ecobites

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Try these inexpensive ideas for craft, activities and DIY gifts. Recycle all sorts of material from around the home and found items from nature to help children increase their knowledge or keep them occupied on rainy days.

Make your own jigsaw. Paste a picture from a magazine onto firm card (found from around the home), then cut into a number of different shaped pieces. Makes a great gift for young ecokids.

A puppet theatre. You will need a cardboard box about 30 cm by 60 cm. scissors, paste and found decorative materials.

Measure and rule up a square. Cut the square out of the bottom of the box. Stand the box up on one end and decorate. Your theatre is now ready for a play using finger puppets.

Cut out a bookmark. Trace around your hand on a piece of firm card found from an old carton. Cut it out. Bend all the fingers down except the first one - write on it 'here I am'.

Keep the shell next time an egg is used and wash and dry it carefully. Crush it gently. Draw a simple picture on a piece of firm card and stick the shell pieces onto it. You could lightly paint them if desired.

Recycle an old sock by making it into a sock person. Stitch two buttons on an old sock for eyes, add a few strands of wool for hair, a tie or necklace, and anything else you would like to add. Make two so they have someone to talk to!

You can also make a sock monkey or a sock puppet. Fill the sock with beans or rice. Glue, sew, or draw on eyes, nose, and mouth. Cut up another old sock into strips and sew on for hair.

Rocks - collect rocks and paint them brightly for doorstops, paperweights and even bookends if they are suitable shape.

DIY Gifts - make great Christmas gifts for teachers from the garden... it's easy to make a small heart shaped wreath. Wrap kitchen herbs and flowers along two equal lengths of wire or vine. Bind together at one end, then form a heart shape. Decorate with ribbons or wool etc.

Make a Herb Pillow with fabric scraps and ribbons etc. Air dried herbs work best. You may cheat a little with some pure essential oils if stocks are low in the garden.Try Rosemary, Basil, Scented Geraniums etc...

Make lavender bags from scraps of material and fill with lavender and tie with ribbon.

Glue shells onto tins, or wind coloured wool around tins or bottles and glue into place to make plant pots or pencil or utensil holders.

Press flowers between sheets of newspaper under a heavy book, changing the paper often until the flowers are dry.Using the pressings you can make cards or gift boxes by folding paper accordingly and glueing the flowers on.

Make teapot stands by glueing small colured tiles onto a square piece of wood.

Milk and juice jug covers can be made out of old mosquito nets by hemming squares of netting and crocheting heavy beads on. If you cannot crochet just sew them on with coloured thread so the beads hang down.

Collect shells, gumnuts, beads and driftwood and make them into mobiles that all grandmas will love.

Pompoms are easy to make. Cut a doughnut shaped piece of stiff cardboard and wind wool through the middle and around the outside until the hole is full. Cut the wool in half along the outer edge of the cardboard, slip a bit of wool around the middle, close to the card, and tie it really tight. Tear the cardboard off and presto - - one pompom.

They can decorate hats, tea cosies or you can plait legs and make it into a spider or octapus.(Mum will especially enjoy playing with it if you have a baby brother or sister). Make one for yourself and add bits of felt for the eyes if you fancy.