October 29, 2012

Halloween Candy Wrapper Recycling Craft

Halloween is a fun time for kids, but when you think about all that waste generated from your kids' trick-or-treat loot, the holiday can be downright scary. Finding something constructive to do with all that waste can help make a small dent in what goes into the landfills in the days following Halloween, and when you use those wrappers to do something fun with your kids, the activity can be a great opportunity to teach kids about recycling.

An easy, fun craft that you can make is a candy wrapper pencil case, which is perfect for boys or girls. You'll want to start out with a plain pencil case, either the soft kind with a zipper or the hard kind. The most important thing is to choose one that has a flat surface. Here's some easy instructions for you to follow for your recycling craft.

1. Cut your candy wrappers open and then wash them to remove any bits of chocolate or sugar.

2. Switch your iron onto low and then run over the wrappers to remove creases.

3. Let your kids experiment with placing the wrappers onto one side of the pencil case. They can trim or cut the wrappers to create patterns or random designs.

4. Once they have the perfect layout, use craft glue to adhere the wrappers to the pencil case.

5. Help kids flatten out any wrinkles that have formed in the wrappers.

6. Coat the entire finished surface with decoupage gel, which you can purchase at any craft store.

7. Allow the decorated side to dry for 20 minutes or more and then decorate the remaining side or sides.

If you have lots of candy wrappers, you can use this process to decorate a lot of other things, including purses, folders, barrettes, pencil cups--virtually anything that has a flat surface.