Piggy Bank Project

Image: the little red house

Is 1985's chart topping hit,  "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", a frighteningly accurate prophesy of the economic climate, or is it simply just an obvious reminder that all this has happened before and all this will happen again*.

Either way, it's time to save our pennies and this little projects, from the little red house, which utilizes recycled newspapers and discarded egg cartons, will help you do just that.

Paper Mache Elephant Project

Image: Ultimate Paper Mache

Why do people collect the things they collect?

Apart from the obvious motivations such as nostalgia, social interaction with other collectors, appreciation of beauty, investment and a need to posses a small part of the world, there is the personal pleasure of it.

I have one visible collection and it's not even really mine.

Fire Lighter Project

Image: The Telegraph

You might think it's a bit strange for me to suggest a project that involves having to light a fire in July. Then again, it is summer, so obviously I'm thinking about barbeque's. Now you are thinking it's a bit strange because if you were to only look out the window, you're first thought would be - soggy burgers.

It's almost mid July and it's still raining. Not only is it still raining but I'm sure our house is not the only one to have had the "Will we give the heating a quick blast" conversation. The idea of summer is this. You use the money put aside for heating bills and spend it on holidays and ice cream. Simple. We shouldn't have to do both but it looks like this weather is here to stay.

Newspaper Pot Project

Image: A Heart For Home

It's all doom and gloom really, or that's what the newspapers would have us believe.

This morning there is report that the Banks are going to start charging us for not having enough money.
What's next - a toll for using the footpath outside their door?

Week in week out there is a constant flow of financial mumbo jumbo across the airwaves, through our TV screens and rubbing off on our very fingertips from the daily newspapers. If it's not about bank bailouts, new government plans, bigger bank bailouts, restructuring of finance, yo-yoing interest rates, ginormous bank bailouts, increased unemployment or the astronomical bank bailouts, then it's the usual peppered attempt at bluff nonsense, reporting on the 'green shoots of recovery'.

Plastic Bag Kite Project

Here's a fun video tutorial that I just found, showing you how to make a traditional kite out of old plastic bags (or even newspapers - whatever you have handy)

It should take about half an hour to make.

You can also pop over to Storm The Castle for a full set of photos and instuctions along with a huge range of other projects to help you be creative.

Newspaper Basket Project

I posted an item on Monday about making a newspaper recycling bin and much like I mentioned in this article, there is one glaringly obvious concern. The quality of the crates you can get for free.

Of course if you wanted to go to one of the expensive home stores around town I'm sure you could pick up a great looking faux vintage, shabby chic, rustic crate. However, you need not do this.
Instead of using a crate to hold all your recycled newspapers, why not make a basket out of your recycled newspapers?

Image: How About Orange

This first idea comes from How About Orange where you can find a full tutorial, which was originally inspired by this article over on CraftStylish.

Image: CraftStylish

You don't even have to use it as a recycling bin, pop it at the back door to store your dirty garden shoes in it or fill it with shredded paper to make a nice comfortable bed for your cat or dog.

As for me, I'll try and hold off on any more newspapers articles. For now.

Newspaper Recycling Bin Project

Image: Martha Stewart

Following on from last weeks 'must get organised' post, I found this other idea over on the Martha Stewart website.

One of my pet hates is dumping all paper/cardboard and all things packaging into the large green recycling bin outside the front of my house. I know it's all going to the same place and it all gets recycled but it fills up so fast its normally overflowing by the time it's ready to be picked up.

The only solution to this problem, as I see it, is to stack the newspapers (which normally take up half the capacity of the bin) into an area, much like our bottles and glass jars, that get taken to the recycling centre every couple of weeks.

The only problem to this solution, as I see it, is my wife would go crazy if I was started stacking old newspapers in random places around the house, for fear I would become much like that man who hoarded everything who was on TV last month.

So this seems like a nice compromise. An easy-to-make bin, ideal for holding old newspapers between trips to the recycling centre. Just choose a paint color to complement your decor and add some twine to make bundling papers a breeze.

Materials you will need:
Wooden crate
Paint
Paintbrushes
4 screw eyes
4 cleats (2-inch)
Twine

Instructions:
1. Paint wooden crate, and let dry.
2. Attach screw eyes, centered, to the top edge of each side.
3. Attach cleats, centered, to the exterior of each side.
4. Before filling the bin with newspapers, run lengths of twine loosely between each pair of opposing screws eyes, and wrap loose ends around cleats.


So there it is. A neatly stacked pile of old newspapers ready to be tied up and disposed of next time you take a trip to the recycling centre. In addition, you might need to dip into this stack as you find a few ideas amongst these pages which may call for some of your old newspapers to be used, saving you a messy expedition into your large green recycling bin filling up outside the front of your house.

Recycled Wrapping Paper Project

Image: Greenista

Tis the season to be wasteful.

Especially when it comes to wrapping gifts. You spend a whole night wrapping gifts for all your loved ones, only to have the brand new paper ripped clean off it a few hours later and it either gets balled up and thrown in a large black bin with all of the packaging and torn boxes or, depending on how young the kids are, the thing they play with as it's more fun than the actual (expensive) gift you fought tooth and nail to get.

So, instead of buying expensive wrapping paper, here are a few alternatives you can use from items you should be able to find around the house. You can also try out these homemade gift bows in a way to spruce up your wrapping.


Newspaper -  It’s easy to find, cheap and large and you can make wrapping unique by using colorful comics or photos.

Image: Sustainable Baby Steps

Image: furniturehomedesign

Magazines - You can cover your gifts in glossy magazine pages. Just tape a few together to create larger sheets for bigger presents.

Image: Paper Crave

Sheet Music - Sheet music adds a beautiful touch to your gift wrapped present.

Image: Love 2 Upcycle

Calenders - Since you are going to be throwing out your old one anyway, why not use it to personalise a gift?

Image: Paper Source

Maps - If you've read some of this blog before then you'll know how I feel about maps.

Image: Curated By Color

Brown paper shopping bag - Not only is it recyclable, but you can use almost anything (even straw!) to decorate it and it will look great.

Image: EcoFront

So, by taking advantage of some of these products, you not only reuse materials you may already have around the house, but you can also utilize materials that can be recycled once all of the gifts have been opened.

Remember, Christmas comes once a year and sometimes we spend far more than we can afford. If you use some of these ideas instead of forking out on expensive wrapping paper it might mean you won't end up giving the shirt off your back.

Image: a subtle revelry

Or maybe you will?

Bloomsday Project

Image: Maxf

Today is Bloomsday.

To those that don't know it's a day of celebration for all things James Joyce with events around the city of Dublin and in countless other cities around the world.

It's a huge day of cultural significance that involves readings and dramatisations of Joyce's work. People get dressed up in Edwardian clothes and go on pub crawls with crowds of people retracing the journey of Leopold Bloom, the main character in Joyce's novel Ulysses, which takes place on June 16th.

As much as I'd like to suggest recycling the pages of the book for numerous projects (and when I say numerous I mean copious. There are over 1000 pages) but I can't quite bring myself to advise you to destroy a perfectly good book.

So in the spirit of Joyce who set the events of the book on June 16th, the date he went on his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, and also taking the main character of Bloom as an inspiration, here are 2  romantic ideas that won't break the bank.

First up is an idea I found over on How About Orange

Image: How About Orange

Pop on over to the site where it gives you a template to download. All you need is some old newspaper or magazines. Follow the very simple instructions to complete this effortless project and end up with some nifty recycled paper flowers.

Image: How About Orange

Image: How About Orange

If that looks like too much work then you can't get any easier than this next idea that I found over on Family Chic

Image: Family Chic

All you need is a small glass and a balloon. 

Image: Family Chic

                                                   Cut off 1 inch at the mouth of the balloon.

Image: Family Chic

              Try and keep as much of the narrow part of the balloon as this will be the neck of the vase.

Image: Family Chic

Slip the balloon over the glass and depending on your preference pull the neck out or push it into the glass.

Image: Family Chic

So there we have it.

Two romantic ideas for what is possibly one of the most romantic cultural days in Irish literature.

And to sign off here is a third idea from the man himself.

"I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."

Newspaper Bag Project

If you are anything like me, at the weekend you take a leisurely stroll to the shops and buy the Sunday Papers. Come home, have breakfast and settle down to relaxing reading.
After discarding the travel section (because who can afford to go anywhere?), The car section (because I'd be lucky to have a reg from the last decade let alone this one), The business section (well,...because it's all doom and gloom) and finally the sports section as I'm really more of a movies kind of guy...

(Remind me why I buy the Sunday Papers??)

Anyway, all I'm left with now is the news section, the review section, some weekly tv/story of the week style magazines and a new pile of what I like to call "cleaning out the fire" paraphenalia.
Most of the time this "pile" just ends up in the recycling bin - along with the news section, review section and tv/story of the week style magazines.

Until I found this little video @ The Newspaper Bag Project


And here's some other examples










Have a go. Try it out.
Even if you only try one, at least you'll have a bag to put all those discarded newspapers in until it's time to start the cycle all over again.