Cereal Box Up-cycled (CSA Bouquet of Ideas)

For the CSA (Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization)
  Spring 2013 the supply is a Cereal Box.
Each season a handful of awesome friends and I are going to use a household supply item (that might otherwise be tossed) and find a way to up-cycle it! 

You can join in on the fun – email me to add your up-cycle idea for next season’s item (Summer 2013 plastic tub – like yogurt/sour cream)! You can always add to any other previous CSA items as well!
Start thinking and creating! There will be a random winner each season!
I hope you get some fresh ideas!

Cereal Box Journal (Single Stem Idea)

This summer a group of 5 other moms and myself and our kiddos are going to visit several farms in our area. I wanted my kiddos to remember the farms we visited and what they learned so we made some farm journals. These journals up-cycle cereal boxes (our CSA up-cycle item of the season) and can be used for any type of journal (summer vacation, bug, alphabet, drawing, science, etc.). They are quick to make and sturdy enough to get some good use!

Enjoy this single stem idea of Cereal Box Journal for
all ages…

The Stuff:
Cereal box, plain paper (we used 5 pieces), hole punch, pipe cleaner, markers/crayons to decorate

The FUN!
1. Cut one of the sides off a cereal box and fold in half with the blank side out.

2. Fold plain paper in half and fit inside the cereal box to see if you need to trim. Trim if you need to.

3. Punch about 6 holes in the folded side of the cereal box.

4. Put the folded plain paper in the folded cereal box and punch the paper through the holes that were made in the cereal box.

5. Lace a pipe cleaner up and down through the holes. At the end, go back through a hole and wind it around itself to hide the end and hold in place.

6. Fold the binding a couple times so that it can open easily. That’s it, the journal is ready for writing and drawing!

7. Write or draw in the journal!
The first farm we went to was a rhubarb farm. There were horses that the boys were able to feed which is what Hornet wrote about here. On the next page he wrote about the rhubarb and he added a picture that I took of all the kiddos at the farm.

 *The boys decorated their cereal box covers before I punched the holes but of course it could be done after as well.

More ideas…

Please BRAINSTORM your ideas/suggestions in the COMMENTS below for the Cereal Box Journal!
Happy Crafting
~Sara

P.S. I changed the format of this blog post to go away from the chart form. I love charts but they are a pain to put in blogger so I decided to try something new. Do you like the new format or should I go back to charts??

Egg Cartons Up-Cycled (CSA)

This month for the CSA (Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization)
the supply is an Egg Carton.
Each month (changing to each season) a handful of awesome friends and I are going to use a household supply item (that might otherwise be tossed) and find a way to up-cycle it!
You can join in on the fun – email me or add your link for Spring’s item (cereal box)! You can add to any other supply that has been previously done as well. Start thinking and creating! There will be a random winner each season!
I hope you get some fresh ideas and enjoy this post of…

Egg Cartons Up-cycled
Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization
for All Ages!

Adorable Egg Carton Animals
Karen went crazy re-purposing egg cartons to make all of these fun animals with a group of kiddos while their families were visiting! Click the link below the pics to get instructions!
MADE by, Karen and a group of kiddos

Paper Plate Pig Craft from No Time for Flash Cards

Bunnies and Chicks from The Gold Jelly Bean

Piggy Noses from Fun in PreK-1

Egg Carton Mountain
MADE by, Karen and her little crafter! Idea is from Mommy with Selective Memory

The Stuff	The FUN!
Egg Carton Paint Paper Cotton Balls Pompoms Glue	1.   Cut an egg carton in half and paint the egg carton for mountains. 2.   Glue the egg carton mountains on paper and cotton balls and pompom balls.

Egg Carton Paint Holder
This is a great way to re-use egg cartons
MADE by, Tasha

The Stuff	The FUN!
Egg Carton Paints Paint supplies	1.      Cut an egg carton to the size of how many paints you are using. 2.      Add paint to egg carton holes and paint supplies in lid. 3.      Paint away! 4.      Just scoop whatever paint you don’t use back into your paint bottles and toss – easy cleanup!

Play/Sort/Count Money
Here are a few of the ways that Tasha and her daughter played with money. Egg cartons make for perfect sorting trays!
MADE by, Tasha and her little sweetheart

The Stuff	The FUN!
Egg Carton Coins	1.Cut the lid of an egg carton and… a. toss coins in egg cups b. sort coins by type c. count the number of coins in each egg cup

Egg Carton Bird Nests
We made these for our Spring Bin. Instructions are here!
MADE by, Sara and her bird lovers (Hornet, Roly Poly and Firefly)

Egg Carton (and Eggshell) Seed Starters
We made these a few different ways. A simple and economical way to start seeds. You just need to plant, water and give sunlight. Don’t forget to harden them off (set the plants outside a couple hours at a time, increasing time each day) before planting them. Then just plant them right in the soil outside.
MADE by, Sara and her little gardeners (Hornet, Roly Poly and Firefly)

Just cut the middle out of the lid, put dirt in and plant seeds.
We have done this without the lid as well.
We have an old spinach tub on top to make a little greenhouse.

Pic of our eggshell planter and egg carton planter. F
or the egg shells just crack it on the top, pull away shell and then put egg in a bowl
to make for breakfast. Clean egg out really well and then add soil and seeds.

Here is a pic of the egg shell planter once the boys planted it.
Wait for two sets of leaves to transplant.

 

Web-links to more ideas…


Please BRAINSTORM your ideas/suggestions in the COMMENTS below for the Egg Cartons Up-cycled
Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization!

Happy Up-cycling!
~Sara

Tin Cans Up-Cycled (CSA Bouquet of Ideas)

 This month for the CSA (Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization)
the supply is a Tin Can.
Each month a handful of awesome friends and I are going to use a household supply item (that might otherwise be tossed) and find a way to up-cycle it!
You can join in on the fun – email me or add your link for next month’s item (egg carton) OR you can always add to any previous CSA supply! Start thinking and creating! There will be a random winner each month!
I hope you get some fresh ideas and enjoy this post of…

Tin Can Up-cycled
Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization
for All Ages!

Tin Can Bank
I wanted my son to start getting the concept of tithing, saving, and spending, so we made this tin can bank with three compartments labeled A, B, and C
MADE by, Laura and one of her hard workers!

The Stuff	The FUN!
3 Tin Cans Tape Stickers *Allowance	1.   Tape the cans together, and the top edge of the can to cover any sharp edges. 2.   Kiddo decorates the cans with stickers. 3.   Kiddo starts earning money. He started earning an allowance of $1.00 per week.  He would put 10 cents in A for tithing, 40 cents in B for saving, and 50 cents in C for spending.

Fridge Tin Can Organizer
I saw where people did this and stuck them to a cookie sheet and hung it on a wall, but our fridge was perfect :-)
MADE by, Karen and her little crafter!

The Stuff	The FUN!
Tin Cans Paint Glue Magnets	1.   Paint tin cans (we did this by rolling the cans in the paint!) Let dry. 2.   Glue magnet on the back of the tin can. 3.   Stick on fridge (if your fridge isn’t magnetic you can use a cookie sheet) 4.   Fill with supplies!

Velcro Tin Can Organizer for a Cabinet
Small supplies can be organized on the outside or inside of a cabinet door!
MADE by, Katie

The Stuff	The FUN!
Tin cans Velcro Glue (if not sticky back Velcro)	1.      Attach 2 strips of Velcro horizontally on a door. 2.      Attach 1 strip of Velcro vertically on the tin can. 3.      Fill…remove…play…replace!

Rainbow Tin Can Hanging Planter
With St. Patty’s on the way we made some different Rainbow Tin Can Planters to plant some shamrocks! I can’t wait to do this with herbs for the summer!
*Note – if you are planting herbs in a tin can make sure it is BPA free – checkhere (not many are).
MADE by, Sara and her little gardeners (Hornet, Roly Poly and Firefly)

The Stuff

The FUN!

Tin Cans Gold Paint (optional) Tissue and glue (#1) Water colors and newspaper (#2) Watercolors (#3)

*Optional – paint the tin can with gold paint. I did this to symbolize the pot of gold. 1.   #1 can – glue rainbow colored tissue around the can. Coat with another layer of glue. Let dry. 2.   #2 can – Watercolor paint stripes of the rainbow on newspaper. Let dry. 3.   #3 can – Watercolor rainbow stripes horizontally on the tin can. Let dry.Not sure how this will hold up with watering - you may want to spray with sealer. *if you are hanging your tin cans drill a hole in each side at the top before you plant. Tie one side of the string through one hole. 4.   Put small rocks on the bottom of the tin can for drainage. Fill with soil. Plant seeds (we used clover seeds from our garden store – really cheap – look in the grass seed section). 5.   Use a clothes hanger to loop string through and tie through other hole. You may have to put some tape on the string and hanger to make them stay still. If you are just making one then you don’t need the clothes hanger. 6.   Hang by a window and enjoy!

Web-links to more ideas…


Please BRAINSTORM your ideas/suggestions in the COMMENTS below for the Tin Can Up-cycled
Community Supported Activities/Crafts/Organization!

Happy Up-cycling!
~Sara