Fun 'experiment' - kid's toys/plastic/junk

ArcticFox

My friend is taking some funky collage course over the summer.  She asked if I could save stuff like broken pieces of toys, doll parts, anything like that that I would probably throw out.  So I started saving stuff.

It is crazy how much stuff I accumulated so quickly.  In the past month, I filled up a huge 2.5 gallon ziploc bag of stuff that would have gotten thrown out.

Stuff included: broken toy parts, broken/useless accessories, happy meal toys, crafts, puffy stickers, caps, toys that had lost parts, etc.  Broken slinky, flag that broke off the dollhouse, doll accessories that don't have a pair any more, empty mini paint tubes.. the list goes on.

I can't begin to really explain all the junk, but it piled up fast.  I don't buy stuff like happy meal toys, but we end up with them.  Or stuff that my daughter got for her birthday that broke or was useless (especially like plastics from the dollar store).  I also saved a lot of caps from things, and it is crazy how much accumulated.  We use a lot of the squeezable fruit pouches and the waste is amazing (I try to stick with only using them on the go/road trips/etc).

It is just an interesting 'experiment', even to try if you aren't saving up for some 'funky' collage   I can't wait to see what she comes up with either!

CDMay2006

That is really interesting -- thanks for sharing.

Another testament to the EF-ness of quality over cheap? 

ArcticFox

There is so much cheap plastic stuff!  And it's not like wood toys that inspire the kids to use their imagination.. a lot of the plastic ones just break or fall apart or pieces get lost and they are basically disposable.

Lucyboo25

Sounds interesting to me, too! At the end of each week, I look at my garbage bag (it's all plastic wrap, caps, the occasional styrofoam restaurant box, twist-ties from bread bags, etc. Nothing perishable, and not a lot of it.) and sometimes I wonder if I should start a collage of some sort. I wish there was something else interesting / useful to do with it.

Lucyboo25

That reminds me - I had a really good idea for a giant wall art hanging made out of K-Cup containers from my sisters house. But she did not want it on her wall. And no one else seemed at all intrigued by the idea, either... lol. I'm so dumb sometimes.

SuperGreen

Your friend reminds me a lot of my sister.  She was an Arts and Crafts major (no joke, that's the name of the major) and a prestigious art school near us.  She's constantly making awesome collages out of scrap paper, or things she finds on the side of the road.  Kudos to your friend for her good collage idea, and to you for acccumulating everything for her.

ksdk

I've accumulated so much of that stuff. I hate to throw it away, so I started to throw it in a drawer. It grew into a bag, and now it is a cardboard box in my office. It's like a crypt for dead toys. I occasionally dip into it to make repairs, or to show my kids that I still have their favorite broken fireman. I'd ship it off to anyone who would use it, after I pull the fireman out : )