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trash_minis_plastic

Page history last edited by Linda McD 7 years, 2 months ago

Trash to treasure miniatures from plastic- how to change trash to minis for dollhouses, roomboxes and dioramas - T2T

 

Pop bottles, jars. lids

What can you make with them?

Also see trash minis, and trash minis organic

 

Potential?

As is diorama find

 


bottle cap

  • cake - by Millimari
  • cakes - by Leilani
  • footstool - by Deborah
  • wedding cake by Maureen Heuchert, coated with gesso (which can be tinted for coloured frosting effect. She used bunka and lace for trim. Numbered birthday cake candles are number stickers with a bit of thread sticking up.
  • many caps can be used as wastepaper baskets. Clear ones can be given an almost porcelain look if they're painted on the inside – or if a design is pasted or painted on the inside.
  • Some shampoo bottles have a flip top lid.  If the top of the bottom portion is cut out and glued to the bottom of the cap, you can make a nice flip top garbage can or laundry basket. You can even make it look more realistic if you cut a small hole at the front bottom and insert a tiny foot pedal. Something like this.
  • toothpaste caps are good as plant pots and as lamp shades
  • pie tins
  • snack or fruit bowls
  • Easter/holiday baskets
  • foot stools
  • kids tables/chairs
  • cooking pan - drill hole in the side for a handle, glue a toothpick or staple in place, paint.

 

bottle cap inserts

  • paint a gold line around the outside to look like a fancy glass plate and put some Fimo cake in the middle.
  • to hold the fabric lampshade in little nursery bedside lamps, cut a hole in the middle where the lamp pole made from dowel goes through, then glue all around the outside edge and place the mini lampshade around.
  • make a stack of dirty dishes for in the sink, paint the liners to look like plates, use dimensional fabric paint to add the left over food bits and fill your sink.
  • a clear one might work for the glass in the door of a clothes dryer.

 

bottle cap rings

  • cut in half, makes a basket handle, ear warmers (add pads on either end)
  • form for a wreath

 

breath strip holders

  • in and out boxes for a desk
  • scanners
 

 buttons

  • Buttons, buttons, buttons -- look for plain white flat ones for plates, decorate with tiny cut out flowers (from seed catalogues) then coat with clear nail polish. Bigger ones with a nice edging can be used for picture frames, or cut out a clock face from a catalogue and make a kitchen clock, stick it on the wall with 2 sided tape.

 

ceiling light covers

  • Covers for ceiling tube lights come in many styles, including some that have a pebbled surface. The pebbles are random, and 1/8" to 1/4" in size and the plastic is somewhat flexible. When given a base coat of grey acrylic, then dry brushed with whatever colours you want, it makes a fantastic cobblestone surface in 1/12 or a stone wall in smaller scales.

 

CD's

  • pallet for paint
  • make a circle
  • mosaics

 

child's bracelet

  • hula hoop
  • kiddie wading pool

 

clothes tag barb

  • in QS use foor wine bottles.
  • use plastic thread for a straw, or a handle for candy apples/lollypop.
  • use the rectangle flat end to make nameplates for your flower or vegetable bed

 

computer keyboards

  • there is a little rubber plunger that acts as a spring to allow the user to press the key and then have the key return to its original position. The key word here (okay, pun intended) is "plunger." With just a little work one keyboard can produce enough plumber's helpers to keep Windsor Castle free of clogs forever.
  • keys turned upside down make great planters.

 

 

containers and packaging

  • shower and toilet by Stello - playscale
  • cosmetic display - by Askartaja
  • jewelry box - from Мастер Класс
  • use a pop bottle for the structure, make a scene inside 
  • cut clear plastic to size, use as window glass
  • the plastic pieces that hold such things as gum, lozenges, pills are sometimes the right shape and size to make loaf pans.
  • the stem inside some glue sticks is great for a spiral candle. Cut into desired lengths and paint or leave white.  

  • the round butter/margarine containers from restaurants make good dishpans and round sinks. set into a counter. They can also be used as storage bins in a child's bedroom or in a miniature craft room.
  • clear plastic razor cartridge: makes shelves. When painted white on the outside only and covered with a mirror: makes a bathroom cabinet

  • look at your empties. One with a ridged band around the center looks just like window frame molding in about the right scale for 1/12. Experiment: cut out and glue to a plain strip of basswood. Paint and try as molding for windows, fireplace trim, etc. Another one has 1 /4" stripes of 1/4" dimples. Several possibilities there for using as decorative trim depending on whether the depressed side or the opposite raised side is desirable. Use in strips or cut apart for the individual dimples. Again, depending on the design of your bottle, strips can be cut, painted, and used as border edging in your mini garden.
  • glass - just about everything you buy these days, if it doesn't come in a box, comes in a rigid plastic "bubble".  Don't throw any of these away without first looking at its potential for "glass".  Use in picture frames, for windows in your house, on table & vanity tops, in ponds, or to cover anything to make it shiny!!  Study them all!!  

  • cut out designs from the plastic to make a mobile. You can use the plastic from the clear ones to use as a TV or computer screen. 
  • Use a Recycled Plastic Pencil Cap to Make a Dollhouse Miniature Pitcher- from About.com
  • lids from plastic margarine or cottage cheese make great paint palettes and glue dishes. As there is a constant supply do not wash them after use. One use and in the bin, athough fray stop /check and tacky glue dry clear and can be pulled up in a single piece so sometimes the lid can be reused. They are small and easy to take to mini club meetings etc and don't need to be cleaned up but thrown out at the end of the session. Also good for sorting small beads.

  • patterned bottom of juice bottle makes a nice ceiling medallion

  • use the bottom of a 2 litre pop bottle as a paint palette.
  • make a soda bottle dome
  • cut the top from a pop bottle and use as a funnel.
  • pill bottles -  Use as a form for baskets and hat making projects. Storage: if the bottle is coloured, use a dab of glue on the top and add the bead or whatnot to indicate what is stored inside. Wrap and store silk ribbon.around the outside to avoid the crease from using card stock. (And it won't pick up paper acid.) Lids of containers are useful for mixing just a dab of paint. Use for transporting water, the lid is tight, so no spilling. Container for shipping small items. Use a computer and sticker paper to make really dressy, large labels and an old pill bottle becomes a container for exchange gifts and tote bag favors. If the piece is small, use blue Tac to secure it to the lid of the container so it doesn't rattle around. Use Krylon spray for plastic to turn the bottles into designer storage. Makes a great base coat for anything. There are wonderful gloss paints to jazz it up further. Many of the bottles are the right size to use as forms to mold paper or balsa into a curve to fit as chair backs. Just put a rubber band around it. Sometimes a bottle opening will be the perfect size for a template. Keep a bottle with a top on it on each work surface to store small bits which may be useful later. Cafe table base.

  • Save individual plastic holders for butter or jam from the restaurant and use as a kitchen sink, don't forget to glue on a small metal snap fastener for the drain. For the taps use silver colour cone shaped backings from pierced earrings, and bend a bit of silver wire for the center faucet. 

  • Need some shelving for your scene? Use those little plastic drawers from the storage cabinets that your husband keeps on his tool bench. Stand them up, add some paper for the "back" , the tiny dividers make perfect shelves. Need a long display counter? Place the drawer lengthwise and put in a shelf halfway down (cut a piece of sturdy mat board to fit and support each end, with a small square of mat board. )

  • Save the rigid foam packing that comes packed around small appliances (interesting shapes here). It is easily cut with a bread knife and makes good beds, upholstered chairs, dressing tables etc. It is easy to upholster because you can stretch the fabric smooth and fasten with straight pins out of sight. For beds you can decorate with a fluffy layer of lace around the bottom and build it from there and you have the advantage of cutting the piece to fit the space exactly. For headboards use a piece of heavy cardboard covered with pretty fabric and attached to the wall with double sided carpet tape.

 

 

cutlery, disposable

  • Pickle forks make perfect spindles for staircases

  • Use  knives for spreading glue, serrated edge creates faux patterns for furniture paint finishes
  • Fork creates even lines in a balsa plank, simulating carving.

 

dental floss box

  • mail box - by Pajupupu
  • Next time you go to your hygienist appointment: keep the little bowl she uses to polish your teeth and the little rubber cup that she has in her hand piece to apply the polishing paste. Makes good miniatures like hats and planters.

 

deodorant stick container

 

dessicant container

 

disposable razor covers

  • magazine shelves
  • flower/window boxes.
  • covers for mini fluorescent light fixtures.

 

dosette

  • kitchen shelf - by Pajupupu
  • stacked vertically, lockers
  • horizontal, vegetable market bins 

 

egg carton, plastic foam

  • yellowish and tan foam egg cartons make cookies. Compress the foam a little and then punch out shapes and decorate. The pink foam make nice heart cookies for Valentine's Day.
  • white cartons make S'more marshmallows, or egg whites... 
  • stack about three cut-off cups one inside the other for a handy pin cushion that cleans the glue and wet paint off picks and needle tools.
  • use the sides for flat chair and seat back cushions to upholster in 1:12 scale. (Press the edges down.)
  • useful in 1:48 quarter scale for furniture elements.
  • use punches to punch out cookies, pancakes, thin cake layers, and other foods; frosting or otherwise painting them as needed.
  • engrave/etch cobblestone or brick shapes into the foam and paint.

 

eye drop bottle

 

film cannisters

  • for storing rolled paper rolls in an art shop or a Christmas scene
  • clothes hamper - use a very textured wallpaper, to look like wicker to cover, a little round piece on the lid and a large bead for a handle, glue the lids on, partly opened and glue a small piece of old bandage hanging out ....looks like a towel.
  • for shipping. if you have a mini item that can't be squished, then put a little fun-tak on the bottom of the item, stick it to the underside of the lid, and snap the canister on over the item.  It doesn't move.  Make a tiny hole in the lid.  If it gets rough treatment and gets squashed it is less likely to pop the lid.
  • for storage - baked coffee grounds, small amounts of polymer clay, push pins,beads, Dremel drills and accessories
  • minis hat boxes - trim to desired height
  • trash cans
  • containers for mixing paint
  • planter barrels
  • Fimo storage.

 

fruit baskets

  • window mullions, balconies - just cut to order and paint!

 

game pieces

  • Paint the little houses and use the car and hat from Monopoly, use Scrabble tiles for books, dominos for mini-shelves, side tables, bingo markers for plates or lamp bases, Trouble markers for vases and other containers, dice for mini blocks, Checker trays or wall plaques, chess pieces for garden/castle statuary, gate posts, bases for furniture or hat stands. Don't forget about the Borrowers - a great project for those not quite the right scale items! The Mousetrap game has a bathtub, slide, piping. Don't forget Clue pieces - the candlestick, rope, revolver, etc.

 

grapes, plastic

  • Pull stems from some old plastic grapes, insert florist wire as"strings. (twist the top of the wire into a circle and "screw into the grape. Use white caulking to fill the hole in. Then paint them bright balloon colors.  Glue to dolls hand!

 

hairbrush bristles

  • This is what they look like.
  • Lipstick in lipstick tubes
  • Bead tops for perfume bottles
  • Small scale microphones
  • Lollypop sticks
  • Drumsticks for a toy drum
  • Stir-sticks or straws for drinks

 

jars, containers and lids - plastic

  • save the lids for paint pallets, THEN throw them in the recycle bin!
  • cut an x in the bottom of a cottage cheese container and insert glue bottle upside down to keep tip from clogging.
  • use the clear hard oblong lettuce containers for storing your minis!
  • window glass
  • use sturdy craft knife/saw to cut ice cube tray into separate cubes. Paint pink for girls, blue for boys. Optional: line with fabric. Trim upper exterior with fabric and/or lace.
  • staining or dyeing small pieces? Use those plastic containers (like those for cottage cheese). Cut a pouring hole in the lid. Place the items in the stain and when finishes, secure the lid, pour the stain or dye back into the original container. Use the container top as a paint pallet and the bowl to rinse your brushes before throwing them in the recycle bin.

 

jelly container

  • craftroom drawers by katsway74
  • cat litter boxes - just paint and sand and seal with glue
  • sinks - paint underside white, add press stud for drain

 

juice container plug

 

ketchup bottle cap

 

lemon juice container

  • Citrus Motors- home of the lemon (car sales store)
  • lemonade stand
 

needlepoint canvas, plastic

  • bathroom cabinets with shelves & a curved top with a matching wall cabinet & waste basket. Sew the sides together with yarn.
  • round canvas can be used for a toy train track
  • cut into pieces for ice-cubes
  • trellis, lattice trim  

  • crates - tie with wire
  • hanging flower baskets - put green floral foam in and stick in flowers and vines from all angles
  • trays, bed trays, bins, folding screens, trellis, toy furniture for dolls, bookcases, telephone tables,
  • hamster cage (just snip out horizontal pieces and leave bars). A little strip bent round makes a nice exercise wheel to go in it.
  • make the ventilated shelving like you find in closets.

 

pizza table

 

 

toy animals

  • elephant - Cut all four legs off. Hollow out from top. Put canes (and/or umbrellas) in the best

    one - - - swap or gift off the other three. Mount head over a LARGE fireplace - Put back half in an adjacent room.

 

pony beads

  • punch a 1/4" round of poster board and paint it gold, silver, or color of your choice and glue to the top of any color pony bead, adding a label to one side to complete the illusion. For a very pretty bubble bath bottle, stack 4 or 5 tri-beads, sometimes called propeller beads, with glue in between. Top with a round gold bead for the cap.

 

pop bottles

  • pop bottles make great dust covers while the finish coat is drying. Cut the tops off several sizes of bottles. After putting on varnish, polyurethane, etc. just flip one of these over the mini until it dries.
  • depending on how the bottom is made & the size of the bottle, these make great temporary containers for paint, stain, glue, water, mineral spirits, beads, brads, etc. Just cut off the bottom to the height you need.
  • make a bell jar -  Also the bases can vary too, could paint your own, use cork mats stacked or if you are good with those electrical tools cut one from wood. Sometimes in Thrift / Charity Shops can come across wooden stands that have a broken bird or something that can be removed and used.
  • make a doll

 

push pins

  • sundaes - cut off the pin, apply a dollop of Polyfilla, glass paint for syrup...
  • To remove the pin, just  under the metal pin for a moment heat it and then take a pair of pliers and it pulls out easy peasy.
 

straws

  • bendable straws make piping or chimneys for pot-bellied stoves
  • make paper chains from coloured straws

 

syringes

 

toy animals

  • elephant - Cut all four legs off. Hollow out from top. Put canes (and/or umbrellas) in the best

    one - - - swap or gift off the other three. Mount head over a LARGE fireplace - Put back half in an adjacent room.

 

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