We don't have a very big craft budget in our house so I sneak trips to Michael's for my own personal stock of paper, yarn, and glue which is not to be touched by the three year old. (haha, yea, right) My poor put-upon poopsie must fend for himself to fulfill his crafting needs. Using whatever we have on hand (not including Momma's stash) is very rewarding and can often be even more fun that having spent big $'s on something I thought he would love. (And it's totally brag-worthy and makes you look like a good parent)
You see, I've actually birthed a cat.
Expensive specially designed store bought item just for me? Na, I'll just take the box, thanks. Insert grouchy emoticon here.
I'm slowly learning to keep a stock of used packaging materials and empty boxes hanging around. Think my house looks messy? Judge again! It's actually full of inspirational creativity inducing sensory play items, thank you very much.
I've cataloged some of my favorite ways to reuse and upcycle the cardboard and plastic we consume. Eventually it will get recycled, but today-we play!
Using the packaging we get from our monthly subscription to Green Kid Crafts, I've come up with 12 ways to extend the life of the post-consumer products we accumulate. Thankfully, the packaging we get from Green Kid Crafts is very eco-friendly, using recycled boxes, labels, and envelopes for shipping, as well as plant based products and compostables wherever possible. But there are so many ways to keep using them even after they've transported our craft and science kits safely to us.
1) Use it as packaging to send something to someone else!The Green Kid Crafts kits come in zip-lock seal-able bags. Blow a puff of air in there and you've got the perfect cushion for getting valuables through the mail. Include a recipe card inside with a recipe for making ice cream in that very same bag! (See #2) The bags are food safe, so reusing them for snacks or other food items is a no-brainer.
2) Zip-lock baggie Ice Cream!It's simple, it works, it's delicious! In case you hadn't
heard, it's been hotter than two goats in a pepper patch here in Southern California which also means they want you to use less a/c and fewer appliances to conserve energy. This is a fun way to pass the time waiting for the sun to go down, or the paint to dry, or the rain to stop if you live somewhere weather-ish. I got the recipe from 2 Little Hooligans , one of my favorite blogs to follow.
Recipe:
2 Tbs sugar
1 cup half&half (or heavy cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coarse salt
Ice
pint sized ziplock (or your GKC kit bag)
gallon sized ziplock
Directions:Put ice and salt in the bigger bag.
Combine the other ingredients in the smaller bag and seal it.
Put the smaller bag inside the bigger bag.
SHAKEY SHAKEY SHAKEY
It takes about 10 minutes to make delicious refreshing ice cream.
Consider rinsing off the smaller bag with cold water to get rid of as much salt as possible before you open it to avoid getting salt in your ice cream.
3) Cold packs
There are three easy options here:
- frozen sponge
- gel pack
- dish soap -or-
- 1 part alcohol+2 parts water
These are easy to hide in the back of the freezer until the next bonk or owie needs some attention
4) No-mess finger painting
Add two colors to your plastic bag.(works best using smaller amounts of paint) Tape it to a window or other flat surface and you've got a fun sensory experience. If you hang it on a vertical surface at eye level, this promotes shoulder strength and postural support as well as developing fine motor skills.
Fill your plastic bag with hair gel. Print out or draw your letter of the day and tape it all down to the table. Using their little fingers or a soft implement, kiddos can trace over the shape over and over.
6) Personalized Gift Bags.
This can be as simple or as complex as you have the skill level to make it. Drop the gift or treats in the bag, fold it over, staple some paper over the opening. This is an easy one to make into a holiday themed project, party favors, or trick or treat options for Halloween!
7) Fly Repellent
Folks, I'm not certain of the science behind this one, but evidently flies hate plastic baggies full of water and pennies. If nothing else, it's another way to entertain yourself and your kid hunting down pennies, counting them, plopping them into a bag full of water.
8) Snow Globe Craft
No snow where you live? That's okay! Make it an "under the sea" globe, or a "falling leaves" globe for a fall craft, or cut out pictures of your little one's faces and make a "grand kids" globe to gift to the doting grandparents.
Cut the center out of a paper plate.
Cut up some paper scraps or make your sea creatures.
Blow a puff of air into the bag and put your little guys inside and seal it up.
Use a few dots of glue to hold the bag in place against another paper plate.
Staple the plate with the hole in it over the bag onto the other plate.
Decorate.
SHAKEY SHAKEY SHAKEY
9)Car/airplane Cellphone Holder.
Need to occupy yourself and/or your favorite travel partner but don't want to hold up your phone forever while you watch that episode of Dinosaur Train ONE.MORE.TIME?
Pop it in a bag and chip clip it to the back of the seat in front of you. Plug in your headphones and you're on your way to as much mindless entertainment as your battery will allow!
10) Storage
Kids accumulate tons of stuff. Just things. Lots of little things. I love using the Green Kid Crafts boxes for storing things like our crayons or rock collection. They are the PERFECT size for about 20 matchbox cars and the bright green printing on the outside is fun and decorative.
11) Construction Material
Keep cardboard on hand and you'll always have a great way to burn some time between naps and bed time. Just find a comfy place to sit down and start taping the boxes together. Bring out the stickers and markers and everyone can get in on the DIY action. Build a marble run, or a parking garage with ramps, or an obstacle course for your action figures.
12) Busy Book
I have a pintrest board the size of Canada full of precious hand sewn busy book pages. I probably could make those. If I took a month off of life, spent $500 at the craft store, and really put my nose to the grindstone. But who has energy for that? Or a month off?
So my pages aren't showing up in a Land of Nod magazine, but you know what? My kid really likes them and uses the book I'm making. Best of all, I can substitute the pages easily as he gets older to keep it interesting. It's cheap, it's easy, it's wipe-downable.
Simply cover the closed end of the bag with your tape and punch holes in line with the tabs in the folder.
You'll need:
A folder with brad-style closures
Tape (duct or masking work well)
Hole punch
Bags
Page ideas:
Letters
Counting
Spelling
Vocabulary practice
Pictures of the family
Dry-erase tracing
Dry-erase tic tac toe
Sure, it's the eco-friendly responsible thing to do, but conservation can be downright fun!
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