Container UPCYCLED crafts

 

Ok, today I was a busy bee. I was in my master bathroom when I realized, we REALLY need a bathroom rubbish bin. I starting thinking about going to IKEA and getting one that MIGHT match by bath decor or would fit in the small space in general. My pocketbook started to groan a bit at me. Then I remembered I had a popcorn tin that we had given my partner. (ok. the intent was for him but the kids and I partake before he got home. Sorry, honey!) I decided I would decorate it.

I thought about the covering it with paper from the stationary project that I had done but decided that might be bad idea because it might get damaged in the bathroom. I ended up using and old white cloth shower curtain that I had.

 Now I ended up using Spray adhesive ONLY because it was what I had on hand. I don't think Mod glue or Elmer's would really work well on the metal to be honest. I use the Spray adhesive for my photos so this is  a product I use frequently. In lue of the spray you can just wrap the fabric around twice and then tie in front with a knot to be a bit decorative. It should stay on just as well.

Next I cut it the the same height at the container when folded, because I didn't want the holiday design to show through. I left a two itch variance at the top to give it a seam less look later. I did notice that the glue left a greenish stain in spots where i sprayed to much or it seeped through. But I'm not really concerned about that. Then I sprayed the container and rolled it along the cloth, with the bottom of the rim at the folded edge. Once I was done, I smoothed it down with my hand to make sure that the cloth layed flat on the tin. Next, I folded over the excess top and sprayed the area of the tin beneath them and clipped them down. Here I use clothing pins but any binding clips will work. Just as long as the cloth makes contact with the tin so the glue will stick.

When the glue was dried I removed the clips GENTLY. I then placed a plastic grocery bag in side the container and to keep in place, I fold it over slightly of the edges, wrapped the top with scarf (that just happens to match my bath decor) and wala! It hides the "bag" look and looks still feminine too!

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My bag tot here is actually from a book that I found recently called Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts . I have to admit there are some REALLY cool ideas in here. Some are just, probably won't happen ideas but some I think are adjustable to my style. So I won't lay claim to this creative solution to grocery bags.  I can't tell you EXACTLY what I did because of copyright laws, but I can give you the gist. It took me about 18 bags to do this project. Considering the amount of bags I had, this was still worth it. You fuse 6 or more bags (depending on how thick you want it) together with an iron. You have to place paper under and on top of the bags so they don't melt all over the iron. Next you cut them into pieces. You can make it any size you want. For my bag the bag height was only 12 inches so to make it square I made 2- 12x12 pieces for the front and back, 2- 2x12 pieces for the handles, 3-5 1/2x12 pieces for the sides and bottom. I added the top design (which wasn't in the ordinal instructions) from an iron on t-shirt to emphasize the bag was "earth friendly" now. 

I'm looking forward to other projects in this book. I also found Craftcycle: 100+ Earth-Friendly Projects and Ideas for Everyday Living. I think I might give that one a look over too. I'm still working on my crochet a day projects. With school, I just haven't been able to put as much time into it as I want to. Hopefully, I can get it done soon!  I will post when I have more.

Cheers!

Gin