As many parents and teachers know, kids can go through markers as fast as they go through clothing sizes. Here's a clever way to reuse the dried up ink in the markers, extracting the color that's still in them and using them as dyes — it also makes a great lesson for kids about repurposing items they usually deem as trash.

The original creator of this idea, Rosi Jo, is a kindergarten teacher and craft blogger from Italy. I stumbled across this crafty idea while perusing Re-nest, who writes:

"Their idea is simple: just remove the inside core and place in a jar of warm water. After a little time, the ink will rehydrate and leech back into the jar. You can then dye everything from paper noodles, possibly even ribbon or raffia for assorted craft projects."

This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2010.