Julia’s Tips! How else can we use our throw-outs, scraps or junk.

Let’s look at our throw-outs…take a moment rethink can you use your rubbish? I have decided to compose a random list and give ideas what you can turn or make odd scraps or junk into something useful.

Old foil scraps – sparkle and shine. after you have straightened it out, cut it into small pieces save and use as texture or spruce pictures up. You can simply decorate 3D (3 dimensional) models.
Foil for sensory – use in an plastic empty bottle. Some can be rolled into balls or different squares and shake them up in a bottle, making tinkle noises.
Sweets unwrapped – Used as wallpaper – collect sweet wrappers and use them to decorate odd tubs, or the cover of a book or even a table top. Stick with PVA glue and then paint over it in PVA glue. This will seal the wrappers harden up and give a sheen or glossy finish.
Bottle tops – Model making – Milk bottle tops, collect for kids to use as buttons and knobs. Making space ships and finalise with these bottle tops. Good for kids to glue on card and make circular patterns. Noise maker, put some in a tub and shake – away.
Decanting glue – Fine nozzles – Home hair dye kits. The plastic formula bottles, once cleaned out can be used to decant PVA glue. They provide a fine line of glue and are good for intricate sticking.
Shredded paper – making necklaces – Shredded paper can be mixed with diluted PVA craft glue, let it soak in a container for a bit then squeeze out wet glue and mould into shapes. If you have a knitting needle, thin stick or dale use any one of these to squash and mould around the sticks to make round, oval or square shapes. Allow to dry on a radiator. These will form nice large beads to thread on a string. The holes would already be there when you pull of the sticks. Before you pull beads off, decorate each one with acrylic paint then seal with PVA glue or varnish.
Shredded paper – Nests, paint and glitter used rice or yogurt pots and make out its bedding for chocolates or Easter eggs.
Feathers, buttons, ribbons – dream catchers or make good card decorations.
Hand wash bottles – Paint decanters – save clean and fill with different coloured paints. Kids can press for a lot or a little of their choice of paints.
Plastic juice bottles – Sensory bottles – With wide necks fill with colourful items that make good viewing or good noise makers:- Buttons, Rice, Pasta, Lentils, pompom balls Beans, sequins, some of the resources that can easily fill these bottles up and once the kids start shaking them, they make brilliant sounds. For sequins use coloured water with food colour or some oil mixed with the water giving it more appeal.
Sponges – Texture – Save old sponges and cut up into shapes like square, rectangles, triangles or circular shapes. Use to dab into paints and make random textured shapes on large sheets of paper, or to texture up paper for background creating green mottled grass, or white and blue fluffy clouds. Or for kids to just experiment with.
Messy play – Discarded Newspapers, Wrapping up paper, foil, bubble wrap – Lay in a large tray a choice of any of these to line it up with. Grab some sponge rollers fill one or two trays of paint, now let the kids roll the rollers in the paint and then roll onto the resources on the tray. This becomes a discovery of applying colour on different textures and experiencing what effect it has and how it will look, on smooth, shiny or textured linings. (make sure children are wearing an apron or an old T/shirt)
Brushes, combs, toothbrushes – pattern making – use instead of paint brushes to make wavy textures or curly whirls, speckles or drag on paper after running them in paint.
Meat trays – Paint holders – wash and disinfect well. These make good paint utensils. Simply pour paint into these trays avoid over filling. The high rims act as a wall keeping paint within. You can then dip in sponges, rollers or brushes and swoosh around the paint to and throw, also quite versatile for mixing large amount of colour or by adding oil and make a pattern you can place paper in tray and make a swirly pattern.
Soft drink bottles – Fizzy drink plastic bottles – Cut off the top as short or as deep as possible and turn upside down and at a slight angle, use as a funnel to help pour liquid/paint or any other type of liquid, into another bottle or container. Use the bottom half as a pens holder or put any odds tools lying around as a tidy holder.