With plenty of recyclable materials lying around the home, the possibilities really are endless when it comes to piecing together something truly special. From plastic bottles to cardboard tubes, unwanted glass jars to tin cans, this handy article is sure to encourage an array of environmentally friendly craft projects. Here at The Range, we've got ample children's craft accessories to help your youngster stick, stylise, and showcase their next showstopping craft project in style. (What's more - these craft projects are great for showing support for World Earth Day!)
Designed to help you reuse and recycle an array of materials and products that can be saved from the skip, there are plenty of different ways to create something truly unique and special when it comes to your next craft project. Helping you save money and minimise your environmental footprint, here are our top suggestions when it comes to your next recycled craft project:
Tin Can / Plastic Cup Wind Chime - Recycle your unwanted tin cans or plastic cups into wonderful hanging wind chimes. Great for decorating your outdoor living areas and windowsills!
DIY Plastic Bottle Piggy Bank - Designed to help encourage your youngster to save their pennies for a rainy day, this creative way to recycle unwanted bottles is sure to impress.
Recycled Plastic Bottle Watering Can - Great for helping water all your beloved plants, herbs, and vegetables, recycling bottles or plastic jugs to create an easy-to-fill watering can is both environmentally friendly and great for those of all ages.
Recycled Terrarium Mason Jars - Perfect for filling with sand, pebbles, and even miniature characters or decorations, reusing unwanted glass jars to piece together your own terrarium is sure to encourage creativity.
Creative Plastic-Lid Monsters - Great for decorating with googly eyes, feathers, sequins, and even pipe cleaners, creating your own bottle-cap monster is sure to provide hours of endless entertainment for any keen crafter.
Once you and your youngster have decided on a creative way to re-use your chosen materials, it's time to think about how to decorate it! Here at The Range, our extensive selection of children's paints, crayons, colouring sets and desirable accessories are sure to inspire their next masterpiece. Not sure where to start? Here are our must-haves when it comes to any craft project:
Paints - Perfect for use on an array of materials, including plastic and even wood, non-toxic and child-friendly paints such as the Grafix Big Paint Set are sure to come in handy. Don't forget - painting tools such as paint brushes, sponges, and a palette so your youngsters feel like real professionals.
Colouring Pens - Inspiring creativity, pens such as the Pack of Giotto Turbo Maxi Fibre Pens are great for providing bold detail, whilst finer-tipped pens are perfect for adding more intricate levels of detail to any project. Looking for something a little different that's great too for use with outdoor craft projects? Chalk accessories are sure to help your youngster create an array of eye-catching designs.
Stickers and Glitter - Embellishments such as stickers are sure to help revive any washed-out containers, bottles, or cardboard tubs. Whether you want hearts, animals, stars or letters, there are stickers out there for everyone. Looking to add a little more razzle-dazzle to help their creation stand out? Sparkling accessories like glitter paints, glitter glues, or metallic paints are designed to sparkle and shine no matter whether their project is stored indoors or out.
Paper Packs - Designed to help your cut-out shapes or backgrounds stand out, card packs such as the Pack of 80 Dovecraft Premium Textured Dyed Cardstock are guaranteed to fuel an array of projects. Perfect for scrunching and even for creating streaked tails to complement your craft project, tissue paper such as the Pack of 20 Assorted Multicoloured Tissue Paper or the crinkled Crepe Paper Roll are sure to come in handy within any craft collection.
Crafting Tools - Perfect for use under direct adult supervision, there's a variety of handy crafting tools that are designed to help cut, carve, and conjoin an array of materials with ease. If your youngster wants to try something a little more adventurous, then die-cutting machines such as the Gemini Die Cutting and Embossing Machine or the Sizzix Big Shot Plus Machine are perfect for creating a wide array of personalised designs and cut-out shapes.
Perfect for any keen crafter looking to liven up their outdoor living areas, reusing plastic bottles to create your own decorative plant pots is a fun and highly-rewarding project that's great for little (and big) kids!
How To Create:
Once you have your pre-cleaned plastic bottle, draw a line around the bottle approximately 1/3 of the way from the bottom - this will help guide you as you cut the plastic. Craft tools such as scissors are perfect for cutting through plastic, however, you may need to use a craft knife to make the initial incision into the plastic - we highly advise that an adult undertakes this part of the process.
For added detailing, or if you're planning on creating an animal-themed design with pointed ears, make sure you draw the outline of these before you start to cut the plastic. Once you've cut away the base for your project, remember that the capped top half can also be used for another project, so don't be too hasty to throw that away! Paints like the Docrafts Artiste Acrylic Paint or the Galeria Acrylic - Cad Yellow Medium Hue are suitable for painting onto plastic and make great base coats for adding extra detail.
How To Fill:
Once you're fully happy with your newly decorated plant pot, and it's had the chance to dry fully, why not place it in a pre-filled plant pot or fill the plastic bottle directly with compost? From here you can sow an array of seeds that are perfect for growing in smaller pots before they need re-potting. Great for placing outdoors, or even on windowsills that receive ample sunlight, this planter project is sure to inspire an array of marvellous masterpieces.
Looking to kit out your little one's craft collection with all the essentials but stuck on where to start? Our handy guide to Children's Craft Time Essentials is sure to help set them off on the right foot.
