Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Herb Drying Rack ~ Scrap Wood

You can make simple drying racks for your herbs.  Here we took a scrap piece of wood and painted it with a coat of white paint.  After the paint dried, a layer of crackle medium was applied, and also dried.  Then the green paint was applied and dried.  The crackle medium, allowed the white to show through, and appear as aged paint.  Decoration was applied with paint pens, and also dried.

The clothespins (wooden) were painted first and allowed to dry.  Then they were glued to the board with a strong holding glue.

With a drill you can drill top holes to hand screw eye screws into the top.  Tie on your scrap twine and you have a nice sized drying rack for your herbs.

The paints were not purchased for this project.  The paints that were used, were scrap bottles leftover from other projects.

You may also like:
Barn Wood Herb Drying Rack

Toss and Catch Game for Kids

Recycle your plastic creamer containers.  Simply cut the bottom portion with a sharp knife or utility scissors, and cover the cut edge with duct tape.  Be sure to use caution when you are cutting the bottom off.





Tie a scrap piece of cotton string to a plastic golf ball or small plastic ball with holes, and secure the other end in between the red cap and bottle neck.  You can secure the string with duct tape as well.  Have children try to swing the ball into the cup for a fun, recycled toy.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Homemade Soap Dispenser


While shopping in Amish Country I saw very cute soap dispensers.  Of course, the prices are sky high, and looking at it, I figured anyone can make these.  

You can use any glass jar and metal lid.   Smaller canning jars would be cute too, but for the one we made, we recycled a food jar.  The lid and jar are from Tahini I bought at the store.   

The pump itself is recycled from a Bath & Body lotion dispenser I received as a gift.  Once the jars were empty, they were washed and dried.  The dispenser itself had a much longer tube underneath that required being cut.   

The lid was drilled through with a hand drill (using proper safety), and secured inside the lid with a tie strap.  Now we can refill our soap dispenser with bulk soap, or make our own.

Update:  Spray your lid with a few coats of acrylic spray prior to using it.  Allow it to dry.  Otherwise a metal lid will rust after a long use of it.  Although I have not tried it yet, you could also use a spray on rust metal primer as well, to protect against rust.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Junk Mail Envelope Bookmarks

Got Junk Mail?  Take your envelopes that have clear windows on them and turn them into fun, recycled bookmarks.









Simply cut away the portion of the envelope that contains the clear plastic window.





Then open the portion you just cut away, and slide in a cut piece of magazine photo, your own photo, scraps of wallpaper, or whatever you prefer, and glue it to the inside, by placing glue on the back of your insert.




Glue your edges shut and allow it to dry completely.





Punch a hole at the top with a one-hole hand punch, tie on a scrap piece of string, ribbon, etc. and you have yourself a new bookmark.