Frugal Crafting

© by Noreen Doll.

Frugal crafting is a part of how I create.  i don’t like to throw away perfectly usable things, so I try to find ways to turn them into something useful.

Cardboard is something I use a lot of, and I recycle cracker and cereal boxes as well as corrugated boxes.

Cardboard is very handy for making book and notebook covers because you cover them with decorative paper so the cardboard isn’t visible. It also makes great templates.

I love to use cardboard boxes for gift wrapping. They are great for holding a book so that the sharp corners don’t poke through the wrapping paper.

The clear plastic that many items are packaged in can also be reused.  Cut off the flat parts to save, and reuse as windows in projects, or stamp on them. This duct tape wallet has a clear plastic window on the right.

Or use the plastic for fun pages in an album you can put together.

Aluminum and tin cans are my favorite things to recycle.  I’ve crocheted around  shapes cut from aluminum cans to make baseball caps, and used a die cutter (Big Shot) to cut snowflakes and other Christmas shapes.

I love reusing tin cans! You can buy a special can opener that removes lids without leaving a sharp edge. You can find this can opener at Walmart or Target.
I paint tin cans and use them in all kinds of projects.  A tin can may often be used in place of a clay pot.

Newspaper is another great crafting material. It can be made into paper mache. Or you can scrunch small pieces and glue them to many surfaces to add dimension.

Newspaper can also be used for making patterns.

Or to wrap gifts. You can leave it black and white and add a bright red decoration.
Or you can spray paint it lightly with any color or stamp bright shapes on it.

You can even make a gift bag with it or fold it into an origami box.

This origami box uses a magazine page, but you could easily substitute a square of newspaper – or even use a square that is 2 or 3 layers thick.

And the lids to all kinds of plastic and glass bottles can be used for many things.
Use them for decorating a gift, or for game pieces, or to make a stamp for kids to use.

So when you want to craft and think you can’t afford to, make the Dollar Store your friend and check out your recycling bin!

Noreen Doll

Crafty Journal