Making Faces from Recyclables

I’ve been collecting recyclables and crafty bits and pieces for a long time. I had so many of them that I had run out of places to store them. I couldn’t fit even one more yoghurt container in the cupboard so it was time to do some creating.

I dumped a big pile of things into the middle of the table, along with some craft supplies and gave me kids one suggestion … ‘make some faces’.

The boys jumped right in and started looking for things to make into eyes and ears and noses. They had the first faces made in a matter of minutes and quickly started on another one and my pile of craffty bits got smaller and smaller!

You can use whatever items you have on hand for this creative project. Check out the recycle bin, and your craft stash, or gather some natural materials from outside.

Here’s what we used to make our funny faces:

• Recyclables – plastic containers, lids, egg cartons, packing peanuts etc.
• Crafty items – wool, wood scraps, beads, cupcake cases, straws, streamers, craft sticks, foam shapes, scrap paper etc.
• Low temp hot glue gun (see below for safety tips)
• Tape
• Scissors
• Markers/Sharpies
• Water colour paints

If you have younger kids creating or you are working with a big group, then I’d suggest using regular old white glue and/or a glue stick to stick things together instead of a glue gun.

My boys are aged 6 and 9 and both are able to use a glue gun safely with some supervision and guidelines.

Tips for Using a Low Temp Glue Gun with Kids

Hot glue guns are great because they stick all kinds of things together instantly, but even the low temperature glue guns are hot and can burn you. We’ve used them quite a lot with only the occasional minor burnt finger which was not a big deal for us, but you know your kids and your situation, so you need to decide if using a glue gun will work for you or not.

If you decide to give the glue guns a try here are a few tips that will make it easier and safer:

• It’s best to have one glue gun per child so there is passing around or rushing.
• Put a power board up on the table and plug the glue guns into it so there are no cords dangling down to trip over or get tangled in.
• Make sure each glue gun has a safe place to rest when not in use – we used plastic strawberry containers as they are wide enough to hold the whole gun without tipping.
• Have a wet cloth handy for each child to wipe off hot glue if needed.
• Discuss how to use the glue guns safely with your kids and supervise well.

We use these rules for safe glue gun use:

• The silver tip of the glue gun, and the glue is hot, keep your fingers away.
• Glue one thing at a time, and put the glue gun back in the safe place after each one.
• If there are small items to glue, ask an adult to do it for you.

We had loads of fun making faces from recyclables.

There were faces with big ears, faces with funny hair, a face with a mustache, and even a worried looking witch!

The boys used the craft sticks to turn their faces into fabulous masks!
I think they would also look great stuck on the wall in a line a bit like a totem pole!

 
Do you have a big collection of recyclables and crafty bits and pieces?
What have you made with them?