Friday, August 6, 2010

Book List for Creative Art and Household Uses ~ Recycling and Reusing

AlternaCrafts, 20+ Hi-Style Lo-Budget Projects to Make, by Jessica Vitkus

CraftCycle, 100+ Eco-Friendly Projects and Ideas for Everyday Living, by Heidi Boyd

Re-Creative, 50 projects for turning found items into contemporary design, by Steve Dodds

The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts, by Leah Kramer, founder of Craftster.org

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Recycling Flour Sacks ~ Homemade Travel Souvenirs Too!

While out on vacation, or day tripping, consider recycling to create a homemade souvenir.  Here, we purchased stone ground flour at a working Mill, and saved two flour sacks, along with the twine that was used to tie the sacks shut.

To make these, simply cut out the logo or pictures found on the paper sacks.  Line them up, back to back, with a thin coat of decoupage.  For these, we cut strips of extra paper sack to gently fill in between the two pieces we cut.  We arranged the recycled twine, by leaving a small gap in between to apply more decoupage for an easy seal (versus placing the two ends inside, right next to each other).  Allow this to dry, and trim up on any edges.  We chose not to use pinking shears so the edges could be easily lined up to seal together.  After they are dried and trimmed, apply a coat of decoupage on each side, one side at a time, allowing the decoupage to dry.

After we made these, we took the last bit of writing that was on each flour sack and made a bookmark.
We saved two small bits of twine from the flour sack tie, and added them to one end.  Both sides of the bookmark are the same, back to back, again with a seal of decoupage.

This is a fun way to remember travel trips, and a frugal way to recycle trash into something new and useful.  Keep these as souvenirs, exchange them in a group swap, or give as gifts.