toys out of recycled materials?

[wwinorth]

I'm trying to think of toys and things I can make out of empty oatmeal containers. I have several saved up. I already made a doll bed (someone posted a youtube video with instructions.)

Any other ideas? Any other recycled material projects?

Thanks bunches!
Mel

[eepster]

From oatmeal containers, drum set. I turn moth eaten sweaters into felt toys.

[ikesmom]

a mail box. you can paint it and use paper or stamps to decoupage.

[rere]

You can cover them with paper and use them a big building blocks.

Or container for art supplies.

I cut one in half the long way to make a tunnel for cars.

You can cut it to make it shorter and have that be a base for making a silly hat.Punch some holes to add elastic so it will stay on(like a party hat would).

[wwinorth]

ohhhh! Great ideas!!!

[Lilcrunchie]

nak-
another sweater felter here. I've turned it into playfood. Found a cardigan w/ pockets. Cut those out for dollhouse doll sleeping bags and one would work as a little gnome-pouch necklace.

[myrrhmaid]

Here's a link to some felt food I have made.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28.../resized-2.jpg
I have made some felt brooches from recycled sweaters.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/001-2.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/002-2.jpg
I also have been making some dishcloth aprons
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...aiden8/007.jpg
here's some felt food I made from acrylic felt squares
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/006-1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...aiden8/005.jpg
I made a really cute spaghetti & meatballs but I didn't get a pic of it before I gave it away!

[jauncourt]

We do these:

• Play food (for plates) cut out of images on cardboard food packages (stuff from trader joe's is great for this), with fun things written/drawn on the back
  
• Play food (for cabinets) from small, resealed/washed/etc food packaging (small oatmeal canisters, boxes from Annies mac and cheese, a half-dozen egg carton, a washed and resealed pint milk carton or soymilk carton, a butter box, a yogurt/cream cheese/sourcream container, etc)
  
• Drums from cylindrical packages with lids, which can be opened and things put in or taken out to change how they sound (cloth, beads, rocks, etc)
  
• Boxes made into specific playthings by parents (parts of our play kitchen are made from boxes - the fridge, the backsplash, etc; you can make a car, a castle, a house, a hat), or just modified a little bit (paint it all one color, several colors, cut holes in different shapes in the sides, cut "doors", etc)
  
• Boxes not modified by parents make great toys by themselves, and kids can modify them themselves (DS1 has a collection of unmodified boxes that become hats, robot parts, secret treasure boxes, etc)
  
• Old clothes and hats become dress up items. (DS1 claimed several old hats and mismatched toe socks for his dress up bin, some have been made into fingerless gloves adn the hats are just different personas waiting to be demonstrated)
  

I'm sure there's more, that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.
Maura

[MrsAprilMay]

Originally Posted by myrrhmaid

Here's a link to some felt food I have made.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28.../resized-2.jpg
I have made some felt brooches from recycled sweaters.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/001-2.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/002-2.jpg
I also have been making some dishcloth aprons
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...aiden8/007.jpg
here's some felt food I made from acrylic felt squares
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...den8/006-1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...aiden8/005.jpg
I made a really cute spaghetti & meatballs but I didn't get a pic of it before I gave it away!

I love the olives!

[greenfish]

Originally Posted by wwinorth

I'm trying to think of toys and things I can make out of empty oatmeal containers. I have several saved up. I already made a doll bed (someone posted a youtube video with instructions.)

Ooh! Would you be willing to post the link? I can't find it...(are there too many youtube videos out there or what?) Thanks!

I'm making doll house furniture...sponges covered in cloth with wood bead legs make great beds, scrap fabric becomes pillows and curtains, toothpaste caps make good lamp shades...

[rere]

Oh,I thought of another one for the oatmeal containers.If you cut them in half they make great little baskets/buckets.The kids can paint them or wrap paper around them.You can make a handle out of pipe cleaners slid through punch holes in the sides.And if you have any bigger beads,little kids can easily string those on the pipe cleaners before you string the handle.

[wwinorth]

Here's the youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu0TSlfoPzo

Love the basket idea! a ribbon handle would be cute! hmmmm...

[myrrhmaid]

We're going to make some of those borax crystal ornaments too. Put 3 T. 20 mule team borax (not the hand powder) in 1 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve. Using pipe cleaners, shape them into spirals, stars etc. place them in jar of solution. Beautiful crystals will form.

[mkmb129]

I will be making my son some bean bags from old shirts. I make my niece some pants from recycled shirts, and so with the scraps my son and her will get fun bean bags. I saw a tutorial on about.com for a cloth grab ball, I cut out the pieces but haven't assembled it yet. You could use just scraps of fabric or old clothes. Also, soft 4-d blocks, balls, etc from scraps of fabric or recycled clothes. For something fun for my son and just to look at I'm using old food boxes and others we have lying around the house to wrap and put under the tree (to be reused each year until unusable) since I do not plan to wrap his gifts (or not many) as I think it's a waste.

[rere]

Originally Posted by mkmb129

For something fun for my son and just to look at I'm using old food boxes and others we have lying around the house to wrap and put under the tree (to be reused each year until unusable) since I do not plan to wrap his gifts (or not many) as I think it's a waste.

If your son gets into the idea of unwrapping(that was more fun than the presents,for my daughter)you could wrap in fabric that you could use later.

[KathinJapan]

here is how Japanese wrap things in cloth
http://www.papercrafty.com/2006/furo...e-japanese-way
Traditional fabrics are thin, but I use Christmas cotton fabric and it works out OK, some of the knots are not as nice, but that could also be my tying ability...
Kathryn

[rere]

Originally Posted by KathinJapan

here is how Japanese wrap things in cloth
http://www.papercrafty.com/2006/furo...e-japanese-way
Traditional fabrics are thin, but I use Christmas cotton fabric and it works out OK, some of the knots are not as nice, but that could also be my tying ability...
Kathryn

A toy wrapped in a playsilk would look really nice like that!
Thanks for the link.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by myrrhmaid

We're going to make some of those borax crystal ornaments too. Put 3 T. 20 mule team borax (not the hand powder) in 1 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve. Using pipe cleaners, shape them into spirals, stars etc. place them in jar of solution. Beautiful crystals will form.

FYI - Borax is a poison. I wouldn't use these ornaments if you have any small children.