DIY Recycled Crafts

Making crafts is an enjoyable hobby, easily adapted to every family member, but it can get expensive. As crafting continues to reemerge in a big way, crafters are looking for ways to enjoy their hobby without going over budget.

Enjoy crafts and save your green by going green - recycle found objects into craft projects.

Found objects are simply things that were created or manufactured for purposes other than artistic use, but once in the hands of a creative soul become something more. Found objects are sometimes literally "found" on the ground or in the trash, but they can include keepsakes such as ticket stubs or antique lace, or natural items such as twigs or shells.

Ways to Collect Found Objects

Vacations are the perfect time to collect found objects. Watch for beach glass, driftwood, and seashells at the beach. Collect river polished stones, leaves, and pine cones while visiting the mountains. Keep ticket stubs, concert flyers, and other memorabilia from vacation outings.

When visiting cities and towns, watch for unusual bottle caps, wrappers, and flyers. Look for furniture and decorative items left in alleyways, or even at the side of the road.

Look at your kitchen in a new way where found objects are abundant. Broken bits of china, food cans, tea boxes, round oatmeal containers, unused cookbooks, and cocoa tins lend themselves easily to craft projects.

Raid your closets and drawers. Lone socks, old buttons, worn out jeans, unused belts, old wallets, broken jewelry, threadbare towels, and clothing items bound for the trash are excellent found items.

Ideas for Using Found Objects in Craft Projects

Furniture

Dressers, plain lamp bases, side tables, picture frames, stools, and bookshelves are all great canvases for found object crafts.

Using a strong craft adhesive or a glue gun, attach found objects of choice to furniture pieces. Cover a lamp base in seashells or glue buttons to picture frames.

Containers

Cover round oatmeal containers with old cookbook pages and use as a gift container for cookies. Have kids glue cloth cut from clothing or towels to clean food cans and make a pencil or utensil holder.

Clothing

Cut out pockets from old jeans, attach jewelry parts to the front, add a button or other closure, and create a coin purse. Cut a rectangle of cloth from an old shirt and attach wrong edges together on three sides using iron-on adhesive or thread and needle, add a Velcro closure and create a makeup bag.

This is just a short list of ideas. Next time you're in the mood to work on craft projects and want to stay on budget, challenge yourself to get creative with found objects. Use items already in your house, raid your stash of memorabilia, or go free furniture shopping in alleyways.

Soon every object you see is fair game for your crafts. Have fun and save your budget by making crafts using found objects.