DIY recycled hand Puppet out of socks

Recycling and doing simple craft out of waste always fulfills my advocacy which is to make our environment less waste by recycling used materials. I always have guilt feeling every time I had to throw a thing in the garbage. I really believe that a certain thing always has it's value no matter how old, used or new a thing is. It's just a matter of creativity and love for our mother earth.


After cleaning my kid's sock closet days ago, I already have have finished a a project which is recycling used socks to a hair pony tail. Now, with this article, I’m going to show you how an old sock will transform into a creative DIY craft or handicraft: a sock puppet. My kids really love puppets that's why I have different hand puppets at home. I used to talk to them with my hand puppet. It always eases their tantrums and sometimes, hand puppet talk is a way for my kids to say "sorry" whenever they committed mistakes. During our bonding time, we used to play with hand puppets and we always enjoy talking and playing with our hands impersonating cartoon characters. Now, I'm gonna share a simple way to recycle your old socks by making a cute hand puppet.

I chose to design a puppet dog from a bulk of old socks I sorted days ago. Since the common colors of my kid’s socks are a combination of gray and white, I came up with the idea of making a cute gray dog puppet. This combination is also good for cows, cat and other puppet animals. Doing a puppet from recycled materials is fun and easy. You can make this project together with your kids during your bonding moment.

In doing this project, you have to prepare the following materials:

• 3 pcs. of used old socks with the same colors
• scissor
• needle and thread
• marker

The procedure in making a sock puppet is very easy, even kids will enjoy doing it with their parents. Parents should guide their kids with the procedure especially when they’re handling a scissor and a needle.

Procedure in making a puppet from recycled socks:

• Get 2 pcs. Of used old socks. Choose color that coordinates with each other to make a dog like image.
• Cut the socks; make one bigger than the other one. The upper part of the mouth is bigger than the lower part.
• Connect the two sides of each sock to form the mouth of the puppet. This will serve as the mouth of our puppet
• Get another sock to make the body of our puppet, cut the toe nail part.
• Attach the body to the mouth of our dog puppet.
• Make a triangle shape pair of ears and attach them to both sides of the head.
• Mark the eyes and nose using your marker. If you want, you can use buttons to make eyes.
• And there you have it! A dog puppet handicraft from used old socks.

Now, don't think of throwing your used old socks in the garbage. Remember there's a lot of productive ways to make these wastes still useful. Always remember: segregate wastes, re-use and recycle. Minimize wastes by making useful products out of it.
Article about recycling old socks you may also like: How to make a pony tail from used old socks.

How to make Bags made of straw

A drinking straw is a short tube intended for transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker by use of suction. A thin tube of plastic (such as polypropylene and polystyrene) or other material, straight or with an accordion-like living hinge, it is employed by being held with one end in the mouth and another end in the drink. Muscular action reduces air pressure in the mouth, whereupon atmospheric pressure forces the drink up the straw

. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_straw)

In the Philippines, we use drinking straw in past food, variety stores and restaurants for drinks. Everyday a large amount of drinking straw is being thrown in the garbage that contributes to a large amount of waste in the country. I'm so glad that people get more aware of the increasing amount of trash which is very alarming and dangerous to environment. People now are more determined to their advocates about recycling and minimizing wastes.

Lately, I discovered another DIY craft, a creative design of recycled handicraft from waste. It is made of drinking straw that we usually found in a sari-sari (variety) store or canteen's garbage. Unfortunately, I haven't learned yet the procedure ,what I learned about this recycled craft is that it is made by folding recycled used drinking straws. As you see all those images above, it comes in various designs, colors and sizes which are very attractive, thanks to my FaceBook friend Lea who gave me her approval to upload her artworks here in my blog. She's also willing to teach me how to do the procedure of making bags from straw but as of now, we both have to find time to do this. I wrote this blog because I want to tell the whole world that there is a beautiful craft out of used straws, and i hope like me, my readers also get some inspirations to give attention to small things like straw, that if we only use our creative imagination, we could make a hobby or better yet...a living out of garbage and waste materials.

Different designs and style of woven drinking straw bags. These bags are so fashionable and so light to carry since it is made of light material. There are designs perfect women, ladies and girls.

The materials used on the above sample is junk food wrapper. Assuming that you are weaving a drinking straw, the procedure is what you see on the above images. Start from a single fold then add another as you go wider. Weave as wide as you want until you weave a bag of your design.

DIY Hair Pony Tail out of Recycled Socks

It's kid's drawers cleaning time! I had to separate all the good ones from the old ones. the result: a bulk of used old socks! These socks are made of thick, soft fabrics that's why I had a guilt feeling thinking that I had to throw all of them. My heart says..."don't throw them, instead think of a way to make these used socks useful."...and so I followed my heart. I started to remember what I always tell to myself whenever I do sorting things like this: reduce...re-use and recycle. Now I will show you how to make another DIY craft from used old socks, a hair pony tail.

Making this project is very simple, you just need to provide all the materials needed to make a hair pony tail made from used old socks. Moms like me, with long hair and always busy doing household chores, never been comfortable with laid hair while working at home. I want a bulk of hair pony tail in my beauty kit. Since I love recycling, I asked my self "why not make pony tails out of these waste socks". So here I am, typing my keyboard, complete with images to make a tutorial blog about recycling used old socks to hair pony tail.

Materials Needed:

• used old socks, plain of printed
• scissor
• garter to be inserted inside the pony tail.
• sewing machine or sewing kit if don't have one.
• stick for inverting the sewed product

Procedure in making a hair pony tail out of socks:

• Get 1 pc. of used old socks
• remove both ends
• divide in to two parts
• sew the reverse side the revert using a stick
• attach the end to connect and make a round shape
• we're done!

I used gray and white for this project but you can choose any color you want from the bulk of used old socks you sorted. If you have girl"s socks with colorful designs, it would be best fit to this project. I am sure your kids would love to wear it knowing that you made it for them with love. So start sorting and be creative in making products like this. Goodluck to your new found hobby! Remember that throwing things to garbage doesn't mean cleanliness, real cleanliness comes from the heart who loves the environment and mind that always thinks what's good to our mother earth. Recycling benefits not the environment but Us!

DIY X-ray Film recycling

Handicraft is already a part of my everyday routine, without it my life wouldn't be complete. Making recycled handicraft became my obsession so I really spend time researching about different handicrafts made from recycled materials.

Last week, my husband spent a few days vacation in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija to celebrate with his family for his mother's 79th birthday. He was so surprised to discover that his brother is also in recycling. My brother-in law makes butterfly wall decors from recycled x-ray films. Since my husband supports my advocacy in recycling waste, he was so excited to tell the good news to me and of course, I was so excited to instruct him to learn the procedure on how to recycle x-ray film to a butterfly wall decor and it was not as hard as I thought. This tutorial is DIY craft, which means you can do it your self.

These butterflies move like real as shown on the video.

Materials needed in making butterfly wall decor:

•  x-ray film
• round wood or tree branch
• plywood
• paint
• paint brush
• sand paper
• nylon cord

Procedure in making butterfly wall decor:

• prepare the platform (plywood). Paint a flower on it.
• draw a butterfly image on the x-ray film.
• paint the butterfly with different colors.
• cut the butterfly and put a body using the painted branch.
• make the antennae and and legs using a thin nylon cord.
• connect the finished butterfly on the platform.
• put a triangular holder at the back of the platform then hang the butterfly wall decor.