Wonder Woman themed party

How to survive an active shooter situation

Crotchet Jellyfish Ornament

Jellyfish are the new owls.

The best thing about this ornament is that it's machine washable. You can put it near the bottom of your tree for little ones who like to redecorate what they can reach, and not worry that they will break something.

This jellyfish ornament will make a super cute addition to your tree, and she's less than ten bucks. You can't beat that for something hand made that will last a long, long time. Order her here before she's gone!

Are you ready for zombies?

Give yourself a break

Adopt a zombie

These felt zombie ornaments by Reclaimed Rubbish are zombie enough for Halloween, yet cute enough to adorn any Christmas tree. Made from felt and stuffed with upcycled bits of fluff and love, each zombie has a personality of its own derived from the object they consumed their stuffing from. They are a favorite for kids who prefer a less scary version of our unfriendly flesh eating friends. Each will come with a birth certificate so you can get to know your new undead friend.

Adopt yours today! 

Upcycled kitchen toys

The perfect way to teach your kiddos environmental awareness is to upcycle kitchen containers.  Empty spice vontainers, lemon shaped juice containers, and macaroni and cheese boxes not only show them to reduce-reuse-recycle, but they get to learn how to be adults by mimicking you with the actual products you use.  Kids learn best through play, so give them great tools to use.

There's not much cuter than listening to your little one cook and talk like you do. 

Why are parents pushing kids?

Today I read something:
Pearlman: Parents, why are you pushing kids?

And finally it validated what I have been feeling for so long. My instincts tell me not to enrole my kids in every activity on the planet, but society says they will fall behind if I don't.

I say, let's start a revolution against selling our kids to consumerism and perfection and just be. What do you say?!?

When is my child old enough for needle and thread?

There are many thoughts on how old a child should be before you trust them with a needle, but teaching the concept can begin during toddlerhood.

As soon as a child starts grasping things with their thumb and pointer finger, introduce simple lacing toys. Don't expect to be able to explain how to do it and have lacing pros. Instead, let them fumble through it and get a feel for cause and effect.

As they get older, you can upcycle some great things into lacing tools. Cut shapes.out of old maps, laminate them, punch holes around the edges, and string an old shoelace through the holes. Cut a cereal box up and punch holes around the edges. Punch holes in old greeting cards. The possibilities are limitless.

Once they become lacing pros, it's time to move up to yarn, yarn needles, and plastic mesh.  Again, don't expect a masterpiece. The process is the important part, not the product.

Before you know it, they'll be ready for the real thing. There's no need for expensive craft kits. Just get an embroidery hoop small enough for them to maneuver, some embroidery floss, and a tapestry needle.  Cut a piece from an old tee shirt just big enough to fit in the hoop. You will probably have to thread it the first 100 times, but let them try until they ask you to do it. If they feel discouraged, remind them that it takes a lot of practice. When you thread the needle, tie a knot around the eye so the thread doesn't come off a million times.  Tie a knot in the end of the thread, and show them how to pull it through the fabric. Again, this is a process-not-product activity.

It's never too late to get started, and you'll be giving them a valuable gift that goes far beyond poking a needle through an old piece of tee shirt.

Trust me, you're gonna love it!

Sidewalk chalk fence

Mid summer can bring on the boredom blues. You've thrown every activity at them you can think of, and they just smile and keep on coming.

Spur some creativity and reclaim that boring wood fence lining your back yard by handing your kiddos a bucket of sidewalk chalk. Let them turn your fence into a work of art!

It's washable, renewable, cheap, and a great conversation piece for your next bbq.

Want bonus points? Get out there and create with them! It's less trying on adult bodies than sidewalk art, and your babies will love you for it!

Trust me, you're gonna love it!

Bubble art

What you'll need:
1. 1 straw for every child
2. 1 small bowl for every child
3. Bubbles or dish soap
4. Liquid watercolor paint
5. 1 needle(adult use)
6. Butcher paper

What you'll do:
1. Use needle to poke through straw 1" up from the bottom so kiddos can't suck soap into mouths.
2. Put small amount of bubbles or soap in small bowl
3. Add a few drops of liquid watercolor
4. Place butcher paper down on table or even on the ground in the driveway
5. Place bowl on top of paper
6. Give child straw and let them blow bubbles.

Many timea this project does not produce useable art. It's process focused rather than product focused.

Trust me, you're gonna love it!!

June Craft Challenge

Alright, after a few freaked out emails from our readers, we have decided to ease up the craft challenge a little bit as we get started.  What does that mean?  More directed rules, less thinking, more crafting. 
Here are the rules for June's craft challenge:

1. This is a paper craft, but you are not limited to using only paper.
2. You must incorporate your favorite quote in the entire world.
3. You must give it to someone you love after you have taken a few pictures(no more than 5) of the process and emailed them to reclaimedrubbish@gmail.com with a 200 word or less explanation of how and why you chose to do what you did.
4. Bonus points are given if you also include a picture of the person you give it to with their gift.

All entries must be emailed by midnight Pacific time on June30th, 2012. 

 The winner will be announced no later than July 15th, 2012.

Happy crafting!!

May's Sister to Sister class is making marble magnets

Two-and-a-half months ago, the ladies at Metro came together for the first Sister to Sister class bringing women together and supporting the Women's Vocational Program in Ghana.  So far we've upcycled tee shirts, made candy dishes, and on Tuesday May 22 at 7pm we'll come together again and make marble magnets! 

There is no cost, but you will have to bring some glass marbles-the kind with the flat bottom that you can get at the dollar store, magnets, and we'll need donations of scrapbook paper (can be leftover scraps) and old magazines! For a better idea of this craft, check out Running With Glitter's blog post.

Also, we ask that each person donate $5 to the Ghanna Women's Vocational Training program so women who otherwise couldn't support their family can learn a craft or trade and never go hungry again.

This class is open to women of the public from any walk of life.  Plan on good conversation, great ladies, and a fun way to make birthday gifts for everyone you know this year!  

Bring a friend :-)

For more information, you can email thebiblechick@yahoo.com.  

Craft Challenge-May 2012

I hear a lot of people wishing they were craftier.  People think you have to turn out beautiful family heirloom quality pieces in order to be considered creative, but I’m here to tell you that there is a crafty side to all of us.  No matter what level of crafter you are, we are going to challenge you to move to the next level.

Reclaimed Rubbish isn’t only about two giggling girls trying to craft the world into better environmental awareness, we are also teachers, art coaches, and creativity consultants.  This means our mission includes stretching your brain and making you work for it.

The rules are simple.  During the first week of every month, there will be a challenge.  The rules for that challenge will be posted, and please, do look for loopholes.  Your imagination is the limit, and size does not matter.  Work within your space.  If the challenge has to do with a car, that doesn’t’ mean you have to drag one into your apartment.  Work within the limits of your space.  Think micro art.  Think jewelry.  Think household items.  Think yard art.  Think sculpture.  Think canvas.  Think sewing.  Think paper craft.  Think of everything.

There will be a winner every month chosen by us (Thing One and Thing Two), and there will be a prize, but the catch to that is that the prize is even a surprise.  We don’t want the point to be competition.  We want the point to be people coming together and creating things they didn’t ever think of creating.  The only way you can cheat is by not creating your project yourself, in which case, we would give you a big tisk-tisk and ask you to try again next month.  

The reason for only one challenge per month is simple.  We are all crazy-insane-busy people who can’t spend all of our time throwing things together.  We have enough on our plate with kids, school, sports, church, dates, movies…and, well, you get the point.  This should be fun, not overwhelming.

TELL YOUR FAMILY, TELL YOUR FRIENDS, SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!  THE CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW!  

May’s challenge has very few rules.  

1. You must create something
2. It must convey what your favorite childhood toy is
3. You cannot spend any money on materials

When you have completed your masterpiece, email a short description of what you used and how it happened, attach a picture, and email it to reclaimedrubbish@gmail.com no later than May 31^st, 2012.  The winner will be announced during the month of June along with the announcement of what your prize will be. 

Now, get crafting!!!

Fantastic Flubber

Flubber photo from OMSI flubber experiment

This flubber recipe is so simple, you'll be making it in every color of the rainbow before you know it!

What you'll need:

• Two bowls
• 1 1/2 cups of either white or clear Elmer's glue
• 4 cups water
• 4 Tablespoons borax(all natural laundry soap found in the laundry section at your supermarket)
• Liquid food coloring or liquid water color

What you'll do:

• In 1 bowl, mix 2 cups of water with the Elmer's glue.
•  Squirt in a few drops of color.
• In separate bowl, mix 2 cups of water with borax until completely dissolved.
• Add borax mixture a LITTLE at a time.  Add some, stir some, add some, stir some.  I recommend mixing with your hand until the flubber is the consistency you want it to be.    DO NOT add the entire borax mixture.  You will have cement instead of flubber.

Optional additions:

1. For sparkle flubber, add small amounts of glitter to the glue mixture before adding the borax mixture.  Add until you have the amount you want.  Glitter will come off on hands as it is played with, so keep this in mind when choosing how much.
2. For glow in the dark flubber, add 1/2 Tablespoon of glow in the dark powder to the BORAX mixture before adding to the glue mixture.  
3. Clear glue makes clear flubber.  There is no need for extra coloring if you don't want to.

Quick fixes to the recipe: If your flubber is too thick and falls apart instead of stretching, add small amounts of water and mix with your hands until desired consistency.

Store flubber in a ziploc bag and use over and over again until it starts to dry out and flake off.

Things to do with flubber:

1. Use a straw to blow flubber bubbles by sticking one end into the straw and blow slowly.
2. Put flubber on an old cheese grater and watch what happens.  
3. Put a flubber ball on top of a small up-side-down glass and watch what happens.
4. Ask your kids what they think will happen before you do every experiment.  Talk about the differences or similarities between the forecast and what actually happened.

If flubber gets on clothing or in carpet, vinegar takes it right out.  Mayonnaise will take it out of hair.

How to get a free Reclaimed Rubbish bracelet!

The first 50 people to visit the Reclaimed Rubbish booth at the IOTA Annual Spring Bazaar will receive a complementary Reclaimed Rubbish bracelet.

The bazaar is at the Southshore Clubhouse in Jantzen Beach on Saturday, April 14th, 2012 from 11am-3pm.

To get there from I-5N, take the Jantzen Beach exit and follow it around west under the freeway, driving alongside the shopping center past the US Bank and Car Toys going behind the shopping center.  Take a left in front of North West Rugs onto Southshore Drive.  Continue to Westside Dr. and turn right, then follow the signs to the clubhouse.

If you have any questions, contact Robin Sill at 503-954-2949.

Admission to this bazaar is a smile and a hug, so there's no reason not to come down and support local business owners and artisans!

We'll see you there!

The death of my son » Bible Chick

Today is Good Friday.  Please take a moment to read this article and remember the reason for the season.  God bless!
The death of my son » Bible Chick

Ladie's upcycling tee shirt class was a success

Above all, spreading environmental awareness is the top priority of Reclaimed Rubbish, and tonight we had a chance to do just that.  Every fourth Tuesday night, a group of ladies get together at the Metro Church of Christ building to share craft ideas.  Tonight, we got to teach the ins and outs of tee shirt upcycling.  We made tee shirt necklaces, dog toys, bracelets, tutus, and talked about the reusable tee shirt produce bags that Reclaimed Rubbish will be launching soon. 

I want to give a special thanks to the ladies of Metro Church of Christ in Gresham, Oregon for putting together this wonderful program for ladies all over our area to attend, and we're excited to see it grow.  Not only is it giving women an opportunity to come together, it is helping to raise money for a Women's Vocational Training program in Ghana, Africa where women who might not have an education or a husband to support the family are learning a trade that they can take into the world and keep food on the table. 

Keep checking back to see what craft we'll be working on next month when we announce the information for the next Sister to Sister class.  If you would like more information on how you can help the Women's Vocational Training program in Ghana, please email thebiblechick@yahoo.com. 

Check out the reclaimedrubbish Etsy store for available products.

Things we love

Creation is often based on inspiration. We love Pinterest because it's like the mother computer of all things creative, but there are many other places we like to draw our inspirations from.  If you take some time to wander the web, as we often do when we get 'creator's block', you will find a world of blogs by artists and crafters who create and inspire beauty. 

If you head over to our Things We Love page from time to time, you will find our favorite places to browse.  We will be adding more and more as we find them, so keep checking!


If you have a craft blog and would like to be considered for our Things We Love page, please comment with your url and let us know where you are!

Creative Painting-Water Beads

Water beads, or 'water babies' as my preschoolers have always called them, come in a pouch of sand sized beads that when soaked in water grow to various sizes, depending on which ones you purchase. We use them for a variety of things in our curriculum from sensory tables to sink and float experiments, and we have rolled them around in paint before, but today we had a different idea. 

We often times let them grow, use them, then let them shrink back down, grow them, shrink them, and so on.  This time, before they shrink back down(a process which takes quite a long time), I decided that we could sacrifice a few for the sake of art.

I started by adding a few to a paint tray.

Then I added tooth picks to the water beads.

We use liquid water color for almost everything.

Fill the cups with paint.

Voila!  Masterpiece!  Now, some things to note:

• This will make a mess.  If you do not like messes, this is not for you.  
• If you use plastic toothpicks, they won't suck up the color, but what's the fun in that?
• You don't have to use water color paint, it just is a favorite for the kids.
• Don't expect the water beads to stay on the toothpicks, because the point of this exercise isn't water bead balance.  It's learning about them falling off, chasing them around, poking them with the toothpicks, rolling them, pinching them, smashing them, and all of the fun things that you can do to boost those fine motor skills.  

• Do not direct what they are painting.  This isn't an, "Okay class, let's paint a portrait of your family" type of thing.  It's purely exploratory and learning cause and effect. 

Have some fun and get creative with the things you use to paint with!  Reclaim those old water beads and smash them to oblivion in the name of art!

Trust me, you're gonna love it!

Tee Shirt Upcycling Class

Come join the ladies group Sister to Sister on Tuesday, March 27th at 7 PM at Metro Church of Christ
1525 Northwest Division Street  Gresham, OR 97030 for a free tee shirt upcycling class.

What you need to bring: 2-3 old tee shirts of any size and any shape, 1 pair of scissors.

There is no cost for this class, but we do ask that if you can, please bring a $5 donation for the Women's Vocational Training Center in Ghana, Africa. 

We hope to see you there!  If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact Sunshine O'Connor at portlandparentingexaminer@gmail.com.
 

Examiner Q&A

Why do we do what we do?  Here's a little bit of insight:

Reclaimed Rubbish Q&A

What is a fashion cuff?

Cuff bracelets are taking fire in the fashion world.  They're a little bit jewelry, a little bit clothing, and they are catching on like crazy.  They are wider than traditional bracelets, and can be made from any material. Whether made of leather, metal, or made from 100% upcycled materials such as burlap and vintage buttons, everyone is taking notice of them.  Every fashionista is adding them to their accessory arsenal by the dozens.  They scream personality and unique style.

At Reclaimed Rubbish, our cuffs are designed by Kerri Scranton.  She takes bits of things that are lost and tossed, puts them together, and creates beautiful fashion cuffs that will be sure to get everyone talking.

As much as we love fashion, we also consider ourselves environmentalists, and by recycling old materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill we are doing our part to spread awareness through beautiful upcycled creations.  When you purchase a cuff from Reclaimed Rubbish, you are not only making a fashion statement, you are making a global statement about environmental awareness.  Join us in our crusade to help save the environment by turning trash into things beautiful enough to add to formal attire, yet fun enough to dress up a pair of jeans!

If you haven't had a chance to explore the world of cuffs, find your perfect cuff personality at Reclaimed Rubbish's Etsy store!

Welcome to the Reclaimed Rubbsh Pre-Launch Party

Welcome friends and fellow craft-a-holics to the Reclaimed Rubbish Pre-Launch party!  Our website and designs have been under construction for quite some time now, but we are ready to share them with the world, and we're starting with you! 

Please take a few moments to browse our Etsy Store and take a peek at all of the fun things we have been hard at work on over the past months.  Feel free to share our blog and our store with your friends and help us get the buzz going.

We're just getting started, so get ready to have some fun!

Thanks,
Thing 1 and Thing 2

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