I sometimes just toss used envelopes into the recycling bin, but there’s much more you can do with them!
Take a look at the DIY bookmark idea via d. Sharp Journal. If you love to customize, this simple, yet practical project is for you.
And Design Sponge featured Inside Out Security Envelopes. Pretty stuff!
Also utterly fascinating is the FedEx Envelope Reusable Lunch Bag (pictured below) via Sternlab.

Other quick envelope reuse tips:
If you remove any glue and film, you can shred the rest of the envelope and use if for stuffing pet toys or beds. These shreds are also useful as packing …read more

Costas Schuler, better known as “The Pen Guy” wants your used pens.
The Pen Guy earned his nickname by driving around his beloved art car, a 1981 300 SD Mercedes, covered by 10,000 pens.
For his next project, The Pen Guy is hoping to collect 250,000 pens for his pentings (wall murals). According to his blog, The Pen Guy also wants to “cover a newer Mercedes Benz and a giant Diesel RV that will comfortably sleep a family of five for a road trip across America.”
Art is certainly a better use for pens than letting them sit in landfills. …read more

Cereal boxes are recyclable in more ways than one! When you’re looking to save money, these boxes can lend a hand in projects for adults, kids and pets.
Reuse ideas:
Inside Families.com, Mary Ann talks about how she uses cereal boxes as part of a Free Building Set for her son.
Over at The Kitty Blog, I demonstrated a very simple cat toy: Cereal Box Hunt & Knock.
At Curbly, discover how to turn a cereal box into a gift box that looks like vibrant pop art!
One of the most scientific uses of a cereal box has to be the …read more

Last year, we covered Chopstick Reuse for Knitters, Chopstick Soap Dish and the Chopstick Purse.
But there’s more going on in the world of chopstick reuse.
Look at the chopstick bowl to the right. I found it on flickr via idogcow. If you know how to make this, please do tell.
Then there’s the canoe that Shuhei Ogawara made from gluing 7,382 chopsticks together! Go see it at pink tentacle.
Readers at How can I Recycle This? came up with come great ideas on chopstick reuse. One reader suggested using them to hold up early seedlings in the garden. …read more

If you’re a builder, architect, artist, part-time crafter, junker, etc., Planet Reuse may have something for you.
Or you can request something from it.
Planet Reuse is free to use, and it may help you find reclaimed building materials. You can ask for what you want, or see if someone else is selling something you need.
Planet Reuse is a nice resource for those looking to create with the earth in mind.
And it’s especially useful for hard-to-find vintage materials.
Image via stock.xchng.

I now have an empty Burt’s Bees cuticle cream tin. I admire it because the closure works so well. It’s not the kind of tin to slip open.
I’ve been trying to think of ways to reuse this tin. It’s only 1.5 inches wide. It would make a great pill case, except I already have one. I could also use it as a small jewelry case for travel, but I have one of those too.
Here are a few other uses:
• Decorate the tin and line with felt, then use as a gift box for cuff links or other small …read more

To keep food fresher, Arm & Hammer recommends opening up a box of baking soda in the fridge and freezer every 30 days.
Do you really need the whole box?
A simple reuse tip:
Refill empty spice containers that were headed for the trash. Glass jars with plastic tops containing holes are ideal. Anything with vents will work. My favorites are from Penzeys Spices.
Re-using spice containers will allow you buy fewer boxes of baking soda by sharing a single box among other containers. It saves money and cardboard.
Image: Ad from Farmer’s Almanac 1902, via flickr.

I know it’s rather hot outside to be thinking of sweaters right now, but pretty soon many of you will start looking through your wardrobes for what to wear this fall and winter.
If you’ve been putting off getting rid of sweaters you can’t wear anymore, consider some of these fun crafts.
Complete directions and photos are just clicks away. From recycled mittens to a cat bed, there’s got to be something you’d like to make from your old sweaters.
Make a picnic blanket from old sweaters from Hippy Shopper.
How to recycle an old sweater (or a botched one) into usable yarn from …read more

If you’re disappointed you weren’t a Scanalog contest winner, here’s a consolation.
Scanalog is extending a coupon code to Junk Creation readers. If you decide to try out the Scanalog software that helps you organize scanned articles, tutorials and photos, then use the following coupon code for $10 off:
organizejunkie
Just type the code into the coupon code field when entering billing info. The coupon code expires on October 31, 2008.

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