Ideas for materials M-R

We have gathered together a collection of ideas given to us by people like you who are interested in making a difference in our community. They are arranged alphabetically by the original item.

Microwave Dinner Trays (plastic)

• Homemade Frozen Dinners - Make extra of a favourite meal and on those days when there's no time to cook a full meal just pop them into the microwave for a quick and delicious meal.

Milk Cartons

• Plant containers/seed starters - Cut off at the top and poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill about 3/4 with potting soil and vermiculite. Plant seeds and set in a sunny window. Large milk cartons can be cut along the side of the carton.
• Homemade blocks - Wash, and remove the spout end. Cut slits at each corner to make four flaps. Fold flaps in and tape in place. Decorate with construction paper, glue, beads, buttons, or anything you have on hand.
• Candle molds – milk or juice cartons with a waxy interior can be used to create your own candles. Search the Internet for recipes and instructions to create your own candles. The carton peels away easily when the candlewax hardens, which is why it’s such a great mold.
• Cooler Packs - rinse out milk carton, fill with water and freeze. The container can now be used in your cooler to keep it cold.

Mouse Pad

• Stamps for Decorative Painting - stamps can be expensive. Create your own from an old mouse pad. Trace a pattern from a cookie cutter or design your own pattern to trace. Cut it out, reuse a cork for a handle if you wish (not required) and it's ready to dip in paint and press onto your craft project.

Old Bedding/Sheets

• Gift or Shoe Bags - Cut the material to the size you need, sew a one inch seam for the drawstring and sew bag together.
• Dust Rags/Cleaning Cloths - Cut the material into squares and use for dusting or polishing furniture and windows. Wash and reuse instead of using paper towels.
• Beach Blanket - sew a couple of old sheets together for added thickness and use as a beach blanket, they provide a cool and comfortable barrier between you and the sand.

Old Clothing

• Donate them to a local charity organization such as the Salvation Army, Canadian Diabetes Society, or St. Vincent de Paul Society.
• Paint Rags - old T-shirts make great rags for faux painting techniques such as colourwashing, marbling and ragging. They are also handy for cleanup (if you use latex paints just throw out the rag when it's dry but remember it's useful more than once since latex paints can be rinsed off with water).
• Bits and Pieces - save the buttons or zippers, even pockets for sewing and craft projects.

Packing Peanuts (styrofoam)

• Planter Drainage – using the peanut shaped packing can provide the drainage required for large planters without added the weight that you get using stones, or clay pieces. Make sure to only use the ones that are peanut shaped not scooped or E-shaped as these others may leave air pockets that will harm plant roots.
• Children’s Crafts – young children love to glue these pieces on paper. Try cutting a lamb shape from a brown paper bag then have the child glue the white packing (any shape size and design of packing will do for this craft as long as it’s white) on the paper bag lamb shape to give it a “wooly” coat.

Paper Bags

• Gift Bags – cut to desired height, fold over the top edge and hole punch where you want to insert the handle. Use thick yarn or rope in hole and knot it to secure the handle (just like a store bought gift bag). Decorate the bag with paint or fancy papers, lace, buttons, silk flowers, dried flowers etc. Use your imagination and get creative.
• Basic Covering for cans, boxes and scarred surfaces (similar to paper mache). Just tear pieces, coat with diluted glue and smooth it down on the surface with a brush. When it dries you can leave it as is or paint, stencil, and varnish it. See Coffee Can Canisters featured on our CRAFT CORNER page, they are decorated with paper bags.

Paper Tubes

• Crafter's Desk Organizer - use boxboard tubes along with an empty boxboard tissue box to make a crafters desk organizer. If you use a tissue box with a floral or decorative design you won't need to add extra decorations. Then store all your markers, pens, glue sticks, scissors, hole punchers etc. on end in the tubes, within reach on your craft bench! (This craft is featured on our CRAFT CORNER page)
• Cord Organizer - They make an excellent way to store all those extension cords tangled up in your drawers. Fold extension cord back and forth about 10 inches long and stuff in top tube. Mark length on the tube for future use. They will also hang well on a nail in the closet.
• Poster / document saver - roll up old posters or documents and slide them inside a cardboard tube. For large posters, use the boxboard tubes left over from wrapping paper.

Plastic Report Covers

• Homemade Stencils – save the plastic cover to cut out your own stencil for creative paint projects.

Plastic Grocery (Shopping) Bags

• Donate them to the County Libraries, some of them reuse them for people who need something to carry their books and video tapes checked out of the library.
• Return them to the Grocery store you got them from if they have a return bin for them. Most Zehrs Food stores in Essex County participate in a plastic bag return program. Do not use them in your Blue Box, they are NOT recyclable.
• Christmas Wreath – Bend a wire coat hanger into a circular shape (leave the hook for hanging). Cut plastic bags into strips about 30 cm long and 5 cm wide. You’ll need about 20-30 bags. Some plastic bags are available in red and green, use some of these if you have them for extra colour. Tie the strips around the wire and scrunch them together tightly for the best effect. Decorate the completed wreath with ribbons, pine cones, old ornaments etc. Depending on what you use to decorate it, you can use it outdoors.