Upcycle Living

We're going to have a family dinner right before Halloween so we gotta have something special for the kiddies. I've always wanted to let them have a little trick or treat for fun but I'm really skeptic about buying the ready made ones and make some rich business owners even richer by producing more plastic stuff. So a DIY paper maché Jack o Lantern is an obvious choice. Here are the material used: 2 old unused balloons from last Christmas, blew them up and wrapped each up with a layer of cling film (for easy removal when the glue is dry), and these are the base mould for the pumpkins. Old newspaper and old receipts, torn into tiny strips. Glue made from tapioca flour Leftover white base coat paint Acrylic colours String from an old wrecked drawstring bag First layer for the shape.  Few more layers to shape the ridges. Punched holes for the handle. Base coat done, in and out. Getting the right colour, bit by bit. Once the colour'...

No matter how hard we try to buy everything in the least packaging, we somehow still end up with quite a bit that we can't avoid. These net packaging came with some of the potatoes and onions that we bought from our local store, when we had absolutely no choice but to get them. Over time, we've collected quite a few and here's what I've done with them instead of throwing them away: 1. After cleaning thoroughly, fold the net opening out- and downward. 2. Keep folding down, as if rolling down a sock. 3. When fold till the end, turn it up-side-down and we'll get what looks like an apple. I learned to do this from my sister who brought the craft home from her preschool one day years ago. It is extremely easy and fun to do, and they are now in my 6 year-old niece's toy fruit basket :-) (which she would then create a story around whilst playing).