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the top or on the side wide enough to poke folded money through and coins, but not so big that they can get back out. Give it to a child and let them decorate it, you can even paper mache' or decoupage these. This can be a project for you to share with your children and their friends on one of those "rainy days". The bank can be as simple or as fancy as you want it to be. The Nesltle containers also stand on their side, which leaves you more options, you can paint it to look like a vehicle, bus, car, etc.

Altoid tins when emptied can be decorated with seed beads, painted or covered in fabric and become a decorative trinket box, some cut cardstock to fit inside and make a small photo holder, or you can write inspirational sayings on pretty paper and place inside.

With Valentines Day coming up we will be seeing all size heart shaped candy boxes, well don't throw those away. I recover mine in fabric, and make photograph albums. For a bride I mostly use white satin, and for all others I just use a pretty fabric that I like. I recover the inside and bottom with a decorative paper that can be bought at a craft store; I use 12 by 12 scrapbook paper that I think fits the design for the project I am making. (Sometimes I use fabric on the bottom as well.)

I use polyester batting under the material that I choose for the top cover. If you are going to sew decorations on to the material, cut and measure everything, including the batting before doing this always remember to cut the fabric at least three quarters of an inch bigger. You do not need to cut the batting bigger it should be the same size as the top of the box; it does not need to fold to the under side of the box like the fabric does. If the heart has an over hanging edge I recommend cutting it off, both the top and bottom of the box.

If I am adding buttons that I want to pull tight to dimple the fabric, I do that through the batting - then through the material, and back through the batting and knot it. If I am sewing on tiny seed beads I will generally sew these onto just the material. If you need to draw a design to follow with your beads make the tiniest dots with the lightest sewers chalk pencil, just big enough that the bead will go over. Many times you can not remove these marks, so keep that in mind when deciding whether or not you want to mark it.

I use a light touch of spray adhesive to hold the batting down onto the heart, then lightly give a small spray to the batting to help hold the fabric in place, Pull the fabric firmly over the batting and hot glue it down just on the underside of the cover. You can use hot glue to embellish the top or add trim around the sides.

I take cardstock it can be decorative or in a color that you like, cut it out so that it fits inside the box (heart shaped). I cut out as many as I like or what will fit inside the box. I punch two holes between 1 inch or a half inch apart for smaller hearts. Take a two pieces of coordinating color ribbon and place it through each hole individually tying it off into a bow (hint: if you ad a small amount of glue to the knot before completing the bow will keep it from becoming undone. You can embellish the cardstock but remember to leave room for pictures.

I have also recycled loose leaf binders and recovered them in fabric to make photo albums. They come out so nice that I have had people offer to purchase them. The fun part is you can make it any theme you want.

I can go on and on about recycling but after I print out and read this I am tearing it up and placing it in a blender with a little coloring and water to make handmade paper...

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