Art Projects You Can Make With Household Items

Toilet Paper Tube Instruments

• Empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes are great materials to use for art projects. One of the many possibilities is to turn them into musical instruments. Cover one end of a tube with construction paper, fill it with beans or rice and then cover the other end to make a shaker. Cut a 6-inch circle out of wax paper and use it to cover one end of the tube to make your own kazoo. Secure the wax paper in place with a rubber band and make humming and tooting sounds into the open end of the tube. Decorate your tubes with paint, markers and stickers.

Recycled Paper

• If you have a lot of old wall paper or wrapping paper lying around your house, cluttering up your drawers and cupboards, use these materials to create a mural on the wall of your child's bedroom or playroom. The Country Living website recommends using paper with a brown or beige pattern to create the trunk and branches of a tree and cutting leaf shapes from patterned paper. Paste the cutouts to the wall to create your mural, arranging the leaf shapes on the branches. Add extra elements to your mural such as wind chimes, birds and other tree-dwelling creatures like squirrels.

Metal Tea Tins

• Metal tea and cookie tins are a common household item that many people give away because they simply have too many and don't know what to do with them. Turn your tea tins and small metal cookie tins into homemade candles by filling them with candle wax. Purchase a candle-making kit from your local craft store or melt down the wax from several old candles you have around the house. Sink a fresh wick in the center of the tin and pour the melted wax around it. Allow the wax to cool and harden, then display your tea tin candles on the mantle or bookshelf.

Glass Jar Storage Shelves

• You can never have enough storage space in your home and by utilizing an old shelf and a number of glass jars you can create a storage space for all of those tiny or oddly-shaped knick-knacks filling your junk drawer. Refinish an old hanging shelf by sanding it down and applying a fresh coat of paint or stain. Wash out several glass jars and affix the flat sides of the lids to the underside of the shelves with quick-dry cement or epoxy. Once the glue sets you can fill the jars and screw them into the matching lids for convenient and creative storage.