WITH EFFORTS BEING MADE ALL AROUND THE WORLD TO SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT, I LOOKED FOR A WAY THAT ORNAMENTSHOP.COM COULD CONTRIBUTE.

Great Idea:  Upcycle cans into Christmas Ornaments!

I came across two 12 year olds, Juliette Connell and Bella Applegate, best friends since their first play date when they were very young.  These inventive girls have come up with a creative way to upcycle cans and do their part to give back to the environment by making colorful aluminum can snowflake Christmas ornaments.  They are hand-made, brightly colored, shiny and very lightweight, making them Christmas-tree-friendly.  We offer 4 selections that are “really Christmassy” according to the girls: the unmistakable red and white of the Coca-Cola can, a green and red combination of Coca-Cola and 7 Up, the silver and red of Diet Coke and the green of Sprite.

And because these young ladies are serious about going green and giving back to the environment, they donate 5% of their proceeds to Nature.org, an organization they selected because it is active in 50 states and 30 countries, doing projects around the world such as planting trees and bringing water to areas that don’t have a clean supply.

For almost a year these girls have been working on recycling approximately 2,000 cans from which they made their Christmas ornaments and accessories!  That is no small feat!  Not soda drinkers themselves, Juliette and Bella have relied on family, friends and their community to contribute cans for the project.  They work after school and a little on weekends to make their Christmas ornaments.  These straight A students are in an accelerated scholastic program for gifted students in math, social sciences and language arts.  It’s hard to believe they find time for extra-curricular activities as well, Bella’s favorite being dance and Juliette’s being soccer!

“Of course we take any can” but they use their favorite first, which is Fresca.  The most popular brands requested for their creations are Arizona Iced Tea, Starbucks and Rock Star because of their colorful, bright cans.  Only one aluminum can is used per snowflake, unless they are going for a certain color combination like the Coca-Cola and 7 Up snowflake, and then they need two.  When asked how they decide what to use, the girls see what would appropriately go together by combining colors based on their artistic backgrounds.  They understand the danger of working with sharp cans but are “really careful”.  They’re “not gonna say it isn’t scary” but they’ve never cut themselves or had any mishaps, and they have made a lot of Christmas ornaments!

When asked about their future, Juliette and Bella know they will be friends forever and will continue to feel passionate about their hobby.  Giggling, they remarked that if their lives go separate ways, they know that they will “reunite in our old ladies home” together and make snowflakes.

As the girls say, “Please help us save the world…one can at a time!”

Tell me what you like about this creative approach to environmentally friendly Christmas tree decorating. Leave a comment below. If you would like to show your support for these two bright young entrepreneurs then consider sharing this post on Facebook or Twitter!