Hello again! I hope every one has had a good May so far, and that you’ve been able to be calm, creative and kind in the wake of all that is going on in the world right now.

As for the recycled craft of May, the star of this month’s project is bamboo!

I count this as recycling, in the case that we have so much of it popping up around our yard, it gets cut down anyway. And while of course it’s great to let it decompose back into the earth, it is also a very useful and versatile wood.

This started when Kai began attempting to carve bamboo flutes last month, and from there other ideas and inspirations came. Here are a few of the flutes, though only one so far is a working one, but that one is more so a whistle.

Using some of the pieces Kai had left over, I reused them to make a wind chime. It’s a little lop-sided (it is my first attempt at a wind chime) but it still makes a lovely sound.

I also made a drum stick, which I created by taking a scrap of quilt batting and canvas fabric, and tying it to the end of a bamboo stick with a length of yarn.

So these were the projects so far, and you can count on there being more in the future. We want to try some other more complex things using the bamboo, and we’ll be sure to show them to you when we’re done! If working with bamboo interests you, you can look it up on YouTube. There are lots of videos on creating all kinds of things out of this fast growing plant.

Or come up with your own ideas. A lot of us have trees and bushes that get pruned every so often, and rather than throwing away the yard debris, why not use the beautiful wood for a craft?

I hope you guys liked this recycled craft post, and maybe got some ideas and inspiration for something you could create.

So until next time, be well and continue to create.

-Arianna