Turn full-size trash into
miniature crafting discoveries!
Lu Garcia aka llamalu
Staff Writer
You can be eco-friendly green when you train your eyes to look for creative re-use of full-size things for miniatures! Before you toss your used things into the nearest trash can, take a second look to see if they could be recycled in a totally different way.
I personally love repurposing when it comes to crafting. It not only saves money but it gives you the opportunity to create something unique. Even if you
can't make the item into a miniature, you might still use it as a tool. Simple things like dummy credit cards from junk mail make excellent glue spreaders, paper creasers, straight edges, or templates.
Electronics hold troves of mini treasures. Sometimes you will find one unique piece and other times you will find multiples of the same. Multiples are nice to pass on to other mini crafters or they may come in handy for a scene that requires a lot of one item. Some items look exactly like a true life object and others need parts added to make it look like something. 
I even keep the plastic coated wires, switches, springs, screws, brackets and other various pieces as embellishments to add realism to my creations.
You can cut the plastic off of regulators of all different sizes to make canisters, jugs, cans, kegs or even use the larger ones for furniture bases. These other pieces look like bobbers, handles, salt and pepper shakers and a blow torch. All of these items came from a recycled computer.
I salvaged this cell phone screen to use as a silver frame. It would also make a good TV/computer screen.
The inside of a light timer had 100 of these plastic things that look like staplers to me.
An old PDA (Personal Data Assistant) had this keypad plate that could be turned into a baby gate or pet kennel.
This lantern was made from an extra small light bulb from a curling iron.
Turn your eco-friendly eye to your trash can and discover a whole new world of your own!
Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures / CDHM