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5/13/2022 0 Comments

Take your own cutlery

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Make your own cutlery carrier to take along with you.  A great reusable idea for picnics, barbeques, or restaurants with plastic or one time use cutlery.  This version uses 2 cloth napkins and some ribbon with some very quick stitches.  You could also replace the napkins with scrap fabric or just use one since the holder is a napkin itself.  This one also has a loop sewn in so that it can hang from a carabiner on a backpack when hiking.  Fold up the bottom quarter of the napkin and sew vertical channels to hold your utensils and an additional napkin if wanted.  When you roll it up, fold over the top quarter and simply roll and tie.   
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4/29/2022 0 Comments

Stained Glass Candles

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Want a way to reuse the left over stubs of candles?  These stained glass candles are made by melting down the colored wax from candle stubs in a double boiler. Take the colored wax and pull out any debris such as left over wicks.  Next you pour it into a shallow pan.  Once the colored wax cools and hardens, cut it into squares.  Set up a Pringles can with a new wick, and then put the squares into the can keeping the wick as centered as possible.  Put as many in as you can and pack them tight.  Next melt some white wax in the double boiler and pour it into the Pringles can to fill in the gaps left from the cubes.  Finally peel your can away and now you have a "new" candle that resembles stained glass.  
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4/22/2022 0 Comments

Make bottle caps into year round flowers

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​Made using plastic bottle caps, these flowers will bloom all year long.  The stem for one is an old crazy straw and the other is from the bar from a broken clothes hanger.  Drill some holes bend some wire and secure with E 3000 and you end up with a very low-maintenance plant.  Think you could make an entire garden bed?
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4/8/2021 0 Comments

Scrappy Vegetable Broth

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Did you know that it is very easy to make vegetable broth?  It is the perfect way to use carrot peels, onion ends, celery tops, and other vegetable scraps.  We save our scraps in a reusable container in the freezer.  Once it is full, we put it on the stove in water and cook on medium heat for 2-3 hours.  Strain out the solids (which we feed to the worms) and that is all there is to it.  Additional benefits of making your own broth: tastes better than store bought, less expensive, and sodium content is controllable.  You can freeze or can the broth but we end up using ours so quickly, we store it in the fridge.  We cook rice and pasta in it as well as use it for a soup base.     

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2/1/2021 0 Comments

Basket Full of Kisses

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Materials Needed:

- 2 paper scraps* at least 3"x9" (paper A & paper B)
  • - 1 paper scrap 1"x 6" (handle)
  • - Scissors
  •  - Tape or glue
  •  - Kisses candy

​*I used some leftover wallcovering and a page from a magazine.  Two different colors of paper looks best.

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  • Fold your 3" x 9" pieces of paper in half.  You should have two squares that are 3" x 4.5". 
  • On the folded side cut 2 slits that are 3" long and 1" apart.  On the opposite end round off the corners to form a semicircle.
  • Hold Paper A in your left hand and Paper B in your right.  Weave the first loop of Paper A inside the first loop of Paper B.  Weave the first loop of Paper A inside the second loop of Paper B and finish off the first loop of Paper A by weaving inside the 3rd loop of Paper B. 
  • Next take the second loop of Paper A and weave it outside the first loop loop of Paper B, inside the second and outside the third. 
  • For the final weave, put the third loop of Paper A inside the 1st loop of B, then outside the second and inside the third. 
  • When you are done the basket will look like the picture and you will be able to open it up. 
  • Glue or tape you handle paper to the inside of the heart basket. 
  • Fill with kisses candy. 

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11/27/2020 0 Comments

Plastic Cap Holiday Decorations

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​The holidays are a great opportunity to be creative and use repurposed materials for decorations and gifts. This year I'm reusing plastic bottle caps to create decorative gifts. To make the wreath, arrange your caps first to plan your design. Cut a piece of cardboard into a ring to create a backing. The secret is in the glue - I recommend E6000 for plastics. Glue the pieces to the backing and to each other. Finish it off with a bow. The tree is made by stacking caps together. Using a hammer and nail, punch holes into the centers. String the caps onto a piece of wire in descending order. Shape the top into a star using pliers. Use broken costume jewelry pieces to create ornaments.

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    Author

    Rebecca Archuleta is the Executive Director of the 3 REs.  She is an artist and maker specializing in mixed media using reclaimed materials.

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