There are all sorts of things around the house you can use to make functional crafts with and it’s a good way to spend quality time with your family.
Decoupage Photo Table
An old sturdy table can be saved and become a beautiful heirloom with a collage of pictures varnished onto it. First paint the table the shade you would like. Then photo copy some favorite pictures of your friends and family.
Black and white is a nice antique effect. Cut the pictures into squares, circles or rectangles. Add a coat of clear varnish to the top. Secure the pictures onto this while still wet, overlapping some of them until you like the display. It looks better if most of the tabletop is covered.
Add another coat of varnish and leave it to dry. Add at least two more coats of varnish, drying them each time to ensure that it’s sealed and preserved. It’s a lovely unique conversation piece and one that you will probably cherish for years. This would also be a fun project to make a unique coffee table with.
Tuna Can Crafts
A tuna can is the perfect size to make a pin cushion with. Paint the tuna can and decorate it with stickers if you want. Cut out a round piece of fabric and wrap it around some cotton batting. With a glue gun glue the inside of the can so that the fabric wrapped cotton will stick into it.
Bird Feeder Ideas
Make a bird feeder out of an old milk jug or bleach bottle. Just cut a circle into the side, decorate as desired, add bird seed and hang. An old plastic fruit basket like the ones used for strawberries or blueberries can be used to put suet in to feed birds also.
Old CD Crafts
A funky kids craft is fish made out of old CDs. Start with gluing two CDs together. Then insert some colorful craft foam or cardboard through the holes for fins. Glue on some googley eyes and a fin onto the top in between the two CDs and another at the back for a tail. A small heart like shape will do for lips with the rounded ends sticking out.
Tie-Dye T-shirts
Instead of throwing out your stained white or light colored t-shirts, try tie dying them. Get some elastic bands and twist some of the shirt up securing with the bands before dying. If you want to go all natural you can even make homemade dyes. Beets make wonderful red and pink hues and mustard or turmeric makes yellow. Grape Juice or red wine is good for purple, especially if you’re trying to cover up a similar stain.
If you use your imagination you can have fun coming up with more ideas for old items that would have otherwise ended up in the trash.
