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DIY Eco Friendly Packaging

DIY Eco Friendly Packaging
February 26th, 2013 Have you ever needed to find a box to package up a gift in a hurry? Look no further than the simple plastic PET bottle you have in your kitchen. Certainly don’t throw it in the bin! Don’t put it in the recycling either! What you will need: - Plastic bottle - Cutting Mat - Craft Knife - Scissors - Marker Pen - A Plate - A pointy thing (I used a blunt sewing needle) Step One The first thing you need to do is cut the top and the bottom of the bottle off. Step Two Flatten the tube by pressing down on it with your hands and then flatten/crease one edge with your thumb. Then re-inforce the crease using the edge of your craft knife. Next do the other side. Step Three Place you flattened tube onto a cutting mat so that you know where the center is. Step Four Next you need to use the plate again to score a curved line at both ends of the tube on the front and the back – so you do this 4 times. Step Five Step Six Related:  DIY

Making Fused Plastic March 12th, 2013 I’ve been wanting to experiment with fused plastic for ages so what better place to try it out than here on Tutorial Tuesday and share my experiences with you. I’ve got lots of plastic bags stored in the kitchen from a few online supermarket deliveries we’ve done since Milo was born and I’ve just never got round to taking them back to the supermarkets for recycling. As I was experimenting and learning at the same time, the images in the tutorial below show different bags all at different stages – I hope it’s not too confusing! What you will need: - Sharp Scissors - Plastic Bags - Iron - Ironing Board - Greaseproof Paper - Large Wooden Chopping Board - Metal Ruler - Craft Knife - Cutting Mat Step One The first thing you need to do is lay your plastic bag out flat and cut off the bottom and the top so that you’re left with a large tube of plastic. Stretch and flatten this out and put aside. Step Two Step Three Build up the layers. Step Five Step Six

DIY: Gift Bags Made from Recycled Envelopes By Jessica Jones, How About Orange Find an envelope of any size. (I embellished these by printing a label on the front of them first. You can use my design if you want; these PDFs are set up according to how my printer feeds envelopes through. 1. 2. 3. 4. 8 Clever Uses for Plastic Straws Have you ever pried a straw out of the mouth of a young child, only to find it macerated and dripping in saliva? Let’s all let out a collective “eeeewww.” In general, my “clever uses” articles are meant to teach people how to get a second use out of something disposable. In the case of straws, I’m honestly going to have to suggest that you be very picky about which straws you reuse. I really don’t expect anyone to reuse chewed up, spit-covered drinking straws. Now: It is not too gross to wash plastic drinking straws and save them for DIY projects. When the plastic drinking straws are clean and dry and you’ve amassed a decent-sized collection, try your hand at one of the following projects. Drinking straw lamp shade: The L.A. The straw cluster chandelier: Design Sponge featured a spiky-looking straw cluster chandelier. Woven coasters: According to Country Living, woven drinking straws are a great material to make coasters from. Do you have any great uses for drinking straws?

Alice's Soda Can Bookmarks What does Wonderland's Alice have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing. Except that the same procedure with which I made her 'Drink me' bookmark I employed to make a more Christmas-y version. (PDFs of each design included.) First, the ingredients: An empty aluminum can (one per bookmark)White card stockMatt fixativeCraft knifeBone folder1/8” spring punch/eyelet setter and eyelet/s (I have this one) Straight edgeCutting matBlack perle cotton or crochet cottonSmall silver bell or jingle bell for the Christmas option and one large and one small silver bead for the non-Christmas onePDF of the Christmas version or the 'Drink me' version available on my Scribd pageSticky-back tape220 grit sandpaper Step 1: Print the PDF image onto white card stock. Step 2: Cut the middle section of the aluminum can into one large sheet. Step 3: Using your straight blade and craft knife, miter each of the corners of your aluminum. Step 4: Step 5: Place your straight edge along the long side of the image/print.

3 No-Sew Ways to Restyle Old T-shirts Whether or not you’re ready to admit it, summer break is fast approaching – the kids are home and you’re going to have to think of a million ways to entertain them over those long, drawn-out weeks! But don’t fret! There are tons of fun and, wait for it, (almost) free ways of keeping your little ones out of trouble throughout the summer. And, dare I say it; you might even find yourself enjoying the chaos too! One fun and cheap activity you can do with your kids this summer is restyle old t-shirts, which not only keeps your kids occupied, but it also makes a dent in those useless stacks of old t-shirts hanging around. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have plenty of old t-shirts folded in a forgotten drawer somewhere, and the only thing wrong with them will be that they’ve been outgrown. 1. This one is geared a little more towards the daughters, but would also make a really cute gift for any little Jacks or Jasons to give to their moms/sisters/grandmas! 1. Easy and effective! 2. 1. 3. 1.

How to make gift bags from newspaper When I bought something at a store recently, the clerk handed me my purchase in a bag made from a newspaper. I liked it very much and had to make some more—thus today's DIY recycled newspaper project: gift bags made from the Wall Street Journal. You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that's 5" tall, 4.5" wide, and 3" deep. Stack two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. This will be a two-ply bag for extra sturdiness. Cut out a rectangle that's 15.5" wide and 8.25" tall. Fold a flap 1.25" down from the top. Cut two pieces of cardstock or chipboard to 4.25" x 1", then glue them on the widest two panels just under the top fold. Put glue on the outside of the 0.5" tab and bring the left-most panel over to form the body of the bag, aligning the cut edge of the panel with the folded edge of the flap. Upend the bag so the 2" flap is now up. Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag.

Metal Flowers Picture Tutorial I am just in love with my metal flowers!! Love making them in all different sizes and shapes. Getting better at each time! So many ways you can use them. Hope the picture tutorial will help you make some pretty ones too! Enjoy! Using a scrapbook brad, secure your flowers together. After this project, I end up with a lot of soda can bottoms. Found a way to use some of them by making this upcycle project!! DIY Upcycled Easter Egg Bunting Recently, I’ve been making an effort to experiment with materials I have on hand. I’ve been playing around with paperboard – mainly because I drink a LOT of soda water and go through a TON of paperboard boxes. I started by creating an illustration using paperboard cutouts and fabric. I had so much fun with it, there will certainly be more of those to come. It is truly amazing what you can do with so little – I love that. Working on the illustrations inspired me to create these little egg cutouts – fun! Look at how much fun it is to pick out each egg’s design – endless variation. Go check out the how-to at Poppytalk – you’ll be glad you did.

Weave A Newspaper Basket Last night's project, a basket made from old newspaper. After seeing this post at CraftStylish, I was inspired to try one. Maybe I'll keep books and remote controls in it. 1. I cut the folded edge off a couple sections of newspaper and then cut those pages in half lengthwise. I used about 20 pages for this basket (about 40 strips). 2. 3. 4. 5. Festive Stars made from Recycled Drinks Cans November 1st, 2011 I’m preparing for a couple of craft fairs (details coming soon) at the moment and decided to have a go at making some Festive decorations by recycling some drinks cans I’ve been collecting. I found this tutorial the other day and thought I could adapt it to me own needs. So here goes… What you will need: - Empty drinks cans - Scissors - Craft Knife - Ball point pen or an embossing tool with a fine point - Sharp pointy thing – not sure what the name of this tool is! Step One First you need to get a star shape printed onto paper or card and cut out. Step Two Next you need to cut the tops and bottoms off your drinks can and give the insides a good clean – I used a craft knife to do this as well as scissors – be careful of sharp edges! Step Three Put a bit of sticky tape (rolled up) onto the back of your cardboard star and stick this to the silver side of your can and draw around it – I use my sharp pointy tool to do this but you could also do it with a fine permanent marker.

Corbeille en papier enroulé Les magazines peuvent être recyclés en corbeilles de papier enroulé. L’effet rappelle les fibres de bois concentriques ou encore le bois tourné. Avec un magazine et 1/2 litre de colle de riz, on peut fabriquer un vide-poches, une coupelle ou un pot à crayons. Il faut un magazine pour faire une coupe à fruits. Choisir un magazine au papier ni trop épais ni trop fin. Avec un pinceau, appliquer une première couche de colle sur une bande de papier. Refaire une bande de papier et l’enrouler autour du petit rondin de papier ; le cercle va peu à peu grossir. On peut varier les formes des corbeilles en enroulant la première bande de papier autour d’un morceau de carton rectangulaire.

DIY Triangle Shelves Photo: A Beautiful Mess This fun little project comes via the ladies over at A Beautiful Mess, combining the love of collectables, with the modern twist. Printers trays are back in fashion (though avid collectors will say they've always been in style!) You'll find step-by-step instructions and photos at the link below. DIY Triangle Shelves via A Beautiful Mess Tagged : How-To, shelves, wall art, DIY Triangle Shelves Material : wood Design Style : colorful, contemporary, minimalist, scandinavian Techniques : woodworking Room : bedroom, Dining room, Entryway & Hall, Kid's Room, Kitchen, living room, Office & Workspace Decor Element : wall art

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