Tea Bag Sleeve Mini Notecards with Magazine Envelopes

Supplies:

recyclable food boxes

recyclable paper tea bag sleeve

recyclable magazine

Tools:

pencil

ruler

scrap paper

paint brush

mod podge

glue gun and glue sticks

paper scorer

1) Flatten out a cardboard food box by opening up all the glued down seams. Approximate the size of mini note card you want to make, draw lines accordingly, onto cardboard and cut out rectangular shape. Score half and midpoint, and fold over.

2) Open tea bag sleeves up carefully along glued down seams. Using a hot glue gun (because of the waxiness on the inside of tea bag sleeves, I opted for a hot glue gun, if your tea bag sleeve's interior is not waxy, try using the mod podge), attach tea bag sleeves to cardboard notecards.

3) Using a template or sketching onto wrong side of magazine page, draw out envelope. Cut out and fold into envelope shape. Use modge podge to glue down three sides to each other at the edges, leave one side open, of course.

4) Once all is dried , write a note inside notecards and put inside envelope, use a little mod podge to secure top flap down.

Tip: Make it your own by using stickers to secure down flap, or decorative plain labels for the front of envelopes. Make a bunch and package with ribbon as a little gift.

crafting skill level: 3 out of 5

Oatmeal-Cracker Box Gift Bag

Supplies:

recyclable food boxes (ex. cracker, oatmeal) -- about 2

recyclable magazine

ribbon

Tools:

scissors

ruler
single hole punch

paper scorer

hot glue gun and glue sticks

1) Take your empty food boxes and open them up flat by pulling apart the glued down seams.

2) Take one box (an appropriate gift bag size) and using the hot glue gun, glue it back together inside out at the original glued seams. Glue the top flaps into the inside of the top of the box.

(optional: score box prior to gluing in order to fold down like an actual gift bag, see a gift bag for an idea of score lines.)

3) Sketch out an appropriate handle size onto the second flatten ed box. Cut out and use it to trace out a second handle onto same box. Cut out second handle.

4) Glue each handle to the inside of the gift box.

5) Cut out gift tag from second box. Fold and hole punch corner.

6) Put a gift inside bag, using magazine pages as tissue.

7) Use ribbon to tie the tag to handles of gift bag.

Tip: Make it your own style by embellishing side of gift bag, or play with tissue paper, or gift tag options. Use the printed side of the box for the handle, or even the gift bag itself.

crafting skill level: 3 out of 5

Glass Jar Craft Jar

Supplies:

recyclable glass jars (clean, with labels removed)

12"x12" decorative scrapbooking paper

Tools:

pencil

scissors or paper cutter

ruler

mod podge

paint brush

1) Take your various glass jars and remove the labels on any that wrap around the whole jar. If a jar only has a label on the front, no worries, just leave it be and cover with your cut paper label.

2) Approximate rectangular size needed to cover the front of a jar. Cut paper for necessary label sizes.

3) Use a paint brush to fully coat back of paper. Attach paper to corresponding jar. Wipe off any excess glue on jar with damp paper towel.

4) Fill with craft materials, writing utensils, flowers, whatever.

Tip: Make it your own style, by matching paper pattern and colors to your home decor, get fancy and write a specific label onto the paper prior to gluing and attaching.

crafting skill level: 2 out of 5

Why I Can't Just Put Out A Blue Recycling Bin

You may need the back story as to why I simply can't take my milk jugs, juice cartons, cereal boxes, sauce jars, and soup cans to the recycling center.

I, shockingly enough, do not live in a big city. I live in a town many people may have never even been to. For an area generalization, I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Where I live, recycling is not a "pick-up your bin on Tuesday" type of happening. Recycling is an option, where, if you choose to participate, you take all your separated items to a transfer station. Not such a crazy thing, I know, but what do you do when said transfer station decides to no longer accept recyclables.

Rather than drive over to Wisconsin and pretend to be a citizen in a town that may have a recycling drop off program, I decided to do what any normal, sane person would do. I will craft.

My goal is to reuse as many and as much of recyclable items as I can ( I'm thinking, roughly, one craft a day), and transform them into usable, hopefully visually appealing items. Some items may be something like, "Oh, I've seen that before." Some items may be, "Hey, I've done that before." But it'd kinda be special for both you and me if I come up with something not so ordinary, but very special. Get your scissors ready. Here's to crafting with purpose.