10 Things Tuesday: Cardboard Boxes!

Big or small, whether from packing and shipping or from merchandise you buy at the store, there are more than a few ways to reuse those cardboard boxes if you don't want to recycle them.  Take a look!

10.  Cars, rockets, fire trucks, etc!  Didn't we ALL do this at least once when we were younger?  It is so fun, yes, and even better, the kids can do all their own decorating!

 9. Make a TV set that your kids can play news anchor in (or is my family the only one that ever did that?).

 8. Make a pretty play kitchen!  Instructions on how to do this HERE!

 7.  What about a nice castle?  I would totally spray paint these to look sandy and have an indoors winter beach party!

 6. Make a cute chair or two!  FamilyFun tells you how.  They are supposedly quite durable, and definitely easy for even the non-crafters among us!  :)

 5.  How about making a locker?  Could be a fun storage space for a tween's room!

 4. Make a dollhouse!  But beware...small pets might like it even better than your dolls!

 3.  I think I've shown this before, but how fun is this fake chimney for your kiddos' playroom?

 2.  For larger boxes, make a playhouse!

1. How about a lampshade?  Use thin white paper or a pre-existing lampshade inside, and cut out your own shapes!

BONUS IDEAS:
* How awesome is this room divider?  I think it's beautiful...and definitely more affordable than the real thing!

* Shape sorting game!  Directions HERE.

 * You can use cardboard to make your own furniture--these shelves are awesome!

Well, what are you waiting for?  :)  Happy crafting!

10 Things Tuesday: Christmas recycled crafts!

I'm going to take a break from searching this week, and instead review some of the crafts we've found that work great for the Holidays!  Maybe in the middle of all your crazy parties and family get-togethers you and your kiddos can sit down and make a few!

10. Fake chimney, from old cardboard boxes!

 9. Snowglobes, from old glass jars!

 8. Ornaments, from just about EVERYTHING--lightbulbs, sticks, and more.

 7. Magazine trees!

 6. Pinecone trees!

OR stick trees!

 5. I know this is a little late, but a cute advent calendar from a cookie sheet and magnetized bottle caps!

 4. For your holiday dinners, how about a fork placeholder?

 3.  Check out this wreath, made from a hanger-circle and strips of plastic shopping bags!

 2.  This isn't *necessarily* a holiday craft, but if you make this soda can lantern with holiday patterns, it could be!

 1.  Seashell angel ornaments!

BONUS IDEAS!
*Again, not exactly a holiday craft, but if you filled this plastic bottle with water and holiday trinkets (tinsel, mini ornaments, or old Christmas earrings), it could be!

 * Christmas candles, made from old tin cans!

 * Christmas gifts for others--use safety can openers to open the BOTTOMS, then fill the cleaned-out cans with goodies and decorate for your friends!

 * Cardboard tube candles!

 * What about this Christmas choir?  Some craft paper, TP tubes, old baby socks, and twine make this little choir the cutest carolers around!

Happy {holiday} {green} crafting!  And Merry Christmas!

10 Things THURSDAY: Reusing Christmas Cards!

That's right, you're getting a BONUS edition of 10 Things Tuesday, because a friend of mine requested something that I thought was very timely: needing a little crafty inspiration to know what to do with all those Christmas cards (or birthday, or any greeting card of any kind)?  Read on!

1. The classic idea is turn those cards into small gift boxes! (Or baskets...)

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2. Turn them into bookmarks or gift tags!

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3. Reuse as post cards...just cut off the front, pretty part (assuming the inside is blank), round off the corners, and write your message!

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4. Make pretty journals, with lots of different papers and the greeting cards!  (I think this would be a fun way to get an art journal started, all your artsy folk out there!)

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5. Turn them into four-sided luminaries!  This would be especially sweet for nativity-themed cards, I think.

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6. Make paper ornaments!  How fun would it be to have an ornament each year from the cards you got from that year? 

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7. Turn those cards into puzzles for the kiddos in your family!

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8. Make popsicle stick puppets with the images on them! I bet this could be a lot of fun for kids...and you can turn a shoebox into a puppet theater for them!

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9. Cut out the images and use for collages/mosaics/other artwork.  This could be fun to do with kids, but I think it'd be just as fun for grown-ups, too!  :) I have a few labeled sheet protectors in a binder filled with small images from cards and magazines, in fact, just to use for collages and other artwork.  I highly recommend this!

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10. Turn them into a holiday wreath for next year! (This image is great, but it would be even better with some big ribbon to hang it...maybe even a bow?)

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BONUS IDEAS:
Check out these and LOTS of other fun decorations (all with instructions and made from old Christmas cards) from Better Homes and Gardens!

Hope this inspires you as much as it does me!  Happy crafting, and happy holidays!