Do you have young kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews that LOVE to do various arts and crafts??? Well, repurpose cardboard, styrofoam or plastic egg cartons for arts and crafts!
- STORAGE – organize and store supplies (beads, sequins, googley eyes, etc) in an egg carton. Each of the egg cup can hold a different color bead. To prevent supplies from falling out, use rubber bands to keep them safely closed. If items are small or the cartoon is a little loose, use plastic wrap or repurpose a plastic produce bag from the grocery store to wrap around the carton and then secure with rubber bands.
- PAINT/GLUE HOLDER – if you have big bottles of paints or glue for crafts, use a plastic or styrofoam egg cartons to hold what you need for the craft of the day (or hour). Pour a different paint color in each egg cup, pour glue in an egg cup/holder for dipping or repurpose popsicle sticks/toothpicks/disposable chopsticks/bamboo skewers to scoop/spread glue.
The MORE part:
- GLITTER – repurpose empty, clean & dry spice containers with removable shaker top (or buy inexpensive salt & pepper shakers from a dollar store) and fill with glitter for easier use by the kids.
- TIE-DYE – repurpose clean & dry household cleaner spray bottles (or buy spray water bottles from the dollar store) and fill with mixture of water and food coloring or paint and spray onto cardboard or old white t-shirts to make your own tie-dye artwork!
- BOTTLE CAPS & PLASTIC CONTAINER TOPS– repurpose bottle caps as circle shapers in art work – dip into paint and dab/press onto paper to make circles (can serve as wheels on vehicles, gather a bunch in white to make a fluffy cloud, gather a bunch in green to make a robust tree or bush, makes pretty flowers, etc!). Use plastic container tops (from tubs of butter spread, whipped cream cheese, etc) to hold the paint that you dip the bottle caps into.
- COOKIE CUTTERS – buy inexpensive cookie cutters at the dollar store (mini ones are great if you can find them) and repurpose as shapers/stamps in art work – whether you dip one side in paint (like above bottle caps) and “stamp” your art paper or use the cookie cutter to trace the image and then decorate/color in the image.
- ROPE & CLOTHES PINS – we repurpose these two items to display Julia’s artwork. A nice rope clipped to the blinds of the window and then individual clothes pins are used to clip her artwork to the rope for display!
What repurposed items have you used in arts and crafts? Care to share and leave a comment please! Thanks!
Great tips. Thanks!!