25 Great Trash-to-Treasure Crafts

One way to reuse bottles is with these Plastic Bottle Crafts Ideas: 

Use plastic bottles in your garden for a homemade irrigation system. Decorate and/or paint them so they won’t stand out in your garden AS garbage. This is truly a trash to treasure craft!

You can also make Plastic Bottle Cap Crafts:

“Beaded Curtain”- Paint bottle caps different colors (you can paint them red and green for a holiday curtain). Drill a small hole into each and thread onto a string. For evenly spaced “beads” measure and tie a knot before stringing on the next bottle cap. Hang each string from a horizontal line for a beaded curtain.

Use plain bottle caps to create a beautiful lampshade.

Last, you can make Soda Can Tab Crafts:

Create a surprisingly pretty bracelet with pop tabs and elastic cord.

One idea for recycled paper crafts you can make is paper bag crafts.

Paper Bag Crafts

Fans- Cut out a rectangular piece of paper from a paper bag. Paint it or decorate it however you desire. Fold accordion style (turning over after ever fold) and secure the bottom of the folds with a dab of glue on each hold or drill a hole through and secure with a bit of string. Fan out.

Envelope or Mailer- Use a plain paper bag (or with the pointing writing inside) to make a recycled envelope or mailer. Fold a large piece in half and seal the sides. You can even use your sewing machine to stitch the sides closed.

Gift Wrap- Brown paper also makes fantastic gift wrap. Decorate with stencils or spray with a coat of glittery metallic spray (available at craft stores). For a minimalist look, use twine or neutral-colored ribbon to tie around the package.

Spray-Painting Aid- Go outside, place an item to be spray-painted inside of a paper grocery bag and spray away. This certainly cuts down on the mess!

Create a flap album from five paper bags.

Cardboard Box Crafts

Magazine Holder- Cut the top off a cereal box. Halfway across the top, cut a 45 degree angle down to the side of the box, across, and back up at the same angle. Lightly sand with sandpaper. Paint the cereal box a uniform color and tie a ribbon around the box. Or, use stamps to decorate. For sponge painting, simple cut out your preferred shape from a sponge, such as a star or leaf, and use this to paint the box.