How to Find Free Crafting Materials at Home – Kitchen

Kitchen

The kitchen is a great area of the house that seems to naturally collect many different items that are perfect for crafting. Although we all try our best to keep the kitchen neat and clutter free, there are always little things that manage to creep their way into several cupboards and drawers.

Some people may have old utensils they no longer need, broken glass, china or pottery that still have a pretty colours and designs on them and even old containers that are no longer used can be transformed into something new.  Other items that always seem in abundance in most households are product packages, bags, plastics, cartons, elastics, strings from produce and random little tags from bread bags and grocery items.

All you need is a little imagination to create something wonderful out of otherwise useless trash.

Ideas:

1. Create mosaic gifts by covering old jars or vases.  You can also add a little flare to existing furniture. (You can see some examples on my Pinterest Mosaic Board.
2. Create fashion accessories from old utensils.  They are becoming more popular to the point that even Amazon sells watches made out of spoons!
3. Upcycle old packages into pretty storage items or turn them into home decor. One of my previous posts shows how to make picture frames from food boxes and another to make a mystery holiday bank.

Check back again tomorrow for more craft ideas from random places around the home!   If you have any project ideas to add to this list, please comment below and share 😀

How to Find Free Crafting Materials at Home – Mail

Many people (like myself) love crafting because it’s a great way to get creative, make something new, recycle materials that would otherwise go to waste, but most of all, because it’s fun and relaxing.

For those of you who love crafting as much as I do, you will notice how expensive it can get when it comes to getting materials from shops like Michael’s or even the dollar stores (because you go extra crazy in those shops!)

In order to get yourself some free crafting materials and recycle unused items, take a look in and around your home to see what you can find. I regularly do this at home….and my family’s home….to help them clean up  😉

Each week, I will suggest an area of the home to find various crafting materials. I will also give you a list of crafts that can work with these materials to get you started.  *Keep these crafts in mind for the holiday season!*

Junk Mail, Old Notebooks, Magazines

Everyone will have at least a few old magazines, flyers, notebooks or letters that are no longer needed. Instead of tossing them in the recycling box, or leaving them as clutter at home, why not use them for paper crafts?

Ideas:

1. Perfect wrapping paper for small gifts.  Add some pretty ribbons, stamps or simply tape on an ornament and you are pretty much done.  Here is a quick gift wrapping tutorial to show you easy gift wrapping techniques and how to fix a wrapping problem (not enough paper!)
2. Great to make unique mobiles.  Why not try a story/poem mobile like the one shown here).
3. Origami (Japanese paper folding). (Please check out my old post to make a traditional origami crane).
4. Unique greeting cards. Use some of the plain or decorative pieces for layers in card decorations or cut out silhouettes for decorative details.
5. Kirigami (Japanese paper cutting). (Please check out my old post to make a kirigami sakura).
6. Make boxes to help organize your home. Get some ideas from my creative boxes tutorial.

If you have any other craft ideas for scrap paper that you would like to share, please comment below to let everyone know.  I love to learn new things from others, so don’t be shy 🙂

Crafting Budget – How Much Do You Spend on Crafts?

I love being creative and making something fun from random materials that anyone can get a hold of. These days, I try to get free or inexpensive materials for creative projects just for fun. If you missed my previous posts about finding free crafting materials from around the house, please take a look at them and let me know if there is anything that I’ve missed.

While I do try to keep my budget low for crafting, there will be times when I will splash out on quality tools or materials that I know will go a long way. This is especially true for scalpel knives, paper cutters and writing utensils.

Over the years, I’ve certainly piled up quite a collection of paper, paints, adhesives and stationery. Most of my cost went into Japanese chiyogami and washi but I only use them for “special” occasions *^_^*  Although everything takes up more space than I prefer, I try my best to keep it neat and organized… so I don’t forget what I have!

I believe that being creative should not have to be expensive, whether it’s just for fun or as a special gift. Also, many people seem to miss the point that crafting shouldn’t be terribly expensive. No matter your skill level or style, it’s possible to make beautiful things that you and others love as well.

That being said, I’m curious to know how much you spend on crafts in a year?

Fabric Embellishments for Greeting Cards

For those of us who always seem to have scrap fabric around, there are many different options to use these scraps, no matter how small they may be. One of the best and easiest crafts is to make cute greeting card embellishments. Regardless of the amount and size of fabric you have available, there are endless things you can do with them:

Cute Bow

A bow is simple, cute, and can be combined with other things for any occasion throughout the year. The first thing is to cut out a large rectangle or smaller rectangles from the fabric. Set any leftovers aside for extra decoration later. Next, fold the fabric accordion style, pinch and secure the middle. You can use staples, twist ties, thin ribbon, clear tape or make a small stitch to keep all of the pleats together. Finally, attach it to the card with hot glue, double sided tape or another stitch through the paper and bow. Now, you are free to add any other details that you would like. Create a present with the bow on top, draw a tree with bow decorations, add it as a hair tie for a little girl, on a kite string, balloon, make a butterfly and so on… there are hundreds of things you can do!

Shapes and Textures

Fabrics come in a wide range of textures and can generally be cut into any shape imaginable, so why not get creative and cut out rough shapes and arrange them as a collage, a puzzle or add one larger shape to frame or layer another decorative piece. No matter how plain a card may seem at first, just adding one single piece of fabric with some decorative touches using a metallic pen, a card will instantly have depth and visual appeal. One simple example is to cut out a few squares and rectangles, arrange them around the card (front and back) then quickly draw in a little bow above each shape. These instantly look like wrapped gifts, making them the ideal handmade card for Birthdays Anniversaries and holidays like Christmas.

Extras

Other great extras that can add depth to a card and help create a fun unique card is to add little decorative items like sticker, buttons, pins brooches and so on. Look through old jewellery boxes or old junk drawers to see what can be used. It’s incredible the amount of crafting materials we can find when looking through forgotten drawers and boxes around the house!

As I always say, play around with the fabric and get creative with what you have on hand. Try to get inspiration from sites online or try to create something unique. Not only will you make something from the heart but you will also help out the environment by keeping items out of the trash!