We all have it - a drawer, a box, a pile of junk or trinkets. Ours is the detritus from birthday parties, holidays, and packing materials. It's all these little bits and bobbles that were too cute to throw away but don't really serve any purpose.
Jaimie of Two Chicks and a Hen turned her junk box into a source of inspiration for her kids. Whenever she comes across something that "can't be recycled and/or looks interesting" she throws into the junk box. And then when her kids want to work on an art project, they can dive into the junk box for inspiration and materials. It's a great way to inspire creativity in kids not to mention a good way to give all that junk a second life.
Above you can see the gardens they created from the junk box. For more details about how Jaimie manages her junk box, visit Two Chicks and a Hen.
(Images: Jaimie/Two Chicks and a Hen)
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Stanley Console by ...
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
I did something along these lines with my five year old daughter--we cleaned out our junk drawer, looked through her dad's garage workshop, and found small toy pieces from long ago forgotten games and created our own "garden art" on individual bricks. We made faces with the found objects, added pieces of broken china and tiles, affixed them to each brick with masonry glue, and now display them in our garden. Quite the conversation piece!
Jaimie (of Two Chicks and a Hen) here:
Thanks for featuring our junk box! It's been the source of lots of fun around here.
MamatoMia--I love everything about your idea--the faces, the use as garden art, and the masonry glue. Awesome.
I love this idea. A friend made us I-spy pillows using all of these trinkets too.
When I was growing up, my mom had what we called "The Gizmo Box," which was really one of those giant tins that you get stale popcorn in during the holidays (cheese, regular, caramel...remember?).
So whenever we would get a happy meal prize, a toy at the dentist office, a goodie bag at a birthday party, etc., those items (after our initial "play time" with them) would go into the Gizmo Box.
You could only open the Gizmo Box when it was raining/snowing outside and were stuck inside the house with nothing to do. Since our playroom was never cluttered with all the little junk toys, my sister and I had a field day playing with all the little trinkets (ahh...a simpler time). The Gizmo Box was a novelty gimmick and it worked like a charm.
Whenever the kids are done, you just scoop everything back into the Gizmo Box and put it on top of the fridge until the next monsoon.
kpaupau--I love the gizmo box idea--I might steal that!
bookmarked this page for all the good ideas, thanks folks!
I am stealing the gizmo box idea for my kids. Great idea!
Absolutely brilliant! I was just saying to a friend, what do I do with all the "junk"? And I felt bad throwing it away. I'm stealing these ideas, so thanks a ton!