Up-Cycled Means Kind to Your Wallet and The Planet.
With everyone trying to watch the pennies and also be kinder to our planet, then an up-cycled party is a great option! Once you make a start, the ideas start flooding in and you will be surprised how much you can do with what you have at home or what you can cheaply pick up second hand.
If you find you need more materials than what you have stashed away at home, a great place to source free/cheap materials is your local scrap centre. There is a network of them across the UK (you can find your closest one on their website), they usually charge a small annual fee and then you can go as often as you like and take as much as you want. Since discovering them, they are my favourite go to place for crafting.
If you’d like to buy some secondhand party items to give them a second lease of life, then a great place to start is Rumage: It searches all your favourite secondhand marketplaces for you to save you the hassle and you can even filter it by location so you can find sellers near you to save on the postage.
To get you started, here are some up-cycled party ideas to set you on the right path.
Decorations
Bunting and garlands are a really quick and easy way to inject some colour and if you are looking for something really simple, then using last year’s Birthday cards to make colourful bunting is something even your kids could do. You could also create bunting using the mounting pile of your kids drawings that you don’t know what to do with, or old books passed their best. If you are handy with a sewing machine then fabric bunting is great too, especially as it can easily be kept to use year after year. You could use anything from leftover scraps of fabric to duvet covers or curtains that have seen better days. You will most likely find that your local scrap store will have a great supply of scrap fabric too.
If you don’t fancy making your own, then check out Pri Pri’s beautiful bunting made from up-cycled sari fabric, which can even be personalised or the beautiful bunting by EcoBunting.
Pri Pri’s gorgeous bunting made from up-cycled Saris.
I love this colourful paper garland made by Eco Bunting from a Children’s picture book that was passed it’s best.
This colourful fabric bunting made by Eco Bunting is made from off cut scraps of fabric – it’s a really effective way to add a splash of colour.
Pom-poms are also a really great way to add a splash of colour. If you don’t happen to have a few odd balls of wool hanging around, you can usually pick some up from your local charity shop or scrap scheme store. Pom-poms are really easy to make, you can even get the kids involved and you can create garlands, flowers, wreaths and more. A wreath is a great option for hanging on your front door instead of balloons, so everyone can find the party house!
Colourful pom-pom wreath, great for the front door instead of balloons.
Pom-pom flowers to decorate the party table.
Pom-pom ice cream garland. I used my daughters little play dough rolling pin to print the grid pattern on the paper cones.
If you have a bag full of ‘plastic tat’; happy meal toys, toys from party bags and magazines, random legs from a barbie doll and a crocodile head, then don’t throw them away just yet! These can be a great source of ideas for decorations. For example, you could add them all to a wreath base or hang them on a string to make a garland or turn them into flower vases or table centre pieces. You could even spray paint them to match the colour of your party theme.
Spray paint old toys to colour match the theme of your party.
String old toys together to create a garland.
Use broken toys to create a colourful wreath for the front door.
Party Bags
I’m a bit of a hoarder and always save all my paper shopping bags, so I have a big stash, which would make perfect party bags (or gift bags). With a little imagination, some crafty materials and some glue, you can transform these branded shop bags into unique party bags. Here are a few of my bag transformations:
You can’t go wrong with some paper flowers.
Party Bag Fillers
There are lots of ideas on my blog Handmade Party Bag Fillers. Below are a few of my up-cycled makes:
Scrunchies – made from fabric purchased from Vinted.
Painted rocks found on the beach.
Starfish wands – made from garden canes and sheet foam from my local scrap store.
Bracelets – made from beads from the scrap store.
Painted shells – from the scrap store.
Mermaid tail crayons – made from my daughters broken crayons.
Tableware
Old bed sheets are great for refashioning into table cloths – you could paint them, tie-dye them or appliqué onto them and tailor them to your party theme and an easy one to get the kids involved in! If you already have a tablecloth you can use, you could make placemats or a table runner from scrap fabrics to match the theme of your party instead.
For plates, cups and cutlery; why not buy a set secondhand from one of the many online marketplaces or a charity shop. You can always sell it afterwards or return it to the charity shop after the event – just think of it as a donation to charity. Or perhaps you could just ask everyone to bring their own set with them?
A cake stand is a doddle to make – a quick trip to your local charity shop or car boot sale to buy a plate and a teacup and with a little super glue and its job done! I’ve also seen some really cute cake stands made using an old plate and the bottom half of a plastic toy animal or dinosaur.
Gift Wrap
There are so many things you can find around the house that you can use for wrapping gifts; magazine pages, old maps, pieces of sample wallpaper, your kids paintings, or even decorated amazon packing paper. If you are a dab hand with a sewing machine you could make a fabric drawstring bag from leftover pieces of fabric or you could just reuse an old pillow case or wrap with a piece of fabric, like the Japanese art of Furoshiki.
Furoshiki – fabric wrapped gifts.
Gift wrapped in sample wallpaper.
Present wrapped in Lily’s paintings.
I hope this has got the creative juices flowing, I’d love to see your makes, please do share them with me! If you are keen to continue in the theme of being kind to our planet (and your wallet), you may like my blog on Gifting Pre-loved toys.
