So, April 13 is a good time to talk about my April Upcycles challenge, right? I'm so on top of it, you guys. Anyway, I did mention this awhile back, but in honor of Earth Day month, I'm trying to be extra- obnoxious/conscious of the amount of waste we generate, both in the stuff we actually bring into the house, and in making use of the stuff that does show up. So, as I mentioned, I'm trying to repurpose packaging and broken things that might otherwise just get tossed. Today's two little projects stem from that challenge. The first is an easy-peasy anyone can do, and the second is possibly just inspirational. Let's start with the crayons!

I'm not the first person to do this, of course, and I know you all know how to throw some crayons in the oven. It's something we've been planning to do for ages, to use up all the little bits and pieces and ends of crayons that appear, and we finally did it. Westley has taken a keen interest in drawing - presumably because Louisa is constantly illustrating our lives - and it's adorable.

Here he and Lou are decorating the front panel of our hallway (which is a huge mistake to let them do that wall, btw -- it's way too narrow there. All of our coats are currently covered in brightly colored chalk flowers ). This is great, and he really gets the point of coloring and gets super excited when he makes a mark. But regular crayons and chalk pieces are way too small and fragile for his brute toddler strength. Case in point: he ate a piece of chalk about 20 seconds after this picture was snapped. Thusly motivated, I set Lou to work to peel all the remaining paper off our stray crayon bits. We also threw in all those weird cheapo crayons you collect through life at restaurants and doctor's offices and the like. Lou was very thoughtful about her color combinations, trying out different hue configurations before settling on a monochromatic scheme. (She's into the classics). We popped them into a bug-shaped silicone muffin tin I have and baked at about 200 degrees until I forgot about them/they were fully melted. Let cool, pop out, voila.

How pretty are these??? I want to eat that bumblebee. He looks like a delicious caramel delight. But these are even greater than expected, and Lou is smitten. They're sturdy and thick enough for West, so hopefully she shares. You can use any muffin tin for this, of course, but if you have any fun shapes, go for those! I think these would make lovely party favors or fun babysitter or restaurant entertainment packs. Of course, if you've got crayons, you need paper.

My next project is a bit specific to what I had, but I hope it inspires. I had purchased some new glasses (100% recycled from old wine bottles, natch) a few weeks ago, as we seem to go through glasses as if they're actually disposable. Once we'd reached a critical low, I bit the bullet and got new ones. My little tumblers (er, they call them punts? Is that the bottom of the wine bottle? If only I had a way to look this up?) came in this box, with folded cardboard inserts.

I thought the little folded inserts looked like perfect little book covers. We've already been trying to save and use our packaging for the constant art projects, and these little guys just seemed too good to waste.

So I made little sketchbooks out of them, cutting some paper to fit, punching holes through the whole shebang and tying with pretty string. Obviously, West is also into the upcycle game.

I used fresh, not scrap paper, because I wanted it to be double-sided. Those scraps of paper leftover? Look like a bunch of 'L's just waiting to be decorated to me, and to a certain L-o-phile I know. Let's all upcycle everything.

As for the rest of the box, I cut the lid off and am using it (actually, there are two) to organize my skivvies. I'd show you a pic, but it's my skivvies. Jeez, buy a girl a drink. I actuallyhave a ton of weird projects lined up around the junk we've got lying around, and I know you CAN'T WAIT to see them. What are you upcycling this month? Anything gloriously strange? And don't forget to check back tomorrow for progress on our One Room Challenge!