Author Archives: Kat

About Kat

I started this blog to share with you all the results of years of turning trash into treasures. Hopefully I'll spark some new creative thoughts and if that happens I hope that you'll share your discoveries and together we’ll build a blog that will singlehandedly reduce global warming and save the world! Okay, maybe that’s a grand goal but we should be able to at least downsize our own trash output.

Leftover Halloween Candy

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With all the candy oriented holidays in our culture it’s no surprise we end up with an overload of all sorts of different candies. As we move from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years to Valentine’s to Easter we can use the excess candy from one holiday to supply the next holiday looming on the horizon.

Storing Candy

Most candy can be kept at room temperature without spoiling, with the exception of chocolate. Because fat can turn rancid (ever detect a slight soapy smell on your chocolate?) any chocolate candy that you plan to use thirty days or more from the date of purchase is best stored in an airtight container in the freezer.

RePurpose Candy

Use candy corns to decorate Thanksgiving baked goods, or fill a cornucopia with them.

All types of candy bars can be buzzed into milk-shakes, chopped and stirred into home-made ice-cream, as an ice-cream topping, chopped and stirred into baked goods batter, chopped or sliced and used to decorate the top of a frosted cake …

Gum drops, gummie shapes, candy corns, peppermints, Lifesavers, lollypops – all kinds of candies can be used to decorate Christmas gingerbread houses.

Any red candies can be saved for Valentine’s Day.

Any chocolate candies that can melt down completely can be stirred into hot chocolate or coffee.

Halloween Decor – Halloween Tree

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This idea comes from a segment on “Live With Regis and Kelly”.

Didn’t think you could do anything with that cheap patio umbrella you bought a few months ago? If you have an umbrella that is broken, ripped, or otherwise unusable you can use it to add to your Halloween or autumn decor.

Strip the fabric off the umbrella spine. Invert the spine so that the handle and post of the umbrella now look like the trunk and the spines look like branches sticking up from the trunk.

Place the umbrella in a pot and attach with hot glue or wire whatever decorations you choose.

Drink Cozies from Recycled Denim Jeans

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Take a look at DocPop’s giant beer cozies made from a pair of recycled denim jeans. He also has a link to his coffee cup cozies, also made from recycled clothing. At this time of this posting his Etsy shop had sold out, but check it out as he restocks regularly. Even if you don’t buy anything, he’s got lots of pics and some great ideas for re-using items. In fact he advertises that all items are “remade in USA” LOL

Halloween: Cardboard Box Costumes

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X-Ray Costume

Start with a recycled cardboard box that is big enough to get your head and arms into. Cut a hole in the top just large enough for your head to fit through. Cut a hole in the bottom just large enough so that you can slip the box over your head and your shoulders will fit inside. Cut a hole in the front that is the shape and size of a TV screen.

Paint the box silver or black.

Draw or use a computer to create an “X-ray” of human insides on a piece of paper that will be taped inside the box so that it will show through the hole in the front of the box. Wear a skeleton costume, black turtleneck and leggings or a hospital dressing gown.

TV Set Costume

A recycled cardboard box can be the start of a great Halloween costume. Turning it into a “television” gives you lots of options for customizing to fit your interests or message.

Start with a recycled cardboard box that is big enough to get your head and arms into. Cut a hole in the top just large enough for your head to fit through. Cut a hole in the bottom just large enough so that you can slip the box over your head and your shoulders will fit inside. Cut a hole in the front that is the shape and size of a TV screen.

Cover the recycled box with wood grain contact paper or paint it silver or black. Attach a recycled rabbit ear antenna to the top.

Draw freehand, use your computer to create a movie scene, cut a poster, or search the Internet for a movie or television scene. Tape the paper to the inside of the box so that it will show through the hole in the front of the box. Wear clothes and makeup that matches your movie. Wear black, gray or brown leggings to match the TV box.

And if you need more ideas for your Halloween costume, check out About.com’s photo gallery of Recycled Cardboard Box Costumes. The instructions accompanying each photo aren’t detailed but they’re simple enough that you should be able to recreate any you take a liking to.

I just had to add this one extra costume. It’s not made from a cardboard box, but from a piece of recycled foam.

Here’s a great way to use a piece of foam that you might have otherwise thrown out. Sonya Style has detailed instructions for using a piece of foam that you might otherwise have thrown out to make a Fortune Cookie Costume.