Repurpose Old Crafts – Frugal Friday Tip #17! Katrina, what are you talking about? I’m talking about all those old crafts you have made with your kids and now have in a big box in your storage room.
It’s time to dig those out and repurpose them! You might even be able to repurpose old crafts into money in your pocket!
Don’t believe me? Well, hang on and I’ll show you just what I mean when I say repurpose old crafts!
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Dig Out Old Crafts
Time to head to your storage room or craft closet to dig through the bin of cute crafts you have made with your kids and were “saving,” for…well, I’m not sure what we are saving them for. Just know that I have the same box of “saved” crafts too.
WISH PLANNING A PARTY WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?
I have a box of kid crafts that we have completed when we were bored, but if we don’t find someone to give them to right away, like grandparents, friends, neighbors, etc, they wind up in a box. Every few years I might go through the box and save one or two items, but the rest we usually throw away.
Don’t throw them away! Dig them out. See what you have. Then, get creative again and think of how you can repurpose old crafts into new stuff! Get your kids involved! Your kids just might be able to repurpose and sell them!
Make Some Money
Not only can you repurpose old crafts, but you and your kids just might be able to make enough new things, that you can have a craft sale and make some money!
If your kids are bored this summer, now is an excellent time to turn off the tv and video games and let their creativity flow into a craft business. Or, any other type of business they can dream up, but starting with making and selling crafts is a great way to begin.
If your kids are really interested in the idea of making some money – read this post for a bunch of kid business ideas: 19 Best Kid Business Ideas
Repurpose Old Crafts
Let me give you a few ideas for old crafts you can repurpose, and then you and your kids can go from there!
#1 – Perler Beads
I know you have a bag of Perler Beads in your craft bin – right? Or better yet, a bunch of Perler Bead finished creations that you have no idea what to do with? I know I sure do!
My kids really enjoy making Perler Bead creations, but then we never know what to do with them once they are finished. I have two ideas on how you can repurpose old crafts like this.
First, use the finished Perler Bead creations as decorations for other things – like a bird house! We recently did this and it was absolutely adorable! We ended up using a set of car themed Perler Beads to create a car themed bird house and we just loved it!
If you really enjoy making these bird houses, consider making a few and selling them at your next Kids Craft Sale! You can read all about how to make these bird houses here: Homemade Bird Houses For Kids.
Second, you can turn the finished Perler Beads into magnets to use, give away as gifts, or to sell at your Kids Craft Sale!
All you need is a roll of magnetic tape and finished Perler Bead designs. You stick the magnetic tape to the back of the design, and you are done!
Such a cute way to use the Perler Bead designs that are not only fun, but practical too! Plus, if you can create designs that people love like donuts, dogs, cats, rainbows, flowers, cupcakes, etc – they will be a big hit and an easy sell at your Kids Craft Sale!
Supplies You Need To Repurpose Perler Beads
#2 – Playdough
The next craft item I have in the bottom of my craft bin is a bunch of homemade Koolaid Playdough. This stuff is awesome – but it always seems like my kids love to make it, more than play with it. If you are curious about the recipe and why we love it so much – snag your copy of the Koolaid Playdough Recipe now.
If you are in the same boat, and your kids love to make the playdough more than they like to play with it, consider portioning out the homemade playdough and selling it!
WISH PLANNING A PARTY WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?
All you need are little 2oz cups with lids and a bunch of homemade Koolaid Playdough. After you make a bunch, you simply portion out your dough and sell it in sets. If you don’t want to sell it, it does make great gifts and trust me when I say it smells amazing!
Supplied Needed To Repurpose Playdough
#3 – Chalk
I have a big bag of homemade chalk in my craft bin too – and outside in my garage. We love to draw with chalk and we also love to make our own homemade chalk!
My homemade chalk recipe makes a lot of chalk – so why not make some, save some, and then sell some too?
Make a bunch of chalk, and then portion it out into cute little baggies and sell it!
Grab your homemade chalk recipe now and get to work!
Supplies Needed To Make Homemade Chalk
#4 – Artwork
Tell me I’m not the only one who has a big pile of finished artwork from my kids? Stuff they have colored, or painted, or drawn? Phew, I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Do your kids insist that you save every piece of artwork they make too?
My fridge is covered with stuff they have made, and they never want me to throw it away. Which means, I have a huge tub of artwork and have come up with a way to repurpose it all!
Repurpose old crafts and artwork into cards! Yep, you heard me – cards! Let me be honest, whenever someone in our family has a birthday or anniversary, I will dig up one of our old pieces of artwork and we simply add a message to it or repurpose it into a card. It’s a wonderful way to repurpose old crafts, but also such a lovely way to send something homemade to those you love!
We even use colored pictures as card for kid birthday gifts. All you do is add a cute message to the artwork and repurpose it to make a cute card! Works great!
If you decide to have a Kids Craft Sale you can make notecards by purchasing some blank cards and then cutting out parts of your colored artwork and gluing them on. A lovely way to repurpose old crafts into something new that you can make money from!
Supplies Needed To Repurpose Old Artwork
#5 – Rainbow Loom
If you keep digging through your box of old crafts, I’m sure you will find a bunch of Rainbow Loom projects! I know I did!
Not only do we have a ton of Rainbow Loom bands floating around the bottom of our craft box, but we have a bunch of completed Rainbow Loom designs. There are bracelets, charms, bookmarks, and so much more.
Just think of all the fun things you can do with them! First, organize the already made designs, and you will quickly realize you already have a bunch of inventory to sell!
How can you repurpose the old crafts into new ones that you can sell? I can think of couple ways. First, the bracelets can be lengthened into necklaces, or shortened into rings. The charms can be turned into a useful key chain by simply adding a key ring to them.
You can also make masks out of loom bands! I’m serious! All you need are loom bands, s-clips, and a bandana or piece of cloth.
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The official Rainbow Loom Facebook page liked our mask idea so much that they featured it on their Facebook page – which you should absolutely check out!
If you want step-by-step instructions on how to make a Rainbow Loom mask – read this post: No Sew DIY Face Mask – Using Rainbow Loom Bands
Supplies Needed to Repurpose Old Rainbow Loom Crafts
So there you have it! 5 different ways to repurpose old crafts into something new. You are not only saving money, but in many cases you and your kids are making money! Start digging through all your old crafts and see what you can come up with!
What old crafts did you find that you can repurpose? Post a comment below and tell me all about it!
Want to remember this post? Pin this post, Repurpose Old Crafts – Frugal Friday Tip #17, to your favorite Pinterest board right now!
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