As parents, one of our biggest nightmares is when our children come home from school with an impossible craft mandate. Upcycling is a major favourite among schools these days, and don’t be surprised if your kid comes and tells you he has to make something from waste or plastic spoons and bottles. Don’t freak out either – we have you covered! Learn different ways to upcycle waste in this post and help your child get great grades in craft!

Crafts from plastic spoons

Plastic spoons are very versatile when it comes to crafts. Make sure you buy the cheapest ones possible. That way you’ll save money and get really flimsy spoons that will break easily for your designs. We found a pack of 50 plastic spoons for Rs. 186 on Amazon. Get inspiration here!

1. Plastic spoon vase

Source: Craftionary

For this you need:

• Plastic spoons
• Heavy-duty glue (Fevicol works well)
• A metal can with one end open
• Paint (if you want to paint over)

To make this,

• Break off the handles from the spoons.
• If you are using a painted design, first paint the backs of the spoons. Let them dry.
• Paint over the can so there is no visible damage to it before you start your craft
• Start gluing your spoon cups at the top of your can. Starting at the top will give you a pretty layering effect. Then wait for it to dry. You can’t move on to the next spoon until the previous one dries.
• When you start the second row, make sure to glue in-between the two spoons above and about half-way down the first row. Essentially, each row should cover half of the row above it.
• Continue adding rows in that way until can is covered. Your plastic spoon vase is ready!

 2. Plastic spoon ladybug

Source: The useful advices

For this you need:

• 3 plastic spoons
• 1 flat button
• Acrylic paint in white, red and black
• Scissors
• Glue

To make this,

• Break off the handles from the spoons. Cut two spoons at the base and leave a little handle on one spoon (about 4 mm)
• Paint the back of the spoon with handle in black and two spoons in red. Let them dry. When dry, put little black dots on the spoons painted red. Let dry.
• Now glue on two red spoons to make wings. One has to overlap the other.
• After the glue has dried, glue on the wings to the black spoon in a way that leaves some part of the black torso out at the back.
• Draw two white dots on the sides of the button. Let it dry.
• Glue the button at the front end of your ladybug on the handle of the black spoon. We leave the handle on just so it is easy to attach the button.
• Let it dry and your ladybug is ready!

 Crafts from ice cream sticks

Ice cream sticks are another common item that schools ask to be made into crafts. You can buy a pack of 100 Ice Cream Sticks for Rs. 99 on Amazon. Here are two craft ideas with ice cream sticks:

 1. Ice cream stick pencil holder

Source: Factory Direct Craft

For this you need:

• A can
• Fevicol
• Ice cream sticks
• Paints or pretty ribbons

To make this,

• If you want to use painted sticks, paint over them and let them dry
• Now glue on the ice cream sticks on the can vertically to fully cover the can. Let it dry
• Tie a bow with some ribbon around it to make it prettier

 2. Ice cream stick box

Source: A Primrose in Winter

For this you need;

• Ice cream sticks
• Fevicol
• Pretty decorations
• Paint

To make this,

• If you want to use painted sticks, paint over them and let them dry
• Put glue on the sides of two ice cream sticks and stick them together. Let them dry.
• Once they have dried, continue gluing on till you get desired width for your box.
• Now, place ice cream sticks vertically and horizontally in an alternate manner along the edge of the flat bottom, two at a time. For every two vertical sticks placed on the side, place two horizontal sticks till you get desired height. Glue it all together.
• Create another raft with ice cream sticks the way you made the base. Now glue on two sticks at perpendicular just below the ends on both sides. See the photo above to get an idea. This will be the lid of your box.
• After everything has dried, you can use pretty decorations along the edges of the lid

 Crafts with old newspapers

Surely you have old newspapers lying out? Get inspired and make these crafts with your children:

1. Newspaper Trivet

Source: Fair Grounds

For this you need:

• Newspapers
• Glue
• Rubber bands
• Paint

To make this,

• Take a half a full sheet of newspaper. Fold the sides in toward the middle. Keep folding until you get a strip about a 1/4 inch wide. Use a bit of glue and paper clamps to hold the strips in place and get them ready for coiling.
• Once the glue is dry, start coiling. The first couple of turns can be a bit challenging … you really have to hold that paper tight. Once you get the first strip coiled, add a bit of glue at the end, wrap a rubber band tightly around the coil and let it dry
• Once dry, continue adding strips until you’ve wrapped enough for the project you’re making.
• Drizzle a bit more glue onto the back side, wrap rubber bands around the entire thing and let it dry
• Paint over the coils with some watercolour.
• Once you have the desired number of squares/circles, put them together. Your trivet is ready.

 2. Newspaper Photo Frame

Source: blog.steffenteam.com

For this you need:

• Newspapers
• Two skewers
• Glue
• Cardboard

To make this:

• Cut a piece of cardboard for the overall frame size, and cut out an opening for the picture in the middle.
• First, tear out a pile of newspaper pages. You don’t have to worry about the torn edges being too clean-they’ll be hidden when you roll up the reeds. Fold each page in half lengthwise.
• Cut the page in half along your foldline. Take the first half, and place it face down.
• Place a bamboo skewer on the bottom right corner of the paper. It should be a little more than a 45-degree angle to the corner. Beginning at this corner, roll the paper snugly around the skewer.
• As you roll, you’ll want to pay attention to the left-hand end of the skewer. The magazine paper will roll up around it and quickly cover it. Don’t let this happen! Take a moment every so often as you’re rolling to pull the end of the skewer out of the reed a little so you can still see the end as you continue rolling. (Hold your roll-in-progress down with your right hand and pull the skewer out with your left.)
• Once you’ve rolled the paper to this point, spread some glue from the glue stick along the top edge of the paper, about halfway across from the right-hand corner. Then continue rolling the reed over this glue.
• When you’ve rolled to this point, apply glue to the rest of that top edge of the paper and also to the left-hand edge. Finish rolling up the reed, making sure that the last tip of paper is securely glued down. Pull the skewer out of the reed and it’s done. If you have trouble pulling that skewer out, you can take a second skewer and poke it through the center of the reed to help push it out.
• Make a pile of reeds to get ready for the next part of the project.
• Outline the inner rectangle and outer rectangle of the cardboard with reeds, and cut smaller reeds to fill in the rest of the frame.
• For the back, just cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the front and cover it in newspaper.  Line its perimeter with a border of reeds, then adhere the backing by applying a thin line of glue to the reed border then placing that onto the backside of the front piece Your picture frame is ready.

 So there you go. We’ve given you a list of our favourite out of waste crafts to help your child do his school project. Have more ideas? Tell us!