Have you ever thought about all the “stuff” that seems to find its’ way into your house? You know what I mean—those things that really ought to end up in the trash until you start thinking, “I wonder what I could do with that?”

We all know that when we start planning for VBS, nothing is a leftover! Things that other people would readily toss are “gold” to us VBS junkies! Here are some.

CD Cases, Picture Frames, and Stove Top Burners

• Copy a theme border (see the enhanced CDs in the Babies–2s, 3s–Pre-K and Kindergarten Leader Packs)—Cut the border to fit inside a CD case or picture frame (8-by-10-inch frames work great!). Insert the border in the case or frame and close. Dry erase markers work great for drawing on the outside.

• Stick outlines of shapes, such as VBS 2011 Sticky Foam Shapes, to a piece of paper cut the size of the CD case or frame—Insert the paper and close. Guide kids to trace and color.

• Stove top burner covers—Great for magnet games or drawing with dry erase markers.

Containers

• Cutlery tray—Store pencils, markers, crayons, paintbrushes, paper clips, and rubber bands.

• Individual pudding and applesauce containers—Kids like their own container of paint, cotton balls, glue, or little things like gems or foam shapes.

• Gatorade® or milk jug lids—Lids make great individual glue containers for kids. Let the used glue dry overnight, then pop it out and reuse the lid.

• Crystal Lite® containers—(1) Add some water and store messy paintbrushes (until you can clean them); (2) Make a bank for kids’ missions offering. Cut a hole in the lid and decorate the sides with VBS 2011 Writing Paper ; (3) Cut the container into 1-inch napkin rings. Decorate with VBS 2011 Logo Stickers.

• Empty spice containers—Great for dry tempera paint, confetti, or glitter.

• Water spray bottles—(1) Guide a child to sprinkle dry tempera on paper and then spray with the water bottle. Each design will be different! (2) Use spray bottles for cleaning, disinfecting, or with kids’ activities, such as sidewalk chalk outside.

Painting

• Toilet tissue roll wrapped in bubble wrap—Dip in paint and either roll or stamp; makes a great road for city scenes!

• Daubers made of cloth and rubber bands—Wrap a rubber band around some leftover cloth; easy painting for little hands!

• Laminating film—Cut leftover film into squares and add a blob of paint for individual painting palettes. Toss in the trash when done!

Stamping

• Stamps made out of VBS 2011 Sticky Foam Shapes and bottles/bottle tops—Glue foam shapes to the tops of empty water, soda, or juice bottles. Older children can use just the bottle tops for stamping. Screw on the bottle for younger kids to hold. (NOTE:  The bottoms of most water bottles can be used to stamp flower petals.)

• Empty thread spools—Stamp using the bottom of the spool or paint by rolling the spool on paper.

• Stamping cards made from cardboard and buttons—Glue different sizes of buttons in patterns onto small cardboard squares. Then glue bottle tops to the other side of the cards for handles.

Happy VBS collecting!