Arts and crafts can be made from recyclable materials too!

I love making arts and crafts, and some of my favorite arts and crafts projects involve junk, trash, broken things, etc.  Why?  Well, for one, if you are using stuff you can easily find at home (jars, tin cans, newspaper, pop bottles, etc.) then that means that you don't have to spend money at the store to make your projects.  This is very important these days, as money is hard to come by.  Another reason I like this "turning trash into treasure" mentality when it comes to home arts and crafts projects is because I believe in "going green," promoting sustainability, and reducing, reusing, and recycling.  So since I love being creative and I love working to save the Earth, making crafts at home from old stuff is just one great way for me to combine those two loves into one awesome good time!

Now, since I DO love "recycled crafts" so much,  earlier today I was drawn into an article by GreenVerbs on List My 5 that I liked so much, I decided to share it!  Check it out here:

The Top Five Recycled Crafts Websites

I hope you check them out and get inspired!  Have fun!
Peace and Love,
Meagan

How to Make a Decorative Paper Chain

Paper chains are great.  You can make them to fit any holiday or special occasion, they can be used for decoration year round, they are relatively easy to make, AND they can be made from mostly recycled materials.

What you need to make paper chains:
1. Paper. I like to use old magazines and catalogs.
2. Scissors (to cut the paper).
3. Tape
4. Creativity



STEPS:

Step 1: Gather all your paper product together.  Hopefully you've found some old magazines or catalogs that we can use.  Scan through the magazines and catalogs and find pictures that stand out to you.  Maybe they have amazing colors to them or neat designs or whatever.  Cut those pages out of the magazines and such and set them aside.  Continue to do this until you have a huge stack of paper.

Step 2: Once you have lots of paper, you can start cutting it into strips.  Try to make the strips even, but make them however thick or however thin you want.  Pile up your paper strips, but mix them up, so that all the strips near each other in the stack are from different pages.

Step 3: Pick up one strip and make a loop.  Connect the two ends of the loop with tape to make a circle out of the paper strip. (It should look like a bracelet.)

Step 4: Pick up another strip of paper and slide it through the center of the first paper circle.  Make a loop, connect the two ends, form a second bracelet-like circle and you have now "linked" your loops like a chain.

Step 5: Continue Step 4 over and over again until the paper chain is the desired length.  Then stop, hang it up, and love it!

Step 6: Clean up all the scraps and any other messes, and enjoy your paper chains!

Paper Chain And Other Paper Craft Resources:

A Paper (Fabric) Chain Tutorial
Papercopia
Advent Paper Chains: An Easy Christmas Craft
Printable Paper Valentine Chains for Kids
How to Make Paper Chains - Ring Type

Recent Arts and Crafts by PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian

I have been super crafty lately.  Here are some of my recent creations.

First, we have a Winter/Holiday Centerpiece I made in mid-November.  I made about 5 total, and had enough materials left over to make a wreath! Fun stuff.

Then we have the paper chains that A. and I made to help make our home that much more festive!  We cut the strips from old magazines like People, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Marie Claire and then fashioned them together with scotch tape.  It was lots of fun and a nice project to collaborate on.

Then we have this crazy picture I edited in paint! haha  I was feeling super excited about my Cloud Magic t-shirt so I created this fanciful, crazy, pretty picture of me blowing magic energy out into the universe.  Deep, I know.

Finally we have a picture that I painted on a piece of cardboard from an old box we had.  I wanted to do something with lilacs and I wanted it to be a bit impressionistic, in tribute to one of my favorite painters: Monet.  What do you think?

Lately, I have also been big into crocheting again, and I made a great Scarf/Neck Warmer, but I haven't taken any pictures.  I am also working on a blanket.  And of course, I have some jewelry in progress.  Ah... creativity.  I love it!