Lego bricks are one treasure nobody wants to just give away (though parents who constantly step on them may feel differently). While you can donate them to charity, sometimes the best way to use Legos is with some interesting and useful DIY projects. Here are 15 cool ideas that you have to try.

15 A candy dispenser

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Via: pinterest.com

The best way to get those little hands to stop digging into that M&M stack is to make a Lego candy dispenser. It's cute, effective, and will keep them busy. Most of the pieces used are ones that come with almost all standard Lego boxes so finding the pieces shouldn’t be a problem. The mechanism looks complicated, but it is simple—simply pull out the grey brick on the side and the candy drops down. The flip door in front is opened to get to the goodies. It’s a fun way to use Legos, keeps little hands busy in a creative and constructive manner, and will probably also limit the candy intake. A perfect holiday or long weekend DIY to keep those pesky hands doing something fun for a change.

14 Pesky wire catcher with an attitude

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Need a wire holder with an attitude? Try Lego figures and figurines with some badass expressions. They’re cute and will give your desk a kitschy makeover like none other. Many kids enter the superhero phase with gusto and leave it with equal speed. This might have left the drawers full with innumerable Lego figurines of all kinds, from Batman and Superman to perhaps even the Simpsons. And of course, then there was The Lego Movie, which spawned many figurines. You can prop them on small bricks or baseplates and perhaps glue them to make them a permanent and rather helpful desk fixture. On the table, on the side, or even hanging upside down (think bats). They will hold the wires for you any place, any time.

13 High heel couture for the bohemian in you

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Have a pair of beloved, but well-worn pumps that deserve the boot? You can give them a Lego makeover. Use super glue to stick colorful Legos all over the heels, but make sure the bricks don’t poke when you walk. The best way to do this is to perhaps slip into the heels, sit in a low and comfy chair, and then make the Lego couture while still wearing them. Comfortable pumps mean that the vamp and the toe box is usually of a pliable material that conforms to the shape of your foot to give you comfort. So stick the Legos in a way to ensure that they don’t gouge into your foot while you’re wearing the pumps.

12 Décor spruced up

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A simple table can get quite the colorful makeover. First, make sure you have enough Legos to cover the surface area of your choice and then stack them together to ensure no unsightly gaps or overlaps before you stick them. The best way to do this is to divide the surface area into quadrants or more and then stick the Legos together, quadrant by quadrant. Once you have made your quadrant “trays," glue the table with super strength resin glue, and stick the Legos onto the table, section by section. Remember to also glue the sections among themselves to ensure nothing comes off when the table is in use. A perfect piece to brighten up a dull corner or nook.

11 A Lego lamp to brighten up corners

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While this can brighten up any corner of the house, it’s especially effective for the kid’s room—no matter their age. Any old lamp can be spruced up this way and while you may choose to Lego-lize the lamp base, it’s the shade where the magic lies. A simple way to do this is to take the frame of an existing lamp shade or cover and build the Lego shade around it. The best way to do this is to first build it completely, and then stick it down with glue for permanency. You can find the DIY steps of the lamp shade shown in the picture here, but there can be many more designs possible with Legos, including hanging ceiling lamps and corner lamp towers.

10 A key rack for the absent-minded

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Always losing keys? Here’s a rather easy way to give them Lego key chains and have a custom-fitted holder to keep them in place. The first step is to hang or drill a rectangle-shaped Lego baseplate into the wall where you want your new key holder at. Go all out with smaller, thinner bricks and etch out whatever you like, like the word 'keys,' for example. Now, find Lego bricks with holes on the side. Insert a key ring into the bottom hole with one or two keys inside. Any heavier and the bricks would peel off thanks to gravity. Now, simply click in the Lego key holders onto the base plate and there you have it: a remarkably easy and convenient key holder that keeps your keys safe and sound.

9 A desktop organizer made to fit

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Easy as pie and colorful to the boot, this desktop organizer can be custom-built to your needs and dimensions. And this is one great Father’s or Mother’s Day gift you can get your child to make for your spouse! Begin with a large baseplate and then add in the walls, and even compartments to keep those pesky pens and pencils separate. This Lego organizer can also be used as a toothbrush holder in the bathroom or even in the kitchen as a ladle and kitchen implement organizer. It’s easy and simple to make and since it can be customized, it’s very handy, too. The plastic ensures easy wash and no sweat maintenance. Plus, it’s break resistant. It’s also a great addition to your children’s desk.

8 A plastic pot like none other

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Not finding that perfect planter to really liven up that bathroom or kitchen corner? Get the Legos to work for you. This plastic is hardy, so you get a planter that’s not going anywhere anytime soon! To make this, start with a base plate that matches the size you are looking at. Now, start gluing and sticking the Lego bricks in a random color order to make your planter look as colorful as possible. The planters can be as big or as tiny as you want them to be. They would look great in any nook and cranny. Once the glue has dried and the Lego bricks are stuck together, fill up the planter with some gravel, sand, and finally dirt and put in a small indoor plant.

7 Framed!

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All those theme-based Legos can come in handy to give a boring frame an awesome makeover. Layers of superglue, some coffee for inspiration, and an imagination gone wild will get a unique frame that your kids will surely treasure. While this will work with any Lego bricks you have leftover or discarded, themed Legos would be ideal.

You can choose a frame that's vertical or horizontal, but not one that’s both as slanted Lego figurines may not make artistic sense. You can also choose to go plain vanilla with simple Lego bricks for older children or even for adults as a quaint frame matched with a great picture always gets attention.

6 Lego letters for the door

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Looking for a cool way to make initials art? Legos can be the perfect letter bricks as they're colorful, hardy, sticky, and easy to frame. To do this, get a blank mounted canvas; plain paper may not hold the load and tear off. Trace the initial that you want in as plain or as artistic a hand you'd like and then paint in the rest of the background in a solid color. Go for a pastel shade if the background clashes with the colorful Legos. Now, start sticking Lego bricks the way you like. It could be in an orderly fashion, in a random renaissance way, or even in a zany figurine. Let the glue dry and then get it framed.

5 Lego head art - not from Legos

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While this is not exactly made from Legos, it's not any less cute or useful. Baby food jars or small mason jars given an inner coat of Lego yellow and then an outer coating of the face. Use them as art, or use them as storage (go bigger with plastic mason jars) and do them just for fun… a bigger plastic jar painted to look like a Lego head can also be used as ideal storage for Lego bricks themselves. A series of smaller jars can hold plastic toys and knick-knacks that kid always seems to lose. Other ideas would be to use them to sort stationery or to create some sort of a window or privacy screen. Lots of them can be used to create a partition screen for a room being shared by siblings.

4 Legos that run on breath power

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Step aside, remotes. Here comes a Lego powered by something as simple as a balloon. What you need to do is make a sturdy car from Lego bricks. Make sure the car is wide and low as too narrow or too tall car topples easily and won’t be as much fun. After you finish, do a test run. Simply, push the car by hand and see how well it balances. Now, repeat steps 1-3 for each of the kids doing this i.e. one car per kid. Lastly, fix a Lego brick to the rear of the car that is narrow and can pinch a balloon. To start the race, slide in a balloon through the frame and let the kids blow up their balloons and then its 1, 2, 3 and go…

3 Tic-Tac-Toe board

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This one is too easy to do and can help keep the kids on road trips entertained for a while. What you need is a 16X16 base plate. For partitions, you would ideally need eight 1X4 and four 1X5 white bricks. However, you can make do with what you have. For the naught and crosses, use stacks of different colored 4X4 bricks—six of each will do. Now all you have to do is put the portioned baseplate and the different colored stacks of bricks into a zippered pouch and remember to carry it with you the next time you go on a long road trip with the kids in the backseat. There you go—easy and convenient fun.

2 Jigsaw puzzles with Legos

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This one makes an ideal and thoughtful gift for the younger kids in the family when your kids have outgrown their Legos. While you can use the smaller bricks for these, even Lego Duplo bricks will work beautifully. Start by choosing a picture that you want to turn into a jigsaw puzzle by printing or cutting it out. Put it face down on the floor and start fitting in Lego’s to fill in the surface area perfectly. Now, stick the picture to the stack you have created, but do not stick the bricks to one another. Instead, once the glue has dried, cut out the picture along the edges of the Legos. Now, dismantle the stack and pack it in a box to gift or keep the little one busy.

1 A stacked box of tissues

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This one is real easy and very durable indeed, considering most tissue box covers are too flimsy to last a few good and vigorous pulls. First, keep a tissue box on a stable surface. Open it and pull out a tissue for good measure. Now, start by building a Lego frame around it—no base plate needed here. It may look like a box, but it is basically a box cover. Take the four walls a little higher than the tissue box. Now, use 1X10 Lego bricks to build an interconnect frame work for strength. Finally, use 4X4 Lego bricks or even a larger base plate to cover the top, leaving a slit for the tissue pull. Replacing the tissue box is easy – simply lift up the Lego box and slip a new one underneath.