Eco-Crafting

Recycled artwork is not a new idea. I remember visiting Ripley’s Believe it or Not! in Pasadena and eyeing a pretty impressive lint “painting” of John Wayne. There are plenty of creative ways to make use of unwanted items, but where to start? I stumbled across Eco-Artware, which lists different craft projects that you can do on your free time. You don’t have to be a Martha Stewart to tackle these ideas, as each project is comprehensive, easy, and fun! It offers economical, eco-friendly ways to recycle old items, such as a cereal box gift box, an envelope holding shutter, and many more.

Other project ideas can vary depending on the item you would like to get rid of. I once came into a home with a bar made completely out of bottle caps, smashed and laminated into an interesting piece of art. I saw some caps from bottles decades before, and when I asked the artist of such an ingenious creation he said, “I collected whatever I could for years. See this one?” He actually had bottle caps from around the world, including Iraq! (Where he served during 2003.)

One of my favorites includes t-shirt makeovers..! I actually didn’t need to use a sewing machine for several shirts, but with some I dusted off my old home economics textbook and re-visited what I was taught in middle school. The greatest thing about eco crafts is that you are recycling and giving new life to objects that may otherwise spend the rest of its existence in a landfill!