Craft Supplies(Waste Not Want Not PRT 2)

**many houseapes** · 01-13-2008, 01:16 PM

Thinking about the "waste not want not" idea thread, I got to thinking about the members here that love to do crafts.What do we have around the house that we can use to make things?
I can knit,crochet,quilt,cross stitch to name a few.
And instead of running out to the craft store,or even the thrift store/garage sales for materials to use,I start from with what I have first on hand.
Since we have a huge family,there are always clothing cast-offs-whether they are outgrown or worn out,etc. Also, throughout the year, we have recieved free clothing from Freecycle, or other means. Most of the time, I pick out what we can use & pass the rest on to someone else....but if the clothes really aren't worth passing to someone else, I tend to use them otherwise.

old socks can be cut into loops for making potholders or rug yarn.
old tshirts can be used to make rug yarn, diapers....
old jeans can make the warmest quilts & they don't require a "quilt gut"-making it less expensive to put together.
old cotton clothing & sheets can be used for quilt backs or cut into strips for rugs.
plastic grocery bags can be cut into loops & be made into many items.
there are many wonderful things that can be made from what we already have on hand....
what do you make with what you have?

**peanut** · 01-13-2008, 04:00 PM

I'm well stocked with craft supplies. I used to paint. I just passed my oil paints on to a budding artist. But I kept my acrylics. I still use them to paint on plastics and fabric. I also have some printing inks/paints that I use to decorate magazine boxes, as well as make Christmas cards, etc. And I have stencils that were a gift to decorate the stair risers. I've also used them on the magazine boxes and on fabric. I've used acrylics to decorate terracotta pots, and sealed them with varathane afterwards (leftover from furniture refinishing projects). I make it a habit to check the house for supplies before going out to buy something now. We have oodles of stuff.

DH remakes old furniture into new. And an old fence into furniture. I paint/refinish discarded furniture for use in the house. Yes, he saved the good nails from the fence to reuse, and reused some of the good fence boards in the new fence.

I take all the free fabric I can find off Freecycle or from friends for quilting and craft projects. If I don't have a big enough piece for a quilt backing, I'll head to the goodwill and buy a 100% cotton sheet to overdye the colour I want and use it.

I have dyes for rug hooking in my home...some union dyes too. I just always have them around 'just in case'. I also have natural dyes. I can dye just about anything but synthetics. I rug hook from recycled old clothing for the most part...and from the wool stash my teacher/mentor gave to me.

I have yarn I inherited to sew into mitts, scarves, hats, slippers, etc.

I used to work at a fabric store, which garnered me lots of cheap fabric and free patterns. I also hang out with a group of older women who are a fantastic source of patterns and craft books and supplies.

What I don't have I try to turn up on FullCircles (our local equivalent to Freecycle), or talk to friends about. If they don't have it kicking around, I get it from goodwill. Rarely a need to go to the store and pay for brand new.

Sport socks can also be cut down the side and used as rags, or to apply stain to a woodworking project.

I'm taking an embroidery course and am buying fabric from a friend. I already have the threads I plan to use...mostly.

I cut up old towels for dishcloths. Old tablecloths cut up for napkins. Small painted plant pots to hold pens and pencils.

There's a ton of stuff here that I could do things with. I've been tempted to sew up some of my stash for sale because of the amount I have. One of the things DH and I have done this month is to put an indefinite moratorium on hobby spending. It has to come from our allowance if we want it.

Jean

**miss_thrifty** · 01-13-2008, 04:16 PM

I love recycling old things. lately hubby has leftover 2x4's to put under youngest sons matress to reinforce it. no box spring.
I undid all the yarn i found in long afghan panels i never put together and made scarfs out of them for xmas gifts.
re use old xmas cards and cut out for tags.
i cant think of anything else but Ill have some more soon.

**lukesmama** · 01-13-2008, 04:24 PM

I paper craft, so I save any and all scraps of ribbon I can get my hands on, as well as interesting papers and things that might make neat embellishments. I save all my paper scraps in a large envelope box and I have made it a habit to check there first before cutting a new piece.

Also, rather than buying envelopes and blank cards for cardmaking, I make my own cards from regular white cardstock and use envelopes gleaned from old boxes of cards. My mom has gotten good at cruising Goodwill and yard sales for these, and often brings me boxes of 20-25 card envelopes that she got for a quarter or fifty cents.

Lately I have been taking a few Christmas cards and cutting out the interesting pieces of the design for gift tags for next year.

**BetterLateThanNever** · 01-13-2008, 06:53 PM

Saw this idea at a craft show many years ago. This woman made skeletons for Halloween decorations out of Plastic Milk jugs. She took a whole jug and must've used and xacto knife to cut out eyes nose and mouth then took other jugs and cut out hands feet and bones which she contected together with platic zip strips so the whole skeleton was flexible and would dance when a breeze moved it. She also cut a small hole in the top of the head and strung a string for hanging the skeleton from a tree or porch.

**many houseapes** · 01-13-2008, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by BetterLateThanNever

Saw this idea at a craft show many years ago. This woman made skeletons for Halloween decorations out of Plastic Milk jugs. She took a whole jug and must've used and xacto knife to cut out eyes nose and mouth then took other jugs and cut out hands feet and bones which she contected together with platic zip strips so the whole skeleton was flexible and would dance when a breeze moved it. She also cut a small hole in the top of the head and strung a string for hanging the skeleton from a tree or porch.

I saw this too, but it was on another website this past halloween....she also made a huge lawn spider out of garbage bags & stuffed them w/old newspapers.
Very creative ideas ladies-keep it going

**qtkitty** · 01-14-2008, 03:18 AM

lawn spiders can be stuffed with leaves.. its cheaper.

Also you can use lint from the dryer to make stuffed toys from

i have heard of people making clay from it as well.

Old sweaters can be unraveled and made into any type of craft you would want. Its best to use knitted edge sweaters instead of cut, because you get more long strands. Lighter colors can also be dyed.

**Momto2Boyz** · 01-14-2008, 08:28 AM

I love making my own paper! I craft when I am "bored" and sometime the budget just can't afford it!

So one Saturday afternoon, I raided DH's workbench, found some old screen and some wood to build a frame, then I raided the recycling box for old paper...stuck it in my blender and made some paper. It's tons of fun, and I can use the paper for all kinds of other crafts. When I end up with way too much to use, I give it to my friend who scrapbooks and she LOVES it!