re·pur·pose: verb : to change (something) so that it can be used for a different purpose.
In our home, my husband and I are constantly nursing sore feet from battle wounds with our children’s toys. Although Legos usually are the main culprit we have received many bruises from stepping on wee little (hard plastic) animal figurines. There are so many of these little creatures laying around and always with their feet or tails in the air, don’t get me started on my sons dinosaurs with spikes running down its back, can you say OUCH! As my children are getting older some of these toys start to get ignored and eventually get thrown in the box of doom (i.e. the trash). One day as I was starting to throw away a pile of these old figurines, I took a closer look and wondered if I could repurpose the little guys to give them a new life. They were really cute and although lacking in color and shine I believed I could revive them.
Almost everything is better with a hint of sparkle, isn’t it? Although my children’s critters were lacking in luster, many coats of mod podge and glitter later, they were transformed into beautiful shiny accent pieces. Now I can’t seem to get enough. I find myself running through the house looking in toy boxes or searching under beds trying to find my next great save. What else can I bring back to life? Now that I have gone through all my children’s old toys, I look to local thrift stores to purchase forgotten about beauties that are no longer wanted. Turning these used and tattered toys into new sparkling trinkets has not only saved the soles of my feet but also kept them out of the landfill which is always a good thing. They can be used to decorate a nursery or set out as centerpieces at showers and parties. Of course in our home we like them setting on our fireplace mantel reminding us how sometimes trash really can become treasure.
The Papery Nook 