Recycled ‘style’ an exercise in creativity

Here’s an exercise in creativity. Look around your house with your kids and find things that could, with a little creative thinking, be used for something other than their intended uses. Then, as a family, talk about what you can do with the items and get creating.

I came up with an old magazine, yesterday’s newspaper, foil liners from a stick of gum, large rigatoni noodles, an empty tin soup can and an empty pickle jar. What do they all have in common? Beads! Here are some simple ideas for all ages of the family.

Paper Bead Home Décor

Make eye-catching beads, and then glue them on shiny tin cans or glass jars to make vases or snazzy catchalls for kitchen utensils, pencils, pens and kids’ paintbrushes.

•First, the beads. Tear out illustrated pages from a magazine or save a sheet or two from the Sunday comics in your newspaper.

•Cut the paper into long, narrow triangles approximately 5 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide at the broad end.

•To form each bead, carefully roll the triangle around a pencil or sturdy drinking straw, beginning with the broad end of the triangle and ending with the pointed end.

•Glue the point to the rolled paper. Remove the pencil or straw. Continue until several triangles are complete.

•Let the glue dry.

•Glue several on a can or jar in a pattern. Intersperse with bright buttons or charms if you wish.

Gum Wrapper-Rigatoni Beads on a Shoestring

Save several foil wrappers from sticks of gum.

•Drizzle household glue on the paper side of a foil wrapper. Set a rigatoni noodle on one end of the wrapper and wrap the paper around the noodle.

•Add a bit of glue to the overlapping sides, and tuck the wrapper inside the noodle. Let dry.

Preschoolers will love stringing the beads on a bright-red shoestring with red wooden beads between the gum-wrapper beads. Tie a knot, and it’s ready to wear for a necklace.