Make Crafts and Home Decor by Recycling Used Items from Around Your House

Being a thrifty type of person, I do not see the need to buy everything brand new. I like to recycle items I have around the house or can find at thrift stores. Let me show you how I make unique and functional items for home decorating or to give as gifts.

You may have an old wooden frame sitting around your house or can easily find one at the thrift store for a few dollars. You can make it into a unique piece of art designed to match your homes décor in a few simple steps. Sand off any rough spots, and paint the frame with a primer. Once the primer is dry, paint a fresh coat of acrylic paint on the frame in whatever color you choose. With a small paint brush and different colors start creating your designs. A southwestern design might be some cactus and rattlesnakes. Perhaps you might like a pattern with the moon and stars, hearts, dots, cats, flowers, etc. The important thing is just to create a frame that is uniquely yours. Remember you can also use stencils or even puff paint for 3-d designs. Use your new frame for a special photo or it would also look great to put a mirror in it!

Another idea is to make some rustic looking candleholders out of used tin cans. For this project you will need some tin cans, nail polish remover, dishtowel, hammer, nail and hanging wire. Discard the lid of the can and peel off the paper label. You can use the nail polish remover to get off any additional glue on the outside of the can. Next, fill the can with water and freeze. When the water is frozen, take the can out of the freezer and place the can on its side on the dishtowel. Then you can start punching holes in the can with the hammer and nail, making a decorative design. Make sure you punch in 2 holes on opposite sides near the top of the can, and you can attach a wire to create your candleholder handle. You can hang this candleholder or let it sit on the counter.

Another fun idea is to make salt and pepper shakers out of those old plastic film canisters. You would just need some film canisters, paint and a nail. Take off the snap on tops and punch four holes for the pepper top, and seven holes for the salt top. Then, paint an "S" on one canister and a "P" on the other one. You might also want to paint little decorative lines or dots on the canister as well. I think this would be a fun project for older kids with supervision, and a great gift for grandma. These canisters are not approved by FDA for food use, but would be cute for display purposes.

Before you throw anything away, it is always a fun game to try to figure out how you might be able to recycle it. It may not be garbage, it just may be your next craft project!