Recycle Those Rolls Guest Tutorial from Jessica @ Noguchi Designs

Trash it? Oh no no no, Recycle it!

Gift it! Give it!

Even Decorate with it!

Fun projects for the old & young.

Quick, easy & fun

Have you ever thought of what to do with those toilet paper rolls? How about the paper towel roll? Over the years I’ve seen them be turned into Butterflies, Wands, Swords, & Rain makers. Kids seem to have lots of fast fun with them. That’s it though, fast fun, then they bend, rip, get stepped on or even wet. This year why not make something that can last. The following tutorial will show two final products. I’ll show you some basics, I know you can take these steps and move on with your own creativity to end up with some great & unique items.

Base supplies:

Cardboard rolls

(toilet paper/paper towel)

Glue

Scissors

Clothespins

Extra supplies:

Hot glue gun & sticks

Tissue paper

Paint

Paintbrush

Yarn or string

Glitter

Pinking shears

(or any fun edged scissors)

Clear Coating Spray

~*3D Art*~

1. Take your Base supplies

2. Cut the rolls: I cut in half, then thirds, ending up with 6 pieces per roll

3. Place pieces in a floral & vine pattern  Glue where they meet &  pin until dry

4. Once dry remove pins and ta-da! It’s done. Hang as is with a few random nails as hooks or use up an old frame without glass glue piece to a backing and enjoy.

~*Ornament*~

1. Take Base supplies &  your choice of Extra supplies

2. Rip up some tissue

3a. Mix a little white paint & water. Paint the roll & adhere paper all over, paint again on top of paper, stand rolls up to dry 

3b. Paint rolls with glitter glue or glue &  glitter or paint mixture & glitter

4. Once all are dry, lightly paint the inside with the same method (no picture because I didn’t do it,

after finishing I realized I should have)

5. Cut rolls

6. Glue & clip until dry (don’t forget the hanging string)

7. Once dry remove clips & viola! Your Ornament is done. Hang on the tree, top a gift, put on the kids rooms doorknob.

Don’t forget to have the kids sign & date them .

Enjoy,

Jessica

Fashinista Mama Me.

Maybe I have an odd sense of fashion, but it seems like year after year I can not seem to find cool kids clothes for my boys!? Sure, you have tons of basketballs and footballs, cheesy looking monster trucks, cute bears, and lame dinosaurs... but can you really blame me for wanting something different? Now don't get me wrong, H&M, Mini Boden, Oilily, Paul Frank- They all offer some kick ass clothes but I can hardly afford those used!

Not so long ago I broke out my sewing machine (a Christmas gift I asked for oh, um... 3 maybe 4 years ago untouched until now) and pieced together this monster truck deal for Sam. I purchased a shirt from Walmart and the rest of it came from a cut up pair of boxers, a stained l/s thermal, and an outgrown onesie. Since this first experiment I have created a couple more 'custom' shirts for friends.

Somewhere along this life adventure, I think I lost touch with my creative outlets. Slowly, piece by piece, I feel like I am rediscovering small parts of myself that might have been overcast by the daily chaos of mommyhood. Picking up photography must have been the beginning.

The idea that I might be able to create pretty awesome, handcrafted, one of a kind, cool kid stuff, and keep it affordable... is a vision of sugar plums dancing in my head. I began hoarding up sale fabrics from my local craft store, but then it hit me. Like a side arm throw in dodgeball- I am not going to stock up on new fabrics- but I am going to do it all with recycled clothing or notions (sheets, blankets, etc.) I got to researching and here is what I found: Over one million ton of textiles are discarded annually, mostly from domestic sources, of which 25% are recycled. (Cupit 1996)

Not only are you doing a something to help keep recyclable materials from entering the landfill, but you also are consuming less!! For now, I need practice... and maybe an etsy shop is in my future? If your interested in partaking in my creative tshirt making awesomeness or have clothes to donate feel free to drop me an email. I am currently looking for solid color tshirts and onesies (to design) any colors or sizes. Interesting patterns, prints, and textured fabrics for designs-

Past Work: