Leading off our recent blog post, Items to Repurpose Before Throwing Away, we wanted to create a spin-off post for all you special parents out there! While there are plenty of items, especially food scraps, that can be repurposed to make something new, there are also tons of creative ways to turn ordinary items into amazing, fun craft projects for your family. This time of year, with the holidays behind us and some of the coldest and longest days ahead, the time can feel like it’s going on forever. If you and your family are experiencing some cabin fever, we’ve got an exciting list of winter art projects to keep you and your kids happy, creative and busy! Plus, as an added bonus, all of these projects center on found or repurposed items. Meaning, you can get crafting without having to make a trip to your local arts & crafts store! What’s better than projects that are sustainable, hands-on, and budget friendly? Without further ado, here’s our list of upcycled winter craft ideas:
- Handmade Holiday Cards
- With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, now is the perfect time to sit down with your kiddo and put together some Valentine cards. You could make cards for your friends and family, or you could help your child cut out and decorate Valentines for all of the students in their class. While we're highlighting cards for Valentine's Day because it’s topical, the sentiment here is to hand make cards for all occasions! You could even set aside a time to craft cards for all of the different holidays that you’ll need them for throughout the year (e.g., Mother's Day, birthdays, Christmas, etc.). You can make some really unique and sustainable cards by using items found around your house. Decorate craft paper with things like ribbons, stickers, or buttons to make a custom card for each person. You could even repurpose old cards into something new!
- Toilet Paper Roll Art
- There are SO many craft ideas for empty toilet paper rolls! We obviously can’t list them all, so we’ll just tell you our favorite! Since this is a list of art projects, we thought the best toilet paper roll upcycling idea to mention is wall art. If you cut the roll like you would bread (slices, with the roll laying flat and long), you will get these slivers that actually look a lot like leaves if you slightly pinch them. You can then paint or color these slices and arrange them into any shape or design you like! And because they’re thin, they can easily be adhered to a piece of paper or cardstock and hung as wall art!
- Compostable Confetti
- Speaking of leaves, you can use actual leaves to make compostable leaf confetti. It’s a very simple and natural alternative to traditional glitter or plastic confetti, and the best part is that you can make it at home! If there are any leaves in your front yard, scoop them up and take them inside. Use a single hole punch to cut out as many circles of leaves as you’d like. Leaf confetti has multiple uses, including decoration for cards or holiday displays, or pizzaz for envelopes sent via snail mail. You can even use the leaf pieces to make a super simple and DIY confetti popper (YouTube it for some easy how-to videos)!
- Origami
- Want to dig into the art of paper folding but don’t have any origami paper on hand? We’ve got you covered! While official origami paper is typically a bit easier to fold, you can craft origami using any kind of paper. The key is to use square paper, where all the sides are the same length. Standard origami paper comes in 6-inch squares. So if you have any craft paper or printer paper on hand (bonus points it’s scrap paper that you’re reusing!), just cut it into square sheets and you will be all set! There are tons of great origami ideas online, and you can find projects ranging from beginner to expert. Origami requires both imagination and precision, making it the perfect activity for parents and kids alike!
Looking for other ways to spark creativity in your kiddos?
Our Ocean Animal Wooden Toy Set is a sustainable play alternative that we designed to give kids both an educational and real sensory experience. The set includes 10 beechwood animal blocks, and is a great way to not only introduce kids to the amazing animals that live in the sea, but also provide them with the opportunity to play with more 'analog,' hands-on toys. We love this type of play because it augments learning, imagination and motor skills. Check out our toy set today!
