New Website...new blog

Effective immediately I will no longer be blogging here. You can check out my new website at www.goodgarbage.org. It should be live in the next few hours. Please be sure to change your bookmarks to reflect the change. Hope to see there! Thank you for all your support! ~Lynn

Call for Reuse Artists, Crafters and Tinkerer's . . .

Open call for REUSE artists of all kinds: Garage tinkerer's, stay at home moms, artists, crafters...Anyone who uses 75% or more Landfill Destined Material in their works...

Show to begin November 30 and run through December 31 with sales off the walls. Low commission. And sales during Thanksgiving weekend will be paid out on the 15th of December.

Anticipated drop off around November 16. Email for more information. Lynn.GoodGarbage@gmail.com.

GOOD GARBAGE HAS A HOME!!!! Grand Opening set for November 30!

First let me apologize... I am very sorry for the lack of information on this page! I know it's been a very long time since I have been able to write here! I am not a very good blogger so I sure hope you have been following me on Facebook and Twitter!  I had a blast over the summer working with all the kids, doing camps and reuse art programs. I also was on the Planning Committee for the Louisville Mini Maker Faire which was last Saturday, September 28! If you didn't get to attend, check out our Facebook page and this great article!

During my posting absence I was working very hard selling every chance I could and appreciate The Flea Off Market organizers, Courtenay and Nathan. With them offering non-profits free space, I was able to at least keep the storage space paid for each month and buy some glue to keep the kiddo's happy with their art projects.

I had also been actively pursuing a cool home for Good Garbage! I searched high and low and visited lots of people and places to find a good fit. It's not easy! Louisville is a big city and there are a lot of vacant buildings and sometimes I wonder if people ever really want to see life in them. I have a small budget, so a place that is pretty much move-in ready and well, cheap! I have learned one thing, if I have learned anything... You never know who is listening when you are talking. Through a conversation with one friend, a friend of theirs heard my needs and Voila! A building was found! And a new friendship was made.

We will be located in the Portland neighborhood and if you haven't heard about the Portland Initiative, then check that out! I looked at many places in Portland and knew that is where I wanted to be. This space is in an old neighborhood corner store, that more recently was a laundromat. And low and behold it is smack dab in the middle between the old retail district of Portland and the up and coming artist area! About four - five blocks from either.

Besides keeping perfectly good stuff from the landfills and providing inexpensive items for teachers and artists, I want to take free art to kids in disadvantaged areas. And driving through on a Sunday afternoon... There is no shortage of kids! There are many schools nearby and that means teachers can easily get cool items they need; kids can play with good garbage to create art and use creative thinking skills; and there will be new life in that pink building that was once the cornerstone for the area. I am looking forward to becoming a part of the neighborhood!

There is a lot of work ahead to get the place ready and move from my storage space to the new building. I am looking at an opening of November 30. We begin work this week!!!! Ambitious? Yes! But I know that with a little help from my Louisville Timebank friends and my cheerleaders within the community, we will have the building prepped and ready for the Grand Opening! Our first community clean-out of the building will be October 11. If interested in helping, email me at Lynn.GoodGarbage@gmail.com. There will be lots of chances if you can't make that date.

Be sure to subscribe to the blog, like our Facebook page and find us on Twitter for updates to follow us down the Green Brick Road to Good Garbage.(Fell way short on a take of my favorite Yellow Brick Road, but I tried.) If you would like to be added to our mailing list to get special offers, announcements and newsletters, please click HERE. There will be more details to follow soon. Please share with your friends. Thank you all for your support and I look forward to sharing my vision LIVE very soon!!!
~Lynn

Jam Packed Summer Camps, Week One

This past week was jammed packed with fun, creative activities for the kiddo's. At Shelby Park Community Center we created these awesome abstract 3D art pieces. The cardboard shapes were cut from the box that my fair tent came in. It was cut into cool shapes and the kids got to express themselves and learned a little about texture and 3D vs 2D art.

At Passionist Earth & Spirit Camp Odyssey, we made magazine picture frames, paper bag kites, toilet paper binoculars (see below) and paper rockets from magazine pages. Then on Friday we launched the rockets and watched them with our binoculars. The binoculars also came in handy to find my rocket that landed in the trees. Unfortunately we couldn't figure out how to get it down.

The binoculars are a great way for the kids to go exploring in your own back yard, parks, on walks or on long trips in the car. Here's how to make a pair to keep around for these fun days.

What you need:

2 Toilet Paper rolls
String/yarn
Paint or Markers
Glue
2 Paper Clips
Hole Punch

Glue the two tp rolls together by running a single line of glue end to end on one of the tubes and putting the two together. Place the paperclips at each end to hold the tubes together while drying. This allows you to decorate with paint or makers while the glue is drying. When the paint is dry, punch one hole on the side opposite the glue of each tube and tie the ends of the strings through the holes to allow the binoculars to be worn around the neck. Now the kids can enjoy bird watching, searching for things on a scavenger hunt or spying on their siblings. 

Have a creative and fun week and I'll see you back here later this week to show you how to make simple paper rockets and the launcher for some more summer fun from your "I'm bored! Box."

Picture Perfect Summer...

School's out! Kids are bored! Let's keep their minds going this summer and follow along with me as the kids from some of the summer camps I am working with make all kinds of fun crafts from Good Garbage! So send the kids on a scavenger hunt for fun crafty items around the house and build your rainy day craft box up with fun things like toilet paper tubes, colorful magazines, cardboard, plastic shopping bags, newspaper, old t-shirts, rubber bands, and anything else you think could be repurposed and join the fun world of creative reuse with Good Garbage!


The kids at Shelby Park Community Center summer camp sure were creative with their magazine and cardboard picture frames. Seems they had a lot of fun as well...

Here are the instructions for making this fun magnetic picture frame. 

What you need:

• Colorful magazines, the one time the more ads the better.
• Piece of cardboard, about 5x8" but whatever size you want. It could be from a mac'n cheese or cereal box. Mine was from a UPS envelope that I'd gotten.
• Scissors
• Glue (Stick or bottle)
• Straw (I used a small one, for kids the bigger, thicker ones are better)
• Advertisement magnets

  

  Cut the center out.
  I made it 3.5x5.5"

  

  Cut the cardboard to the size you want.

Make sure you use colorful magazine pages and cut into strips.

Using the straw, roll your strip twice around the straw and cut.
Add glue to the end and seal.

Glue the roll to your frame.

Be creative...

Those outdated magnets found on your phone books...

Cut two strips from your magnet

Glue magnets on the back side. Make sure to align  with the inside edge .

Hang on your fridge with a 4x6" picture behind it.

Another option for rolling the magazine strips.

I did this one with just torn pieces of magazine for the younger kids at  the camps.

T-Shirt Necklaces, Bracelets and Scarves - LFPL How to Festival

On Saturday, May 11, the Louisville Free Public Library will host the How To Festival at it's main branch from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. I will be there from 1-3 p.m. demonstrating how to make a t-shirt necklace, bracelet and scarf. Here's the instructions so you can do it at home if you can't make it to the festival.

Supplies

• Clean t-shirt (most stains won't show up), One with stripes or a colorful one will work best. Almost any recycled fabric will work.
• Scissors
• Masking tape or heavy object

Starting from the bottom of the t-shirt, cut 1" strips across it (this will form rings). (Also if you are using another type of fabric you can cut a snip into the fabric, then tear to give the finished product a funky frayed look.)

If you want to make a necklace or bracelet, you can cut the rings in half.

If you want to make the scarf, you will keep the rings in tact.

Necklace/bracelet:

• Choose 2- 3 strips of fabric, tying a knot at the top to hold the pieces together.  You can choose different fabrics, or all the same, whatever you like.
• Begin braiding or twisting the fabric strips.  Placing a book or other heavy object on the knotted end or using masking tape to tape it to a table will help hold the necklace in place as you braid.
• When twist/braid is complete, finish by knotting.
• Take the two knotted ends and tie a third knot to make a loop, pulling very tightly.
• Cut the excess fabric and original end knots off, leaving only the finishing knot.
• Try layering necklaces of various sizes and colors for an easy summer look.

Scarf:

• You will need as many circled strips as you wish for the length of the scarf, usually about 10-15. You will get about 15-16 from one t-shirt.
• Stretch out each ring and wrap around your hand three to four times. The more times you wrap around the shorter and thicker you scarf will be.
• You will need some smaller strips, approx. 2", to tie the scarf together. These can be cut from the sleeves of the t-shirt. They should be cut about 1/2" wide.
• Once you get the ring strips ready, you will link the loops made on your hand with the smaller strips by tying it around two loops. You can either leave it open so you have one long scarf or you can tie the two ends together to make a round scarf.

Spring Time is Kite Time... Make your own

I remember heading to Woolworth's as a kid (that shows my age, sigh) and looking through all the cheap plastic kites... There were Spider-Man, Holly Hobbie, Dinosaurs, flowers...so many to choose from. This was a sure sign of spring time! 

Well, welcome to spring! And what a great way to get it started... making a kite from grocery bags or lunch sacks.  Here's how we did ours...

Grab a kid (if you choose too) and these items...

• Large brown paper grocery bag or lunch sack
• Strong string
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Masking tape
• School glue or paste
• Paint (any kind) (we used all natural dyes made from fruits and veggies)
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
• Paper streamers or crepe paper that you can cut into strips
• A few found objects (bits of paper, glitter, buttons — nothing too heavy)

1. Begin by taking the hole punch and making four holes in the top of the paper bag— one in each of the corners. Use masking tape at each hole. If you put it on after you punch, use a pencil to punch through the hole. This will ensure that your holes don't tear through.
2. Next, cut two lengths of string about 30" each.
3. Tie each end of the strings through a hole in the bag. The goal is to create two loops.
4. Next, cut another piece of string — again around 30". Loop this new piece of string through the two loops you created and tie in a knot. This piece of string will become the handle of your kite.
5. You are now ready to decorate the paper bag kite using paint, markers, or whatever else you desire. You can paint designs on the kite or turn the kite into a fish by adding eyes, gills, and fins. You can glue different items to the kite but be sure not to load the kite down with heavy items -- or it will have a hard time staying up in the air.
6. Use paper streamers as kite tails and glue them to the bottom of the paper bag. You can make your own streamers by cutting crepe paper, newspaper, tissue paper and even plastic bags into strips. 
7. Once the glue and paint is dry, the kite can fly. Hold on tightly to the string handle and run so that the wind catches the kite. When the bag fills with air it will float and flutter behind you.