Crafty ways to reuse our packaging

We think it’s safe to say that in recent years we’ve all become more conscious of our carbon footprint, and the impact that we can have on the environment. If you’re an eco-conscious crafter, recycling packaging is a fantastic step in the right direction, but reusing and re-purposing it can often use less energy - plus it's a fantastic excuse to get crafty! In this blog post we share some ideas for creative ways you can reuse our packaging, and the components from our kits - read on to learn more!

How to reuse foam felting pads

If you’re as addicted to needle felting as we are, with time and use you’ll find that the foam felting mats that we include with our kits will lose their ‘springiness’, and need replacing. Rather than throw them away, you could...

• Wrap them in brown paper and rustic string to make Christmas decorations, and add holly or cinnamon sticks to make them look even more festive! If you’ve purchased one of our larger kits, your felting mats and components might have come packaged in a coloured paper bag, which you could also use to wrap your old foam pads.

• Cover the foam with pretty fabric and use it as a pincushion!

• If you use our specialist felting needles, old foam pads make a great holder for them, allowing you to quickly switch between needles as you felt.

• Cut up and use worn felting pads in place of core wool in needle felting projects - or you could cover an entire pad with felting wool, and use it as the base for a project - just like this clever young crafter has done!

• If you’re a keen gardener (or just love growing plants to brighten your desk), you can break up and reuse our foam pads in the bottom of plant pots to help with drainage. 

How to reuse felting needles

As with felting pads, avid felters will find that their needles eventually become blunt with use. We find that old needles are a great a tool to manoeuvre or hold wool in place as we felt. Alternatively, if you need to collect your receipts, why not use an old felting needle to hold them in place on a foam pad until you’re ready to file them?

Ideas for reusing our plastic tubes

We’re always looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic in our kits, and this year have switched to using recyclable paper envelopes to hold out felting needles and glass eyes. If you’ve bought our kits in the past, and still have one or more of the clear plastic tubes that we used to use in their place, why not try making our macramé bud vase holder? If you’re feeling adventurous, perhaps you could even create a bud vase holder using a piece of driftwood, a glue gun, and three tubes!

Ways to reuse our boxes

Though we say so ourselves, we love the little animals that feature on our packaging, and think that they make great bookmarks - simply cut out the edges of our square boxes, which are the perfect size! You could also cut them into smaller squares and use them as gift tags for animal-loving friends.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed our ideas for reusing our packaging, and would love to hear yours, too! Please do share them with us in the comments section below, or on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter!

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