remaking

i've been on a crafty kick lately, and the object has been my overflowing paper/cardboard recycling...

project #1: it's been in the back of my mind that i haven't made any effort to teach l her letters the way i did with c.  not that i doubt she'll learn them in due course, but i thought i should at least give her the opportunities.  having seen a few activities online, i looked around the kitchen and it clicked:

cereal box + junk mail + always-underfoot-letter-magnets = letter sorter box

just cut the front panel off and use it to make the dividers

it's been gratifying to see that she (and of course her sister) genuinely likes it.  she has no problem sorting them even though she doesn't know all the letter names yet.  guess we need to make two more for the rest of the letters!

projects #2 and #3:  homemade puzzles.  obviously, we go through a lot of puzzles around here ;-)

my first attempt involved a granola bar box and a catalog:

while i was quite pleased with the aesthetics, it didn't stand up to real play. the pieces were too thin to stay together well, so i added another layer of thin cardboard (a magic hat six-pack holder to be precise ;-) ).  i just used a glue stick and heavy duty scissors for this one. 

double sided ;-)

with the extra backing, it's a usable puzzle for c, but you have to be a bit careful to hold the pieces together.  so i kept looking..

#3:  aha! 

used coloring book cover + jumbo granola bar box =

the key was the corrugated cardboard.  i used an exacto knife for this one.  i won't lie - it took quite a long time to make this 24-piecer, and i wouldn't do it just for fun, but i'm looking forward to making some personalized ones for special occasions.  a more artistic person could cut design some really cool shapes too.  i thought about hiding the letters of a name, for example.

the corrugated cardboard made this one suitable for real use =)

c's only complaint was that the granola side made her want to eat some ;-)

postscript:  my recycling is still overflowing, but having found it so useful, i hate to take it out now and lose that stash of materials ;-)  so maybe i outsmarted myself =p