Marilyn Scott-Waters believes creating toys with paper should be magical, accessible and fun. And lots of folks agree.
Her website, The Toymaker, receives around 7,000 visitors a day, with more than 3 million downloads of her toy patterns. And Marilyn has a book: The Toymaker: Paper Toys That You Can Make Yourself. Perfect Christmas gift? I think so.
But even if you don’t want to buy the book, you can still download the toy patterns online at The Toymaker for free.
Since it’s almost Halloween, let’s take a look! Sit in on a Ghost Show:

And Thanksgiving is around the corner too. How about …read more

For Adults:
Coin Purse from Upcycle Art. It’s as cute as your carton.
Altered Milk Cartons from scrapjazz. Projects include paint brush holder, party favor and flower pot.
Milk carton vase from CB2. No directions are provided since this is a porcelain product, but seeing the photo is enough to get you going, right? (product shown, but try making it real)
You must see this milk carton marble run! Perfect for architects. . . The rest of use might get a little intimidated.
For Kids:
Milk Carton Pirate Ship from Kaboose/Funschool. What could be more fun on a rainy day?
Log Cabin Craft from DLTK’s Crafts for …read more

Don’t even visit the cheap-o party hardy store. Make your own party deco!
Make Mexican Paper Decorations from Jose Pino’s Projects. Visit for a tutorial and photos. Try using scrap paper or catalog pages.
Tea Tag Confetti (in case you missed it first time around on Junk Creation). Just remember to save those cute tags.
All the kid party essentials at Kid’s Birthday Party on diy network.
Party Top Hat Made of Playing Cards from the ever-fun instructables.
Fun Ideas for Wall-E Party Activities. Linette at She Knows Parties gives away several fun ideas to keep the kids busy during a Wall-E party.
Feeling too rushed …read more

Laura, better known as TheScrabbleGal, is going to share with us a fun DIY project involving some re-purposed Scrabble tiles and a few other household materials.
She started creating handmade jewelry and crafts from recycled Scrabble tiles while in college. Now she’s a full-blown Scrabble tile addict. Well, perhaps I should refer to her as an artist instead! That’s her Scrabble tile cuff link to the left.
TheScrabbleGal offers an entire line of E-Book tutorials on how to make more than 77 Scrabble tile jewelry and craft projects, many of which incorporate recycled or re-purposed materials. Check out her Etsy shop — …read more

In just a minute down the page, I’m going to list links for the Father’s Day gift ideas I’ve featured here this week, but those were retail junk creations.
How about some easy crafts for Dads from kids too?
•Get Dad organized. Activity Village shows you how to make a Mini Chest of Drawers from fruit juice cartons.
•Show Dad you understand how much he loves to work on cars. This Car Nut Frame from Kaboose is decorated with washers and bolts.
•Give Dad a puppy! A Pup for Pop from Family Fun is the cutest pencil fetcher you can make.
Links to the retail …read more

Even toys dogs need a home.

Well, kids might think so. I think this toy dog house recipe over at Making Friends is a good reuse of a milk carton top.
Woof it up.
PS- Also, think about putting a new spin on the recipe. Make it a garage for toy cars instead! Or a barn for toy horses or pigs. It’s all in the decoration.
(Image via flickr.)