Hey there folks, popping in real quick to share one of my children’s favorite craft projects with you and all Melissa & Doug’s blog readers (hi folks!!!! so glad you’re here, really! Hope you’ll stick around awhile and make yourself at home) This project comes to you just in time for Earth Day as part of a link up with my sweet friends Allie, Amy, Val & Zina.

We call it the Eco Art Camera because it is part art project, part craft project, made of 100% recyclables and all around awesome. Seriously, my guys played with these things for months before they eventually pulled the buttons and lenses off, then we added them back to the recycle bin and who knows what’s become of them now.
Pretty cool right? I was kind of impressed with them to, especially considering what we used to make them:
- an empty box of macaroni and cheese
- the lid from a large jar of spaghetti sauce
- half of a toilet paper roll
- a water bottle lid
- scrap pieces of aluminum foil, newspaper and string

As you’re about to see, tape and tempura paint were also used liberally …

We started by wrapping our box in newspaper and then using our favorite painting technique (not finger painting, but whole hand painting – the messier the better) to cover the newspaper and give the camera it’s color. You could skip this step altogether if you’re pressed for time, but it was my kids favorite part and what gave this project so much personality.

Wait for the paper to dry, we set them outside and went to the park for awhile.

When you get back wrap half of a toilet paper roll and a small piece of cardboard in aluminum foil – a piece of a cereal box or the inside flap of the macaroni box will work just fine. Tape the toilet paper roll to the flat piece of cardboard and then attach the new shape to the front of your camera to make the lens.

Separate the outer plastic ring from your spaghetti sauce lid and hot glue it to the top right of your box to create a viewfinder, anything could be used here really – feel free to get creative with it.

Glue the water bottle lid to the top of the box to act as your shutter.

Carefully glue your neck strap on to the sides, this was the only piece of this project I had to keep fixing for my guys. I never did come up with a really secure way to make it stay … maybe you will! And then you’ll be so kind to tell me about it Thanks.

That’s it, that’s all there is to it. Hand the camera over to your budding photographer and let them get busy snapping. There’s so much fun to be had.
These were a prominent part of our playroom for a very long time, until a toddler got a hold of them. If treated properly, they will last a long time. And if not, they’re simple to make so you can always whip up a new one using items from your recycle bin!

Happy Earth Day weekend folks, tell me have you ever made something using items from your recycle bin? If you have a post or a photo leave it in the comments section, I’d love to see it!

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the steps and do me a favor and join me on Facebook, I’d love to chat with you there.

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The kids and I have found a new favorite activity. I know it is a favorite because every night when I lay them down to sleep and ask what their favorite part of the day was, they say FOUND THINGS!!!

We’ve been preparing for our Earth Day project. I knew I wanted it to be something we could all participate in and something that would really help the kids to understand what it was that we were doing and why we were doing it. We talk a lot about the environment and the various ways we can do our part, but these are usually things we do in our home or in our local community.

This brings us to the Found Things. The project we’ve been doing in all of our spare time — traveling to and visiting as many outdoor spaces as we can, collecting “found things”. Found things can be anything really, neat little doo dads we find on the ground — bottle caps, squirt bottle tops, shiny things, round things, square things, you name it. Anything we find in nature that is not natural. We keep one bag for found things we want to use in our art project and another for just plain old trash we find along the way. While we’re out, we talk about the birds and the trees and the soil and the Earth and how they all work together. How everything in nature has a purpose and a place and how these “found things” don’t really belong there in the first place. We make sure to emphasize how important it is that we never discard items outside that don’t belong there.

Nature is beautiful. i love the way they see this, but now they are starting to understand how it all works together. The dots are connecting because we started composting this year, it has turned out to be a great learning opportunity. They are starting to understand all the things that can and can not be composted, and it has really translated for them to this experience as well.
These quiet moments together, outdoors, seeking and sharing have really made a difference in the way we are interacting with one another at home too. Our forest walks have taken me back to another time and place, back when I was a child on the Carolina coast searching for shark’s teeth. This may have been my favorite activity of all time and I love being able to bring that sense of wonderment and calm and mindfulness to my children. We plan to keep up our favorite new past time and I hope as they get older they will think back with fond memories of our time in the forests searching for “found things”.

Do you think you’ll try a “found things” walk with your kids?

Next up, Phase 2 of Found Things — the art project. In the meantime, please take a few moments and check out all the incredible Earth Day activities my kid blogger friends have come up with and please feel free to share a link or story in a comment of your own.

Earth Day Blog Hop

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I am super excited to tell you about a collaboration between two of my favorite companies, TOMS and FEED. These two companies with a similar mission have teamed together to create a shoe with a truly inspiring impact.

Introducing the FEED 12 Classic:

The limited edition FEED 12 Classic not only gives a brand new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased, but also goes a step further by covering the cost of 12 school lunches. This is a purchase you can truly feel good about, something cool for you — did I tell you the women’s shoes are metallic & burlap?! <- super stylish and something amazing for someone else too. That’s money well spent for sure.

Available at TOMS online starting April 1st.
Selections are limited, so mark your calendars and do something good with your feet.

Available in Womens ($58)
or Toddlers ($34)
{I really love the mini FEED 12′s!!!

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