Create Hand-Crafted Upcycled Toys!

I have been inspired to experiment with making homemade upcycled toys for my sweet little 2 year old nephew, Bobby! I always enjoy giving him a little present every time I see him, but I hate to spend the money and support the funding of new, manufactured plastics that are ultimately littering our beautiful planet...So instead, I am now making him homemade toys from recycle materials that I have collected and found around the house. Stay tuned for more blog posts with more upcycled toy ideas that I will share! These toy books pictured ("Recycled Crafts Box" and "Creating by Recycling") have been great sources of ideas and inspiration for me and I have found them at my local library...maybe you can check them out too!

These books have inspired me to explore my "trash" and transform it into a fun, little "treasure" for my nephew to play with. Here I have transformed a package of SunSpire Almond Butter Cups (you can use any peanut butter candy cups packaging for this toy, as long as there are spaces for three candy cups).

Traffic Light:

Materials:

- 3 packages of peanut or almond butter chocolate candy cups (placed on top of one another toy make the finished product thick and durable for play...also upcylcing more plastic is great too!)

- a small piece of recycled cardboard (measured to fit the size of the nut butter candy cup package)

- clear packaging tape

- acyclic paint (in red, yellow, and green)

- coloring markers (in red, yellow, and green)

This is a great toy for keeping the little guy's attention in the backseat of the car while driving...and it's educational! Its a fun toy to play with when you drive and reach a traffic light; say "red means STOP!" and "green means GO!". My nephew pushes the lights like they are buttons...he has so much fun with this little toy!

  Please check out my Etsy Shop "Eco-Friendly Freckles" for more upcycled treasures and vintage goodies!