Some see trash and others see potential. There are amazing things you can do with unwanted items to spruce up your home décor or get organized. These four simple DIY ideas take trash and turn it into treasure.
Turn Plastic Spoons into a Stunning Mirror
Did you find yourself with a bunch of leftover plastic utensils from your last big party? Turn leftover plastic spoons into a flower power-inspired mirror. You will need two MDF wreath forms, 48 or so plastic spoons, hot glue, thick paper, a circular mirror, spray paint, and acrylic paint. Simply cut off the spoon handles and arrange them in a floral pattern in a circle around the mirror. Then, paint the spoons a fun, flowery color of your choosing. Bonus tip: You can recycle the leftover spoon handles. Recycled plastics have many more uses from toys to rain jackets.
Get Organized with Spray-Painted Plastic Containers
If you find yourself constantly throwing away plastic jars, consider transforming those containers into chic organizers. First, remove the label and thoroughly wash the container. You don’t want any residue from food or glue, so use a product like goo-gone to make sure the plastic is clean. Once dry, spray paint the plastic in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside. Next, add a chalkboard sticker to the outside and write what you are storing. Viola! Now you have a super chic organizer for pastas, markers, or whatever else you can think of.
Transform Wine Corks into a Bath Mat
If you are a wine lover, chances are you have a stash of wine corks somewhere. Transform those corks into something useful using a glue gun, knife, shelf liner, and around 150 corks. Ask friends to save their corks for your project. First, cut the shelf liner to the size mat you would like. Second, cut the corks in half, lengthwise, using a knife. Then, attach the cut side of the cork to the shelf liner using a hot glue gun. The result is a unique bath mat that uses all-natural materials.
Get the Kids Creating with Toilet Paper Roll Wall Art
This nifty craft is a great one for the kids. For this project, you will need about a dozen empty toilet paper rolls, tacky craft glue, scissors, a brushed-metal finished spray paint, and bobby pins. Using the scissors, cut the toilet paper rolls into thin slices to create rings. The thickness of the rings is up to you. Then, pinch the rings together so they form an oblong shape. Next, glue the “petals” together, using the bobby pins to hold the two petal pieces together until dry. You can make flowers or geometric shapes; it’s all up to you. Assemble the pieces in a design of your choosing. Once dry, simply spray paint the design in a well-ventilated area. Now, you have a custom piece of art for your home.
The next time you have trash lying around, think about how you can transform that garbage into a work of art.
Toilet paper rolls are fun to make into all sorts of fun crafts. I’ve seen some made into turkeys for the holidays.
I like the spray painted containers. Looks just like metal.
These are cool ideas! Thanks for sharing
These are some really nice ideas. We all seem to have too much stuff, and I hate to toss anything I don’t really have to, upcycling is the way to go!
This is a great post. I hink we upcycle or rycycle almost everything. I always save tin cans- they do all kinds of things, glass jars, plastic bottles, and then when done recycle.
I saw on Rachel Ray that crafters will buy toilet paper rolls, crayons, just about any type of recyclables. I try and recycle everything at my house and use everything up!
I’d be interested in making a wine cork bath mat. I’m curious to see how that would turn out.
These are some neat ideas. I love the spray painted buckets, they look metal.
I really like all of these ideas. But the wine cork bathmat is pretty darn creative!