Etsy’s Beans Things ~ Cute Upcycled Magnets!

Old Clothes – Instead of just tossing or donating your old clothes, try getting crafty with them instead. There are many ways to recycle old clothes including making baby and toddler clothes from your older adult clothes. You can create patchwork quilts, curtains and table cloths. Some people are taking their old jeans and making reusable grocery shopping bags out of them and I’ve even come across a lady who makes halter tops and yoga pants out of old t-shirts.
(Remember Jenelle at TrashN2Tees.com and her T-shirt Scarf Tutorial HERE!)

Junk Mail – Even those of us who are on the no-mail lists are still apt to get some junk mail. Keeping in mind that a lot of junk mail won’t be recycled by your local waste management because of colored dyes so try upcycling all that lose paper into something useful. You can create works of art, decoupage collages, wrapping paper, or weave wallets and coin purses out of brightly colored junk mail. Some people are also making refrigerators magnets and bags out of the materials.

Old plates – Instead of tossing your old plates, try breaking them to upcycle them. You can use broken plates and cups when you pot plants to help with the water drainage. You can also start making your own mosaic creations with the broken pieces. Decorate table tops, picture frames, sinks and even your old bottles, cans and jars for snazzy vases and containers.

Cardboard – Upcycling cardboard is a great way to get organized and crafty around the home. I’ve taken cereal boxes and turned them into silverware drawer dividers and organizers. You can also take cereal boxes and turn them into bookshelf dividers and magazine holders. Some people upcycle cardboard tubes by turning them into cable and cord caddies. Some people go even further with their upcycle cardboard projects and create furniture from the material.

Upcycled bottle caps and the paper used for these magnets has been upcycled too!

“My little one is old enough for juice pouches now and I couldn’t bare throwing them out…So I created these cool, hip and colorful carrying cases!”

Do you want to see what I got? I ordered three Halloween magnets and four Greenie magnets (shown here) and Jeanna sent me a cutey owl one too because she knew I liked it. So nice! This is what my fridge looks like! Sorry the picture is the not the greatest for seeing the actual magnets. But they make my fridge more fun and they make me smile as I walk by

How does Jeanna find our materials?

“I up-cycle the backs of greeting cards and use the cardstock for my magnets or to finish the backs of my pendants. I have a friend save me small mailing boxes and bubble wrap. I also use old calendars and create my own shipping envelopes. I use different containers to display my magnets, earrings or rings in…such as the mini playdough containers, altoid tins..I decorate such items with up-cycled paper. I also use the metal tops from jars and spray paint em and display magnets on them. I also have friends send me up-cycled bottle caps to use for my magnets.”

And of course we must ask if she is a Crunchy Mama…

“Not 100% so. I strive to make a lesser impact on our earth and strive to give back to the land and animals. I recycle and up-cycle. I remember growing up in Chicago and my mom setting the example of recycling. There was no curb side recycling or recycling centers at ever corner…we stored our recyclables in our garage and drove an hour each way to bring our recyclables to the center.  I do support breast feeding. So much, that when my son was born two months early, I pumped and bought a stand up freezer just to store my milk. When he was brought home, he wouldn’t nurse. I went to specialists to try to figure out how to get him to. But two months of being bottle fed at the hospital did us no good. So I pumped for 11 months and gave him my breast milk with the bottle” ~ That is a fabulous story – us Mamas know what it’s like to pump…not fun! Kudos to you Jeanna!!