Here’s an interesting way to use a recycled pen. Start by removing the guts from a dried-up pen. Firmly place the cap back on the pen. Fill the pen with water and slip a flower into your new pen vase. Since the cap prevents the vase from standing upright you can place the vase in your pencil cup, your toothbrush cup, or any other object that will hold it upright. Or you could use a blob of clay to hold the pen upright.
If you don’t have a fresh bloom, skip the water and pop in a silk flower.
I recently was making some changes to my family room and had no place in the house to put a chair that I loved. I put it on the back patio until I could figure out what to do with it. That night it was wonderful to lounge in my comfortable chair. The next morning I could see the chair from my kitchen window and noticed how nicely it blended with my patio furniture. Why was I getting rid of this chair? Now with a triple coating of Scotchguard I have a new favorite piece of patio furniture.
I started looking around my house as well as the garage and used my finds to redo my patio. A large urn was topped with a round tray and became a side table. An area rug that was a bit too worn to use in the living room is perfect in the dining area of my patio. Silk flowers were arranged in a plant pot and placed in a shady area that didn’t get enough sun for real flowers.
I love that I was able to freshen up my patio without spending a dime and that items that might have ended up in the landfill have been born-again.
From Tweeter @faithfultwo
I have a quilt covered lazy boy rocker to sit in and an old wood cook stove to store yard tools. I also have an old lamp to read by, in place of the bright porch lights. Very cozy 😉
I love this project. It’s simple, seasonal, easy for kids to do and uses lots of recyclable items.
Gather an egg carton; fabric, ribbon and/or lace scraps; tissue paper, pipe cleaners or straws.
Cut out each individual egg cup in a zig-zag or free form wavy pattern. These will be the outside of each flower. Paint inside and outside of each cup any color that you like. You can choose a color that matches your flower or make them green to represent leaves.
Poke small hole at bottom of each egg cup. Insert pipe cleaner “stem” through hole and twist a small loop to hold it inside the cup.
Roll up fabric strips, ribbon and/or lace scraps so that they fit inside of each egg cup. Attach to inside of egg cups with hot glue gun. If children are doing this portion of the project use a cool-temp hot glue gun.
Arrange flowers inside a plastic bottle. Wrap with tissue paper. Tie paper at neck of bottle with fabric strip, ribbon or lace.
Flowers are great gifts on birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, but what do you do with the vases once the flowers have died? Although it’s always a good idea to keep a few vases around, after a while they can add up. Try these top ten ways to reuse your old flower containers!
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