The Purpose behind Re-purposing

By Julie Jean Erickson

Call it re-purposing or recycling, the two most popular reasons for re-purposing are;

To better our world. the less we waste or throw away the better for our earth.
Secondly, the less we throw away or waste, the less we will have to purchase again.
The better for our bank accounts.
Both are very good reasons to start considering “Re-Purposing”
A few more good reasons could be;

• Creative new way to save memorabilia & keepsakes.
• Get ride of clutter & gain some new creative pieces.
• Your kids just keep growing out of their clothes, too fast.
• You don’t have to be a seamstress or crafter to re-purpose.
• Something your kids will love too.

I know we all have keepsakes & memorabilia. We tend to save all those wonderful greeting cards loved ones send us through out the years, pictures, drawings, letters and more.
Im sure like myself, you may have stuff from when you or your kids were little.
Blankets, clothes, shoes, books or toys.

Here are some easy ways to get rid  of the clutter, share, display and Re-Purpose that stack of stuff.

Greeting Cards; make great gift tags, gift bag decor. picture frame add ins and fun scrapbook cut outs. Dont be afraid to do a little cutting, use a whole punch to create a fun gift tag from card covers or save the kind words written in the card to add along side a picture or in a scrapbook.

Drawings & Letters; Try framing larger keep sakes, like drawings, letters, or even small baby clothes (Iron/flatten clothing before framing & use Shadow boxes or decorative wall cubes for larger keepsakes.

Baby/Kids Clothes & more; Save a few very special baby items in a memory box, shadow box or frame. Sort through clothes your child has outgrown for any with fun appliques or embellishments, cut & save to re-purpose. You can use fabric glue, iron on adhesive or even sew the re-purposed embellishments onto many other things, for instance use them to fancy up your child’s plain clothes, such as t-shits,canvas shoes, hats or tote bags.
Baby blankets; make a wonderful throw or quilt to give your child when they are grown. Two baby blankets make a great  pillow & can be personalized with a name to create a memorable gift.

Re-purposing continued will talk about clearing out your clothes closet clutter and how to put it to good use AGAIN.

The Purpose behind Re-purposing, continued

• It doesn’t fit.
• Hate the cut but love the fabric.
• Its worn out but you just cant bare to part with it yet.
• You paid good money for it to take up closet space but you never wear it.