles courses for you to add your own spin on it.  Check them and their videos out they are both inspiring.

What is quite funny about watching ducks in the water is that they usually look so calm and collected on the surface, moving from one place to the other in the water, what we don't see is the action beneath the water.  Their feet are moving very quickly in a flurry to get them from one place to the next, yet here they are making it look easy.

Amanda Trought - Mixed Media Art - Sculptured Bird

After making the first duck I just went on to make a few more, and now love how you can transform recycled material.  The base for the ducks is foil which really compacts well, so if you are looking for a use for any foil you may have laying around here is a great example.  Obviously if you have used it to cover food or cooking you will need to wash it first.

Amanda Trought - Mixed Media Art Bird

Amanda Trought - Mixed Media Art Bird

The other thing I use is recycled paper, made into clay, and I found a great recipe online.  I altered it slightly to suit but it is archival, long lasting and another fun way of recycling.  The last additions were the embellishments to make them unique. I will be posting my recipe and a video of how I make the paper clay for you to give it a go.

Ok, so you met these three birds you'll have to be introduced to the rest of the family...(smile) at some point I want to share some of the tropically based sculptures that are beginning to show up, but that is for another time!  

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

In the meantime you can:

Sign up for a course I will be teaching on

Sign Up HERE

My Course Bonuses you get for free when you sign up HERE

Free Booklet - 25 Ways to fit Art and Creativity into your life!

Art Workshop, Over 2 hours of instruction - sigh up using the link above and get this free

31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Day 3, 4 & 5

Welcome back to todays post in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  For the rest of the month I will be showing you what I have done with materials that can be recycled.  Rather than throwing them out I have given them a new lease of life.  Using a bit of imagination and lots of creativity there is so much we can do with the things that are normally disguarded and with resources depleting on the planet, we have to find a way to reduce what is readily thrown away and save some of the earth for generations to come.

With that said I am always up for a challenge and I have over the years found ways to save my self some money when it comes to the use of storage containers.  Using a bit of paint and a glue gun you can do wonders to any surface:)  Take a look at my Pinterest board, there are some lovely things that I would love to try - inexpensive solutions that look great.

Here are 3 very different storage containers that I have created

Storage Tin made with rolled paper

This one is made out of a tin covered in rolled paper, it makes for a very sturdy container, and I have added a border round the tin to stop it from falling over.

Plastic bottle container - looks unique!

Plastic bottle with the top taken off it makes a cup like container that is used to store all my pliers and Stanley knives

This is the top of another bottle that has been turned upside down and covered with the rolled paper.  It makes the container study and now I have a great place to put the rocks and stones I collect.  You can make them as big or as small as you like and decorate them either with a color scheme or something funky.

I have some great examples coming up so do come back tomorrow to see what they are.  

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Recycled Projects - Recycled 101 - Create a trinket bowl!

Welcome to another week of recycled projects, where I have taken a plastic drinks container and turned it into a bowl that can be used to display some of your favorite things.

I have taken newspaper rolls and wound them round the bottom of the bottle, creating a base

 I have then painted it with a water resistant paint product called powertex, and then added a gold finish around the bowl.

It is now a great place to store my stones that are waiting to be painted.  Check out the video below to see it up a bit closer.

Material Mondays - Mixed Media Necklace

It has been a while since I posted to the Material Mondays and I thought I would kick off with something that I had great fun in making.

Mixed Media Necklace

It is a mixed Media necklace that uses broken pieces of jewelry, embellishments, beads and things and then is wrapped in fabric and then painted and is very light to wear. I have been finding it so refreshing giving new life to some of my favorite pieces of jewelry that had previously broken.

I hadn't done any jewelry type projects for a while so this one satisfied the mixed media side and wanting to do something slightly new.

I have a few different things that I will share with you for the Material Mondays that over the course of the months I have either been itching to try or have started and they got shelved.  I think we all have those times where we create and either get bored or distracted and start on something else, I can't be the only one.  Sometimes I really have to reign myself in so that I can get a project complete.  At the end of the day you have to be happy with the way you work and I think that I have found my pace.

Do come back for Material Mondays to see what I share next week.  You can check out some of the previous projects HERE.  I am hoping to get some videos going to show you how you can put your own pieces together so stay tuned!

I would love to have your comments, and if you haven't already subscribe to my blog make sure you do so that you can be alerted for any new posts.  Blessings!

Cereal Bag Art Journal - Recycled Projects

Art Journaling – Upcycled Cereal bag journal

My Cereal Bag Journal with tags

 I was inspired by Kristen Robinsons work who appeared in Cloth Paper Scissors Pages magazine Summer 2013.  She had made an upcycled Cereal bag journal, and I thought I would give it a try and  to make my own.  I am in a Journal making phase and will share with you some of the others that I have been trying my hand at.

I had always wanted to try and be more creative with recycled material and here was the perfect opportunity..  My journal measures 4 x 6 inches and is a working journal.  I have written some prompts and encouragements around the theme of time and there is still room to add more journaling when the mood takes me.

Love - she did it anyway - Cereal Bag Journal

Time is something that we all are given the same amount but it is how we choose to use it.  As I get older it feels as if time is moving faster, we are not sure how long we really have.  For my brother Robert he lived for 45 years of his life, my mother has lived for 90 years and is still going strong.  I increasing feel that I need to make sure that I utilise my time wisely as we have no promises of seeing tomorrow. 

postcards, travel and time - Cereal Bag Journal

My journal is about how we treasure the time, with the things we do for ourselves and to the relationships we have with those both near and far, some separated by land others by sea, and this is symbolised with the mini tag postcards, the images of clocks and the reminder to cherish the time we have.

Cherish the time - Cereal Bag Journal

We can often put of until tomorrow those things we know we have to do today and I soon found yesterday when I made the effort to complete an important piece of work only to find the next day my computer played up and wouldn't allow me to access any of the files, reminding me if I had waited I would have missed the deadline. I remind myself in the journal that time will not wait for us, so we have to act when the opportunity comes along, and then we can look back on our lives and truely feel that we lived a life worth living

A life worth living - Cereal Bag Journal

I also made some tags from the cereal bags that have sentiments of family, travel – postcard and a reminder of what love is taken from 1 Corinthians 13:4-9

Tags - Cereal Bag Journal

We have to be gentle yet firm with ourselves, there are so many who are encouraged by those things that you do, the ideas you come up with and share.  Who would have thought that out of something that served its purpose as a cereal bag and would have been discarded can lead to something that with a little bit of imagination and a dose of creativity produce something so meaningful.   I do hope you have a blessed day.