Lily & Mel Sustainable Craft Kits – A Creative Connection To Nature

Lily and Mel DIY Recycled Paper Craft Kit

We have been looking out for sustainable craft kits for older children and are excited to introduce Lily & Mel! These kits are completely plastic-free and designed for children from the ages of 4-5 onwards. With an aim to inspire creativity and a love for the environment, Lily & Mel are the perfect fit for us here at Babipur. Lets take a look at where it all began …

Background

Lily and Mel was started by a young family in Spain. The COVID and climate crisis was the driving force for creating a business with sustainability at its heart. Angelika and her family moved from the city to the countryside to live a more sustainable lifestyle. She wanted to bring a closer connection to nature for their two children. After searching for more sustainable toys and craft materials for their children and finding few available, they decided to create their own.

The climate crisis has highlighted the importance of raising and nurturing creativity and a love of nature in the next generation. By raising children with a love and respect for our planet there is hope for the future. With the freedom to explore and create with their own hands, Lily & Mel hope to reconnect children with nature and awaken their creativity. With sustainability at their heart, we were keen to find out more about what sets these kits apart from others on the market.

Lily & Mel 3D Bee Puzzle and Candle Making Kit. Image credit Hannah Allen

Sustainability

Developing a sustainable and plastic-free craft kit is no easy process! Lily & Mel specialise in innovative and creative DIY kits for children with the busy parent in mind. They have created craft kits with everything needed included and 100% natural. All the kits contain materials which are recycled, recyclable and traceable, and produced in Spain.

Wood – including bamboo, a super-sustainable material that is quick growing and can be harvested over and over again. It also absorbs 30% more CO2 than trees! Also used is Pino de Soria, a fully traceable Spanish pine from sustainable managed forests, and MDF from recycled wood fibres.   

Paper and cardboard – boxes and paper are certified by FSC and made in Spain.

Laser cutting and engraving – laser cutting optimises the use of wood and minimises waste, while laser engraving avoids adding any ink or paint to the product. This is done by a small family firm in Valencia.

Lily & Mel DIY Recycled Paper kit – @Tillystoys. Image credit Amy Grant

Jute – a 100% ecological, biodegradable and recyclable plant fibre. One hectare of Jute plants absorbs 15 tonnes of CO2 and releases 11 tonnes of oxygen into the atmosphere! Manufactured in Alicante.

Ceramics –  the clay dishes used for the mini beach garden kit are handcrafted by a family pottery in Bailen, Jaén.

Each material has been well thought out with care and consideration, and wherever possible sourced locally to the business. These craft kits are perfect for eco-conscious families to enjoy together and make wonderful gifts.

Creative craft kits

Lily & Mel beeswax candle making kit – roll your own beeswax candles. Image credit Hannah Allen

These four sustainable craft kits are educational and will stimulate creative exploration. Each one has detailed instructions, tips and interesting facts making them useful learning resources for home educators. With four kits to choose from there is something to appeal to everyone. They make a great rainy day activity for the whole family to enjoy.

Lily & Mel Honeycomb Candle and 3D Bee Puzzle

I had the opportunity to try this out at home with my six year old and he thoroughly enjoyed it! We set aside a rainy afternoon to make the 3D Bee puzzle and beeswax candles. This would be a fantastic kit to learn more about honey bees, bee biodiversity and pollinators, especially with World Bee Day coming up on the 20th May. This kit includes a detailed instruction manual for making the bee puzzle and candles. There is also a guide to bee anatomy, the importance of bees in pollination and the wonderful things they produce.

Lily & Mel Honeycomb Candle and 3D Bee Puzzle. Image credit Hannah Allen

The large 3D puzzle comes with numbered parts to help fit it together. Some of the parts are quite small and delicate so a little care is needed when popping them out. My 6 year old loved naming each part and working out from the diagram where it needed to go. There’s a small jar of glue included in the set to glue the puzzle together if you want to create a permanent model.

The candles were a really lovely sensory project. There are three pieces of beeswax included in the set (which smell beautiful!) and a wick. You can make three large candles, or cut the wax into smaller sections to make small candles. The wax is simply heated with a hair drier to make it pliable. Then roll the wick up in the wax sheet. These make lovely little gifts for friends or family or as a centrepiece to your celebration ring or nature table. I was really impressed with how long their burning time was and the gentle beeswax scent.

Lily & Mel Honeycomb Candle and 3D Bee Puzzle. Image Credit Hannah Allen

Lily & Mel Make Recycled Paper Kit

This is a great creative DIY kit to learn more about recycling! By turning old scraps of paper and transforming them into beautiful recycled paper for a multitude of craft projects. This craft kit contains interesting materials like colourful petals to add to your paper pulp for a fantastic sensory experience. Includes a fully illustrated instruction manual, interesting facts about paper, and a fun activity guide.

Lily & Mel Create Your Mini Beach Garden Kit

If you are dreaming of beach days, but stuck at home on a rainy Sunday, this is a great craft kit to inspire children to create their own beach garden scene. Learn all about the fascinating process of photosynthesis, and what plants need to grow. With a picket fence and mini beach hut and different sands, shells to add to your very own beach garden. All contained on in a handmade terracotta dish. Educational and creative – we love it!

Lily & Mel Create Your Mini Beach Garden Kit

Lily & Mel Create Your Own Pressed Flower Art Kit

Children will love interacting with nature through play with this DIY pressed flower kit. Create sustainable art from the beautiful flowers you find in the garden. This kit includes a press for dying and pressing your flowers and a bamboo embroidery ring for displaying your floral creations. This is a lovely way of tracking the seasons through flowers. Try creating different displays for your nature table, cards for friends and family, or little keepsakes and mementos of holidays.

Lily & Mel Craft Kits – Create Your Own Pressed Flower Art Kit

We hope you love these kits as much as we do – let us know your favourites in the comments.

You can shop the full Lily & Mel craft kit range >HERE<

Lily & Mel Create Your Mini Beach Garden Kit

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