My son came home from scouts the other day with this make-your-own-kite-from-a-grocery-bag masterpiece.

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It probably was supposed to have Native American pictures on it, but my son decided to decorate it instead with the really-cool-super-powerful-monster-dragon-thing from his Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Or something.

The new kite lasted all of 12 hours before it was stepped on, slipped on and already forgotten.

Paper to recycling bin, string to the trash, right?

Wait! Don’t toss that!

The string and paper can both live on as part of two easy gardening projects.

For starters, that paper sack can skip the recycling bin and head straight for the compost pile. It makes a great addition of brown matter that will make a better compost than kitchen scraps alone.

And the string? 

I couldn’t wait to combine it with some empty cans from the recycling bin and some left over craft moss to make cute planters just like these ones from Once Wed.

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These string-wrapped planters gave my basil, lemon balm, parsley, rosemary and oregano a cute upgrade from the plain ‘ol nursery planters. And I’m loving the scent and convenience of having fresh herbs on my front porch.

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(I used twine to finish some of the planters after I used up all the string. No biggie. Rock what ya got, right?)

The original tutorial for these planters can be found here.

Left Over String?

May 2011 BLOG23

It’s What Not To Toss this weekend!Signature

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4 Comments

  1. I LOVE your blog…I get so inspired by you…as a matter of fact, I was making some arrangements to go above my kitchen cabinets and my cheapie self would not spend $3.00 on foam to anchor the greenery, so I thought to myself, "wonder what the Thrive lady would do?"…so I got some crumpled paper from my trash can (non-recyclable) and tape to anchor the greenery and it worked pefectly fine! Thanks for all you do!

  2. Creative Contentment

    Nike, I wish there was a like button with the thumbs up because I like this so much and thumbs up to you. I look forward to your 'what not to toss' posts. i don't have that moss stuff here but I have been thinking about restatrting a couple of plants and a fun tin can just might be the ticket. :)much care to you sweet landlocked friend. 😉

  3. who woulda thunk it?! so clever Nike. i love how your planters turned out. my fresh herbs didn't last a week after being potted.

  4. Michelle@Somedaycrafts

    STRING? Seriously, I would have thrown it out, but that looks awesome! Great job!