Today we heeded the advice of my friend Liita and spent Earth Day upcycling our garbage. I salvaged the cereal and cracker boxes headed for recycling and unearthed the big pile of Ranger Rick magazines I scored through Freecycle last year. With a little Mod Podge and a pair of scissors, I transformed an empty box of O's into a very cool-looking "under the sea" gift box.
Martha Stewart posted a similar idea today, with cereal box organizers. These could be Mod Podged, too - using pretty papers, wallpaper samples, magazine cuttings, whatever. Once you get going with this kind of thing, the possibilities - like the garbage - are endless.
Liam wasn't interested in following my lead (what a surprise) and decided to create his own craft. He wrapped one box in construction paper with about 30 feet of gift wrap tape. Not sure how earth friendly that was. Then he fashioned a set of "3D binoculars" by cutting the ends off a cracker box and attaching a loop of yarn at one end and plastic wrap at the other. With a marker he colored one half of the plastic wrap red and the other blue - 3D-glasses style. (All 100% his creation. I was so engrossed in my cereal box, I didn't even pay attention to what he was doing.) The way he wore those binocular around his neck all day, stopping every few feet to investigate a tree or a pile of dirt, you'd have thought he'd just uncovered the world's greatest invention.
There's nothing better than making something fun and useful out of nothing, especially when the nothing is trash. We're already making plans for the oatmeal and the Shredded Wheat boxes. Pretty soon every day will be Earth Day around here. Better late than never, I guess. Thank you, Liita.
1 comment:
Ah, Amy, you're the best!! Love the box & the binoculars! What is it w/ tape? Miika is the same way. I have to hide it or it become sculpture.
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