(I still need more inspiration for green new year’s resolutions or green goals for 2012. I think I’m probably going to end up doing 12 small things – one a month – rather than one big thing over the year — and I need ideas! But for now, back to regular scheduled “how can I recycle this?”ing :) )

Bettina has asked:

How can I reuse cookie cutters? Other than as soap molds.

First things first, it has to be said: do consider passing them on if they’re still in usable condition so other people don’t have to buy new. Charity/thrift/op shops will probably take them to sell on, as would many schools/community groups for use during bulk cooking sessions for special events.

Now some onto reusing/upcycling ideas: just yesterday I saw someone using little cookie cutters that they’d got in Christmas crackers (& the like) for cutting out salt dough buttons and cute pedants/jewellery – I guess that’s not really that different to the original biscuit cutting idea but is a crafty rather than culinary angle.

Decent size metal cookie cutters can be used to shape fried eggs – stop them from stretching out right across the pan. We’ve got a round one that’s standard English muffin size so we can have round, deep fried egg muffins for breakfast – yum! (Warning: they do get hot while frying! They cool down quite quickly once off the heat but take care if you try this!).

Moving away from the kitchen, some people hang or mount them for decorative purposes – obviously ones more interesting than just round or just square work best for that (for example, snowman or star shaped ones for Christmas decorations, or hearts for Valentine’s or even all year around ones in romantic households ;) ) – but those simple round/square shapes could be used as little box frames for tiny pieces of artwork/special items. If you want to upcycle them to match your decor or if they’re discoloured, you could paint them with paint suitable for metals (enamel paint?)

Or you/kids could use them as stamps for painting.

Any other ideas for ways to reuse them?

(Photo by schleicher)

Over on the “suggest an item” page, the bookstorebabe said:

Broken umbrellas were done a few years back, but most of the suggestions were reuses for the umbrella fabric.

How about specifically the metal frame, as is or taken apart? Any clever ideas, anyone?

Over on the old umbrella page, Pamela mentioned a lovely idea:

I saw broken umbrella frames used by a theatre troupe, they knotted streamers to the frame, and they blew in the wind, they held it like a rain umbrella, but it was fanciful and lovely and attracted attention. This was a walking troupe, on the street, attracting people to their performance.

While most of us probably wouldn’t want to become street performers with our old umbrellas, I wonder if a frame with streamers placed in the garden would act like a portable scarecrow…?

Nude umbrella frames remind me of swifts, for balling yarn from skeins – but I suspect they might have too many sharp bits/catches for nice yarn. Anyone used/modified one for that?

Any other reusing or recycling ideas? What about ideas that use it in parts rather than whole?

(Photo by LilGoldWmn)

Sticking in the garden after yesterday’s “how to make cloches” question, I’m a member of UKVegGardeners and spotted this question on the forum yesterday:

Anyone got any suggestions, please, on uses for an old wrought iron 3ft square garden gate which has reached the end of its gate life but must have some usefulness left?

Since UKVegGardeners is a community of, well, UK veg gardeners, the suggestions have mostly been about ways to use it in the growing of veg ;) People have suggested using it at the back of a trough for climbers or if you have two of them, making an A-frame for peas. (Someone else suggested a homemade BBQ grill for cooking “jumbo sausages” :) ) I think they’re great suggestions – but wondered if anyone else over here had other ideas to add.

I’ve seen iron gates that are no longer gate-able but still reasonably sound used to patch up fences in a shabby chic way – the spaces let small animals/wildlife nip through but not bigger things.

If it’s pretty wrought iron, I wonder if it could be used to make garden furniture… Depending on how heavy it is, it might be wall mountable and could be used as a hanging rack for tools, watering cans and whatnot.

Any other ideas?

We’ve had an email from Tasha:

We are a hairdressing scissors company trying to find a charity we can send old hairdressing scissors too?

If you know of any could you please let me know.

I don’t know of any – does anyone else?

What about charities that collect scrap metal in general? From what I’ve read, hairdressers scissors tend to be make from steel and that’s widely recyclable – does anyone know of any charities that collect steel to raise money from recycling?

We’ve had an email from Pauline:

I would like to use steel and aluminium cans to make jewelery. Do you know how to cut the metal out? Should the can be crushed first? Do you know how to smooth the edges so they don’t cut? If you could throw any light on this or point me to a website as I am not getting much coming up in google at the moment? Thanks.

I’ve made numerous things out of drinks cans (all aluminium I think) over the years and have mostly just used scissors for the cutting – it’s not as hard to cut as you’d think. I might use a can opener to remove the lid or a knife to start a hole in the body but then scissors suffice. I typically cut down the print “seam” and around the top & bottom to remove the curve so am left with a flat rectangle of metal.

(I’ve tried using shaped hole punches on cans but only lightweight ones so not had much success. Alison Bailey Smith has talked about the heavy duty ones she uses on plastic – I wonder if they’d be good on metal.)

And if the edges are smooth, not jagged, they’re also not as sharp as you might think. I’m not saying I’d necessarily want to wear them as jewellery in their nude state but in all my making, I’ve not once cut myself. Anyone got any tips for making the edges safer though?

Finally, anyone made any interesting jewellery from cans – or seen any inspiring examples of work around the wonderful worldwide web?