Recycled treasures

Nandini P.  Teaching children to recycle objects and materials is a great way to encourage them to adopt an environment friendly lifestyle. Here’s a DIY activity recycling old newspapers and magazines to craft a pen stand and/or flower vase.                 Materials Needed Newspaper Thin wooden stick (skewer stick) or stiff plastic straws Craft glue Flat brush Wood primer (optional) Acrylic paints (optional) Varnish (optional) Methodology Cut a newspaper page in half. Starting at one corner, place the stick on it, and start rolling the paper inwards. As the stick disappears, keep pulling it out and continue rolling till the end. Pull out the stick, and paste the edge to form a neat roll. Prepare 30 rolls. Making the base Take one roll, flatten it, and apply glue to one side. Roll it tightly into a coil. Take another roll, and continue to make the coil bigger by pasting this one where the other one ends. Do this, until you have a good base, about the size of a coaster. Making the sides Stick the rolls firmly against the side of the coaster. When about ten are stuck, hold them in place for a few minutes till they are well glued, then place them against a wall or object, and dry. Make more rolls until the glue is completely dry (about 15 minutes). Next paste the remaining rolls. Place a bottle or similar object in the middle to give the rolls support until dry. After it is dry, flatten two rolls to paste around the container. Check the size and cut the rolls to fit. Paste one near the top and one near the bottom to strengthen the container. Let it dry. If you want to keep the container as is, you can. If you want a different finish, proceed as outlined below.   Colourful finish If you want to make the container sturdy, mix three tablespoons of craft glue with one teacup of water and blend well. Coat the container with this mixture using a big, flat brush. After it is dry, coat it with wood primer, then paint it with acrylic colours and decorate as you like. Finally, coat it with varnish and your pen stand/flower vase is ready for use!   Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp