As I scrolled through Instagram on my phone while I had breakfast (we all do that, right?) I saw that @berry_birdy had put out a fun new challenge. Each May, Lesley hosts the Micro Mini Stitch Along #microminisal where we get to play and create little quilts, no bigger than 8" square. The challenge set yesterday was called "Treasure from Trash". We were to use only scraps that were in our bin. Fun! As my sewing room bin was emptied the day before for bin night, I had quite limited scraps available to play with. I only had little bits and pieces that I'd trimmed when preparing rainbow applique blocks (you can see these in my previous post). With a small piece of batting from a previous project, I started out by creating a background. I placed pieces down to cover the batting and sewed some very "rustic" lines to hold everything in place. Last week, I watched some of the Making Zen video classes and one class was by @southerngals_designs. In the class, Tiffany showed us how she uses the teeniest pieces of fabric, glue and thread to create an eye. She then uses these little eye panels on other projects. I set out by cutting the white piece and blue pieces of fabric to make the basic eyeball shape. The upper and lower eyelids were then built up using teeny scraps, held down with just a regular school glue stick. Once I was happy with the layout, I roughly went over the eyelids and sewed the pieces in place. Now for the fun bit, adding hand stitches. Rather than cut thread to add some little decorative stitches, I used to use embroidery floss regularly and would keep the spare threads which I'd split from the floss, in a little pocket in the floss tub. These were great for this project. I had lots of colours available to use and I had two strands of black. Perfect! I added straight stitches, little crosses and outlined the white of the eyeball in black, which kinda looks like eyeliner. I was thinking of adding eyelashes, but figured I should stop before I got tooooo carried away. I added a small piece of fabric to the back (from my scrap bags) of the piece and sewed right around the edge (rectangle). Pinking shears finished it off. The piece measure approximately 2.5" x 5.5" and I had a lot of fun making it. I'll probably end up using it as a bookmark. This image shows the scraps that I had left over after this exercise. They're now back in the bin... unless another trash challenge is set. If you're interested in the Micro Mini Stitch Along and checking what everyone is making with their trash treasures, you can find it on Instagram by searching the hashtag #microminisal.

Don't throw away those empty toilet rolls! Learn how to repurpose them into Christmas toilet paper roll snowflakes ornaments.

Don't throw away those empty toilet rolls! Learn how to repurpose them into Christmas toilet paper roll snowflakes ornaments.

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We have talked about making miniatures from trash to treasure projects before, but it got a bit to long. So today we are starting part 2.

Discover quick, easy, and brilliant ways to repurpose old bed springs and turn them into real home decor treasures.

DIY upcycled trash projects could save you a lot of money. Think again before dumping any old utensils, furniture or storage boxes. These ideas are easy and simple to do.

Most elementary teachers are interested in integration of the arts with the content areas, so I have decided to create some STEAM challenge packs more focused on art. This one is based on the amazing Washed Ashore exhibit in which artists make treasure from ocean trash. The five STEAM Challenges included in this pack are: Plastic Bag Jellyfish Challenge Plastic Bottle Starfish Challenge Pop Can Eel Challenge Scrap Paper Clown Fish Challenge Cardboard Tube Octopus Challenge This engineering challenge activity pack is one of many that I have created to use in my classroom! I sometimes place these challenges, one per table, and the students rotate around the room in order to complete them. There are no right or wrong answers, many different solutions will work! You could also rotate these challenges through a science center. I plan to complete them as a whole class activity, one per day during our ocean unit. I store everything in a dollar store gift bag or plastic tub! These activities are great to use during anytime of year. You can use all of them or just pick and choose! The materials are easy to find and I even included some information about the animals! This pack is a great one to use when discussing the problem of ocean pollution! Art + Engineering = Engaged Students!

Are you tired of throwing away your old denim jeans? Don't worry! We have got you covered with some fantastic upcycled denim DIYs that you can try today.

These recycled art project ideas turn everyday household objects and trash into gorgeously colorful art you'll actually want to use in your own art.

Find creative and unique ways to repurpose old magazines into real beautiful treasures to decorate your home.

In a world drowning in disposable goods, upcycled crafts emerge as a beacon of creativity and environmental stewardship. This transformative art breathes new

Something beautiful from those bits of scraps that wind up in the floor, or the bin, or are too small for anything else!

Some of the best design bloggers show off their best furniture makeovers and DIY furniture projects.

These trash to treasure rustic book page sunflowers are a great way to repurpose and reuse items that are headed to the landfill! Cre...

In a world drowning in disposable goods, upcycled crafts emerge as a beacon of creativity and environmental stewardship. This transformative art breathes new

Help your students explore the techniques to recycled art inspired by artists including Alexander Calder, Margret Preston and Louise Nevelson with this completely done for you unit plan and activity bundle. Bring visual arts to life as the unit plan walks you through everything you need to thoroughly cover all elements of the Australian Year 4 Visual Arts curriculum (version 9.0). Fun for students, easy for you to implement and an irresistible way for students to learn and apply visual arts skills.

Have you ever looked around your yard and seen a pile of old tires, rusty tools, or discarded furniture and thought, "There's just no way I can use that"?

Upcycled Gift wrap ideas from upcycled gift boxes, upcycled gift tags, furoshiki fabric wrapping, wine bags from old sweaters and more.

In a world drowning in disposable goods, upcycled crafts emerge as a beacon of creativity and environmental stewardship. This transformative art breathes new

From Trash to Treasure

Make dollhouse items from items around the house.

Hello! It's Megan from Homemade Ginger again with a kids craft that everyone is sure to love. These little fireflies would be the perfect craft for a campout or a summer birthday party! In the past, most of my kids' craft ideas (such as this fake flower craft) have been geared towards girls because I had three daughters so girls were all I knew. All of my girls are super girly, so our house was full of princesses and pink. Well, this summer we were blessed with a baby boy! It's been so much fun but definitely an adjustment when

I absolutely love this time of year with the gorgeous weather, and it’s also yard sale season! I love getting inspired and turning my yard sale finds into DIY treasure. But what’s even better is when you can repurpose the “yard sale trash” into a gorgeous project for your kids with just a little primer, paint,...Read More »