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How To Upcycle Your Old VHS Tapes.

I am sure there are many of you out there. An old collection of VHS Tapes in the garage and no Idea what to do with them. This past week I have been coming up with some crafty solutions. See what you think and let me know some of your ideas as well.

What to do if you don’t want to craft with them?...

Donate
-Your Local Library: If your local Library still provides VHS to check out, see if they would take a donation. Some Library's have more than they want and are not accepting any more.

-Your Local Retirement Community: Some retirement community's have small library's of VHS tapes for their residents to check out. See if your local retirement community has one of these library's and is collecting VHS tape donations.

-Freecycle: Freecycle is an online community with chapters in each city. “The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,864 groups with 7,603,875 members around the world. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free.” -Freecycle website
I have gotten some great stuff of of this site. It is a lot more work than just running to the store but it is free, and you are helping keep good stuff out of landfills. Check it out.

Now on to creating...

So far I have just been able to come up with a few projects using the tape from the inside of the VHS tape. Getting the tape out is an easy process. Simply unscrew the plastic case and you are in. You will find inside two reels of tape and some small metal and plastic pieces.
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Ribbon
The VHS tape acts in the same way as gift wrap ribbon dose. You can curl it, tie it, you might even be able to shred it (I don’t have the tool for this so I am not sure if it can be done). So, for all those uncles out there still wrapping gifts with the funny section of the newspaper, take it one step further, and add a bow made of VHS tape. Don’t forget to curl the ends.

You could also use the curlled VHS ribbon to make cute hair ties for 80’s party's or as a child's birthday party craft project. Add glitter and rhinestones to make the bow extra special.

You can also use VHS tape as a filler for gift baskets or packing material. Maybe for a birthday that falls around Halloween or an “over the hill” party. You could even spread the curls out over the table in between serving platters, or hang them from the walls for a creepy affect.

note: when you curl the ribbon, use very light pressure. The VHS ribbon curls much easyer than tradition ribbon. The more pressure you use the tighter the curls.

The possibility's are endless.
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Jewelry
Think braided wrap leather bracelets. Any type of weave or braid you can do with leather you can to with VHS tape. Simply stretch the VHS tape before you begin your project. This makes the tape thinner stronger and gives your finished project a cleaner look. Add charms and clasps and you have a beautiful bracelet no one would know was made from VHS tape.

note: I recommend wearing gloves while braiding the tape. The friction between the tape and you skin can leave burns on your fingers.

Cat Toy
While figuring out what to do with this stuff I noticed my cats love to play with the stretched VHS tape. Cut several arm length pieces, stretch those, then wrap them all together with an additional piece of stretched VHS tape. The key is to leave little un-stretched pieces at the end these act like little shiny lures that grab you kitty's attention. This could be an upcycled alternative to a stick with feathers at the end.


Here is a list of other crafter's doing amazing things with VHS tape.

VHS Tape Wreath
VHS Tape Flowers


If you would like any of these projects to be shown in the form a tutorial, Let me know and I will post the instructions to my blog.

Now I have all these empty plastic VHS tapes. If you know what to do with them let me know.


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Multi Color Tea Light Tin Molded Crayons
Sometimes I need a break from sewing so I come up with other little projects to do.  Upcycling old broken crayons was an easy project and now I have lots of little kid friendly gifts to add to my "ran out of time to go shopping" gift drawer. I had a great time making them so I will share my method.


What you will need:
-Old bits of broken crayons with the papers peeled off
-Toothpicks or another type of small stick like utensil 
-Old Cookie Sheet you wouldn't mind only using for crafts from now on.
-Some form of many metal molds. I used the metal cups from tea light candle tins (With a butter knife I was able to carve a simple peace sign in the bottom of the cups. You can put any letter or symbol you want)
-A Conventional Oven
-Freezer 

How to do it...
Step 1: 
After removing all paper Break Crayons into smal pieces about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch
Step 2: 
This is a good step for the kids. Separate crayons by color, this allows for easy mixing later in the process. I used plastic cups to hold each of the color groups.
Step 3: 
Place metal molds on to cookie sheet. The more you do at a time the faster the process will go.Leave at least a 1/4" space between so they are not overcrowded
Step 4: 
ADULTS ONLY Set oven to Broil !!!WARNING FIRE HAZARD!!! (This is the fast way but it is very important that you stay with the crayons while they melt. I left the first batch a little to long and the caught fire.) 
Step 5: 
This step is a good one for the kids to do.Place broken bits into metal molds. Fill to top edge of molds. Mix different shades of the same color along with a few white or black pieces for a swirling effect. Mixing primary colors also has a cool effect. easy color combos: red+blue=purple, yellow+blue=green, yellow+red=orange
Step 6: 
ADULTS ONLY Now you are ready to place crayons into oven to melt. Once in the oven crayons should only take a minute to melt. Stay with the crayons while they are in the oven do not leave the room. I have to say it again !!!WARNING FIRE HAZARD!!! (This is the fast way but it is very important that you stay with the crayons while they melt. I left the first batch a little to long and they caught fire. I used a wet dish towel to smother the flames) 
Step 7: 
Remove melted crayons from oven. Some may not have melted all the way due to varying temps in oven. Some times you can simply stir these ones with a tooth pick and they melt into themselves fairly easy. You may have to put the stubborn ones back in the oven.
Step 8: 
Stir melted crayons slightly with a toothpick. These will create a swirling effect in the mixed colors.
Step 9: 
Let crayons cool to room temp. If you don't wait for them to cool the might crack in the freezer.
Step 10: 
Place hardened crayons into freezer. This will allow you to remove the crayons from their molds easier.
Step 11: 
Enjoy your new crayons or wrap in wax paper or cellophane to give as a gift. If you used the tea light candle tins they will stack very nicely on top of each other
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