Creative recycling

In times of containment of superfluous expenses and continuous increases in the cost of living, the tendency to want to recycle and reuse discarded objects, perhaps forgotten for years in the closets or bequeathed by the grandmother, is growing more and more. new and unique.

Beyond the economic reasons, creative recycling is also a great way to express your creativity, a pastime that will allow you to personalize your home with absolutely original objects and accessories.

Obviously the materials that can be recycled and reused are many, as well as techniques that can be used, so here are some ideas so that you can get to work immediately!

How to recycle fabric in a creative way

When we change the wardrobes, how many things do we decide to eliminate because they no longer fit us or are out of fashion or, simply, we don't like them anymore? Well, those same things, with a little patience and inspiration, you can use them to create unique objects. An example? An old felted sweater, shaped and fastened at the ends with a few hidden points, can turn into a warm shade cover. But if the shirt is really ruined, then why not give yourself to felting? It is a technique used to create pins or decorations of various shapes starting from a raw material composed of felted wool worked with soap.

If you are particularly practical with needle and thread, old fabrics, for example from old cotton T-shirts or shirts, can be an excellent base for creating rugs, blankets, pillow covers, kennels for your 4-legged friends, with the patchwork, a technique which, composing and sewing together squares of fabric of various sizes, allows to obtain a fun multicolored compositions.

How to recycle plastic creatively

Plastic is certainly one of the most common materials in our homes: bottles, jars, bags, so on and so forth. How to use it, once discarded, to obtain decorations or objects of alternative use? Simple! Just think of the classic water bottles: if you cut their base with a cutter and shape them with a light flame to create petals, they can become multicolored flowers to use as decorations. Just add a stem, perhaps made with a stick or a straw and here is your personal flower.

And even non-biodegradable plastic bags can be excellent for creative recycling: just cut them into thin strips, join them into balls and work them patiently with crochet: you will get delightful centerpieces or under plates.

Decoupage

Then there is a decorative technique - the decoupage - which allows, mainly through the use of paper, but also fabrics and fabrics, to cover furniture and other objects, giving them a totally new and personalized look. An old sideboard, a rusty coffee table or an abandoned shelf can come back to life and shine thanks to your creative flair and your dexterity.

The first thing to do when you want to decouple a piece of furniture and clean its surface with water and ammonia to remove any residual dust, then you can decide to repaint it or leave it as it is and maybe customize it with a peeling effect using sandpaper. Once you have chosen the decorations - and here you can indulge yourself and use, for example, newspaper, clippings, fabrics, lace or rice paper - you can proceed with their application using vinyl glue and, when this is dry, pass the Transparent paint.

The extra idea

Summer has just ended and you and your children have stocked up on popsicles and ice cream? If you have kept all the sticks you can use them to make grates to use in the garden or panels for climbing plants.

Here's how to do it:

• Arrange the sticks on one level, one next to the other, to form a square;
• In the opposite direction - vertically if the first are horizontal and vice versa - fix other sticks with the vinyl glue;
• Repeat the process until you get the thickness you prefer and then fix the grating with the nails;
• With the help of a string you can then adjust the branches of the plants to the desired height.