Jamie Ervin
There are days when my relatively crafty self looks at my piles of crafty-goodness and let’s out a long sigh… What on Earth can I create (or entertain all these kids) out of all this JUNK????
Enter Trash Matcher from Imagination Factory. On the left side of the grid are types of trash (foil, paper, beads, plastic) and the right a description of what you can make out of it. If you click the trash word, you will be redirected to a tutorial, complete with substitutions (I hadn’t thought of using leftover white house paint as gesso).
With a metal coat hanger,…a cardboard tube, newspaper and a few other supplies most of us have laying around the house, you can create a model dinosaur. Don’t forget to make some Eco-Paste to use on your projects (works especially well with decoupage and collages. There are also several projects for Holiday ornaments, recycled journals, kites, bubble wands, and much more.
There’s an eco-craft competition going on over at http://www.greenwala.com (an online green themed social network) called “Choose To Reuse” and they’re awarding an eco-laptop and printer for the most creative example of repurposing trash into treasure. I’m mentioning it because while there are just under 50 entries so far, it is so inspiring to see what everyone has created…things that I never would have thought of. If anyone is looking for great ideas, I would recommend taking a look at all of the photos posted — fun and inspiring: http://www.greenwala.com/greenwala_contests