If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.
You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!
Trash to treasure miniatures - how to change trash to minis for dollhouses, room boxes, and dioramas - T2T
First of all, use your mini eye. And everything looks different when painted! LOL! Also known as T2T= Trash To Treasure
Part of the fun of T2T is trolling in flea markets, antique markets, and (gasp!!) dumpster-diving! Some miniaturists have made scenes based on these activities. see garages, flea markets, dumpster
And watch out - stash can be addictive! "I'm not really sure anymore how much money I save collecting and using trash on mini projects, because I've had to buy a big cabinet with doors to keep all my stuff in!"
metal end - torch for a castle, leg for a chair, depending on scale maybe a pedestal for a table
spring - a telephone cord, brush cleaner and holder - make a handle for a very small plastic top like those on sports drinks with the spring and paint all silver, neck of a Jack-in-the-Box, spring on a screen door, Slinky, mail rack.
metal rings -base for a lamp, parts for any number of lamps, ring for a stove burner!
plastic ink tube cut into wedges - onion rings for your mini salad. save the gold, silver and clear colored ink portions inside (empty of course). The silver and gold make great plumbing piping......or candlestick portions......or they can be used for towel rods, lamps & lighting fixtures, brass furniture legs, etc.
ball point end itself - tip for a garden hose nozzle!!
beads
head for a pipe cleaner doll. Draw face on with fine tipped pen.
big flat bead could be used as a base for a floor lamp with long skinny beads for the lamp pole (BBQ skewer?), or for a table lamp.
perfume bottles to fill a vanity tray
pony beads also can be stacked to make table legs. Or you could use them to separate shelves made from pieces of stir sticks - display shelves on the wall? or a bookshelf make from stir sticks with pony beads stacked to separate the shelves?
use seed beads for drawer handles.
bottles or vases, jars or canisters, covered with a bit of cloth or card for a lid.
wheels
cubic beads can be made into boxes of kleenex simply by tucking a little piece of kleenex into the bead hole
drill a hole in a wooden bead and use it for a birdhouse.
tiny holeless ones for jewelry or embellishment on a dress or purse.
candy - green seed beads carefully placed in a bowl to hide the holes, can be mint candy. Paint thin red stripes onto a white bead for peppermints. (use red nail polish and the tip of a round wooden toothpick for a paintbrush to Brown beads can be chocolates. If you wish, you can fill in the holes with glue. When the glue is dry, paint the hole to match the rest of the bead.
three oblong beads of the same style/color but different sizes can make a neat canister set. Glue a small metal bead on top of each for a handle.
fill a cool looking cylindrical bead with tacky glue (use a monoject maybe? wipe off excess from outside of bead) and stick a small length of thread down into the glue-filled hole. You have a pillar candle! Make a candle holder for it out of an ornate-looking jewelry finding.
binder clip
binder clips make wonderful handbags and luggage. Instructions are here.
sign holder
bottle cap - metal
pie tins
buttons
cakes - look for ones which already look like cake tops, and flat buttons can be stacked for a layer cake with coloured caulking between layers of icing.
decorative animal buttons could either stand on a pull toy or become the centre of a child's lamp with a toothpick through the hole to hold it onto another flat round bead.
use a button back from the "covered button" sets and insert a small mirror or a piece of chrome sticker.
stained T's, underwear, baby clothes can yield wonderful fabric for doll clothes, towels, curtains, upholstery, rugs, and yes, even can be used as wallpaper!
silk ties have lovely small patterns. They are made on the bias, so when cutting out your pattern, remember to cut parallel with the grain unless you want it to stretch.
used men's golf shirts - iron interfacing on the back, outline the floor size with masking tape then cut so most of the masking tape stays with the 'carpet'. Interfacing keeps it flat and the tape keeps it from unraveling. The golf shirts have just enough texture to look good.
see snap fasteners, hook and eyes below
contact lenses
disposable contact lenses are good for one month. When the month is up, let them dry and they make little fruit nappies. Some lenses wrinkle and curl when not in solution, but others dry well in a spare case.
cotton swabs
remove cotton from plastic Q-tips. They have small ridges and when cut to length and use for mini hair rollers on a vanity - get the pastel ones and you don't even have to paint!
Q-tips will make good candles also. Use black thread stiffened with either glue or Stiffy for the wick. Glue a rivet to a button and glue the Q-tip into it.
non-working lamp for nursery nightlight - Glue Q-tip to a flat button, make a lampshade from a circle of clear plastic with lacy white and pink ribbon glued to the outside edge of the clear circle. Glue shade to Q-tip stick. Add a tiny pink bear and a couple pearls to the top of the button.
A couple stacked up to make great 'batting' for mini quilts.
Coated with a mixture of white glue and fabric paint, they make great fantasy wings.
pillows and quilts. Or for anything else where you want a bit of padding! And if the sheet still has its fragrance, then this will add a nice touch!!
interfacing on doll clothes. They are pre-cut, lightweight and easy to use.
paper piecing quilts...just mark the design on with a fine felt tip, then it's stabilized and the quilt piece won't go wonky...
earrings
remove any "jewels" and use them for decorations on clothing, crowns, tiaras, or use as mini paperweights etc.
some clip-on styles (the thin ones) can look like faucets for your sinks, spigot on the beer keg.
the long protrusions on some earrings that have a little pearl or jewel fitted into the end of the protrusion can be cut off... the pearl removed and the cut end sanded smooth, and they look just like little spoons.
CD's - some jewelry kits have earring fronts with a large metal circle for gluing a bead or other decoration to design your own set of earrings. They already have a circular design on them and you just snip off the stem with your "snippers". Make little labels by using a small size paper punch on sticky labels.
pierced earring backings come in two parts.. often the "push-on" part is shaped like a drawer or door knob.. others look more like little drawer pulls, or salt and pepper shakers.
some earrings are designed in such a way that you can remove the center design and use the outside as a decorative picture frame.
1/4" scale bed headboards from filigree pieces
screw backs to refashion as sconce
tie backs for drapes
use pierced earring backs as lamp bases for 1/4 scale. The pierced backs that curl at both ends can be painted black and used for oriental benches, small tables, or possibly small footstools with a little piece of fabric for a cushion.
some are animals and/or sea creatures. Need a tic-tac box for an aquarium? frog earring may be just the right size to put into a garden or under a bonsai tree.
use tiny bunny earrings to make a mold and then make chocolate bunnies from Fimo,
large round and embossed - a ceiling medallion in the dining room!
towel bar and a toilet paper holder. Use gold wire and bend it into the proper shape, then paint some earring backs gold. For the towel bar use the fat plastic earring backs you get with cheap heavy or big earrings. Glue the painted earring backs onto the wall and then inserted each side of the towel bar into them with a tiny drop of glue. For the toilet paper holder use some cheap earring backs that were smaller and more barrel like.
picture frames, mirrors, small statues, stools, bookends. (saw a little tartan number with a brass ring around it, bet it would make a great stool!).
an antique mini sewing bird- use an old screw type earring back. Glue something the same color (brass or silver or gold) to the section that held the earring, screw to the edge of a mini sewing table (like a vise) and you have a sewing bird for your mini lady.
egg cartons
the plastic foam can be embossed and cut into a shape for architectural designs or moldings and applied to furniture or buildings.
emery boards
perfect for sandpapering tiny furniture
eraser
cheapo pencil erasers even come in diff colors ready to be turned into fabulous cookies.
the larger erasers can be sliced and used as luncheon meat in a display on a tray - add some lettuce and maybe cherry tomatoes and it looks like the real thing.
paint and place on candle stand, insert thin wire for candlewick.
metal eraser holder makes good grocery tin, make a tiny, tiny, tiny rolls of brown Fimo and make a can of worms to go fishing, smaller scale trash can
make wonderful mini stamps.. just carve the eraser and stamp away.. on paper or cloth... the crumbs from the carving get painted and make mini coal... or food in a dish...make perfect dots
in a pinch I grab my pink pearl for a quick tiny straight edge... use it's width to set the ht of where the electrical tape goes when wiring ... after papering all I have to do is put the pink pearl up against the wall and I know where the wiring is under the paper.
kneaded erasers are great for getting yukky stuff out of tight corners. Squish it in and pull it out complete with the *yuk*...
if you are careful, you can also make a mini eraser for your mini desk!
use them as canvas basket forms too, depending on how new it is and how square it is.
if you find ones in the right shape/size, use them as-is. Look for pizza, shapes that make cute stuffed animals with a little paint; crayons that are the perfect scale and look to be crayon banks; paint pallets; Christmas decorations; Be sure to check those 25¢ and 10¢ machines,
use as a clamp to glue velvet ribbon to a thick index card for jewelry boxes or stomachers(base) or hats. Keeps it pressed nicely without any ridges.(see embellishments for a technique using velvet)
foam cup
skirted table - cut to the desired height, place double-sided tape along the bottom edge, and arrange pretty fabric in attractive folds. Add a second piece over the top or a piece of lace or a round glass, mirror or Mylar to top it off and you have a fast, easy and grand table for any room.
foam meat trays
can be cut and sanded. Engrave bricks or stone pattern, paint.
foil wrappings on candy, gum
turn a woodsie into a tray by wrapping with foil
use as gift wrap
candy wrap
fun foam
the brown color is perfect for brownies. Cut a 2-inch square, mix brown paint with white glue like Elmer's or Sobo and paint on top as icing. When dry, cut with scissors into 1/4" squares.
golf tees
the built I flare provides an excellent starting point for free-standing posts or hangers,
base for small table or bar stool
traffic cones
can be carved and painted, glued to a penny or other larger base to stabilize the item.
a base for hat stand - Stand them upside down, cut stem to various heights and glue a large round bead to the top. Paint or decoupage to match decor. Add hat!
The inner brush part of a hair roller cut into shape makes a small Christmas tree. Submerge the white nylon tree into a solution of hot (not boiling) Rit dye for a half hour and you will have a green tree.
fancy embroidered women's hankies have many mini uses, such as for mini bedding, curtains, nighties, lampshade covers, for doll clothes, tablecloths & placemats, linen
men's hankies make wonderful linen shirts and underwear
hook and eye fasteners
straighten the hook part out straight to make scissors
use the eye for drawer pulls.
bar towel rack - place hook upside down in a u shape against the wall of your bar. With a wire nipper trim a pair of white ball headed dressmaker pins to the thickness of the wall. Press the pins through the round openings at he top of the u. Cut a tiny scrap of white linen and fringe the edges. Fold it irregularly lengthwise and slip it live the u. muse the hook portion of desired size . Glue desired miniature item (flower box,artwork, etc ) to the flat side(back) of the hook. Slip the hook over a vertical surface to hang the i
cigars can be made from incense, it will give a lovely smell as well. Try burning the ends then putting it out and sitting it in the ashtray,
insulin vial
water cooler - if you know someone who uses insulin, ask them for an empty insulin vial. Soak and scrape off-label, dry, and swish some light blue glass stain inside for "water." Glue upside down to a stand made from champagne cork wire or pizza prop legs (the kind without "tabletop"), glue on an earring back spigot, and there you go.
jars, containers, and lids - glass or metal
lids can be used as a base for small-scale scenes, the jar as a cover.
jewelry findings
chains make great dungeon chains, especially when blackened. Smaller ones can be lamp pulls.
those old earrings you find at flea markets and garage sales....the big ones with all the beads on them.... make great fake ceiling fixtures.
seed beads - pie filling
take an old cufflink turned upside down and glue the mirror to the little swivel thing. It makes a really good mirror to sit on a counter in a powder room or bathroom.
for gravel and small rocks, looks great painted - takes glue really well, and comes in lovely pebble rock shapes right down to dust
KL might work for things like outside walls, chimney, pathways, fireplaces, plant soil and who knows what else, maybe even for cake edges with some coloring in the powder of course.
lace
with large patterned lace- cut sections like the curve or the flower parts - glue them to wood like a cabinet door, a bed headboard etc - then paint over the whole piece once or twice and you have the look of carved wood without the carving because it becomes one with the wood.
mold stiffened lace around an oval shape and allow to dry. Paint with red/gold or black/silver to resemble wire furniture or filigree.
make-up container
Eyeshadow metal pans are perfect for kitchen bakeware. Make some donuts, cookies, etc and place on cookie sheet and place in an oven or on a countertop.
Use your eyeliner and lip liner pencil lids for cups. Just use a hot knife to cut off the top part. Most lids have a flat tip for the base of the cup.
use to simulate leather on luggage, book covers, handbags, belts, wallets, furniture by rubbing with shoe polish
mirror
use as a table top. Using 4 pieces cut from one of your stir sticks, make a small frame to support your table top. You can use the toothpicks for legs – especially if you have some of the heavier square toothpicks from Dollarama. Make a frame with wood, fun foam or card. Decorate with beads, string and/or ribbon. To make a thick mirror less intrusive, paint the edges black.
glue some of your lace around the mirror either to hang on the wall or use as a vanity tray. Paint the lace gold or silver if you like.
one of your old makeup compacts may have a mirror to hang in your dollhouse bathroom. You can paint this or decorate the edges with glitter, beads or anything tiny you want.
terrain - cliffs, etc - check out model railroad sites
popcorn
food decor on cakes
paint
use condiment cups for paints and glues, When the leftovers dry, they come out in a nice little thin round that can be used for all sorts of things. Chopped veggies for salads - red. green and yellow peppers, tomatoes, onions - made from small paint puddles and oozes of glue. Chop them and put them into a container and stash in a drawer for later use. Cut into squares, brown leftover acrylic paint makes great fudge; cut into thin strips and curled, it makes fancy French chef decorations for cakes, cupcakes, and candy. Light brown or tan, very finely chopped, makes chopped nuts. Leftover lime green, orange and yellow cut into very thin strips makes fancy rind curls for drinks or to top certain cakes.
a green pipe cleaner makes a Christmas wreath. Decorate with foam cutouts or beads. Paint a half-inch section of a twist tie red (or use a red marker) and twist it at the centre for a bow.
some, make nice rugs and carpets. Others, like the bamboo ones, can be used for curtains.
ribbon
carpet runners can be made up or down step and staircases with ornate ribbon...the tapestry kind with a floral motif down the middle and an ornate edge at each side.
cut small motifs from ribbon, use for decorating pillows or garments
roof shingles
check the nearest building site - can be used for pathways or a gravel surface. Just cut to size.
Can be used for anything from soil/dirt, mulch, to even sprinkling on cakes, breading on "fried" chicken and fis (superfine).
Take a plastic bag to a home improvement store, and ask the wood cutting department for some of their sawdust.
Sawdust grass - looks like blades of grass, even though they don't all stand properly upright. Use a hot water fabric dye and just put it in a big canning pot on top of my stove. Put the sawdust in and stir so that it was all evenly exposed to the dye. Then, when it was the color was achieved, drain the excess dye out and dumped the sawdust on several layers of newspaper in the back garden and let it dry out there. Spread it out to about a 1/2" thick layer.
Mix sawdust with some paint and paint your walls to have a textured look
Wood Filler made out of sawdust and glue works great to fill nail holes or cracks.
sequins
powder compact
CD's
screw
paint a flat-head screw white, turn it upside down - a candle!
shoe polish
use the wax to stain wood. Experiment with mixing the shades, especially when the colour is too dark. Also looks great rubbed on masking tape - looks like leather.
silk flower stems or bushes
petals = fairy dress
the cup or bowl-shaped plastic piece that holds the petals could be painted and used as a light fixture or lamp shade.
silk rose-bud can be dismantled to make bed hangings, chandelier, plants, etc. in 1/4 or 1/8 inch scale
stems (if they are wire) can be used as armatures for dolls, bases for limbs on trees or shrubs,
leaves can be used for foliage, snipped to make wreaths or fillers for Christmas trees
snap fasteners
ski poles.
for the controls on the front of the stove. Four tiny ones (the large side turned over) for the burners and one slightly larger for the oven. Use them on the sink for the hot and cold water controls, also.
wheels for pull toys
sink drains
straight pins
fasten foamcore or balsa wood together
knitting needles
fasten beads used as drawer pulls on furniture
use with beads for toiletry and perfume bottles. Apply glue to pin, insert through holes and then into a foam. Cut pin even with bottom once the glue has dried.
straws
drinking glasses - use clear straw, glue a punched circle from clear plastic to bottom. To cut evenly, to stick a dowel through them, (with somewhat of a snug fit, so they're not rattling around inside the straw) and then you'd have a firm surface to cut on.
balls of yarn - cut a plastic drinking straw into pieces each about 1/2" long. Thread a large-eyed needle with embroidery floss and wrap around & around (going through the middle of the straw) till it is covered all around (adjust as you go). It looks just like the real thing and can be made in dozens of colors!
bird Feeder - Take and cut straw into 1" pieces, take some string and tie a tiny knot in one end. Thread the other end in a needle, string on one sequin, then the piece of straw. Add some seed and then glue on another sequin. Tie a knot on the top, leave a little to hang on tree or extension for a house.
vases
onion slices for salads
use the paper cover for bread or candy bags!
exterior electrical conduit
stovepipe for pot-bellied stoves
light poles for mercury vapor lights
drain pipes on a house exterior
make miniature rolls of wrapping paper for a holiday scene by gluing the paper around an appropriate length of drinking straw. Leave a few with loose ends to simulate a partially used roll. You can also use lolly sticks and the thinner straws. These also work for a sewing or fabric room/shop when you wrap fabric around them and place in your sewing room/shop or scene.
string
use string to outline frames create details in furniture - once it is painted over as one colour, it becomes part of the design
styrofoam
cut the foam onto the desired shape, rounding the edges and creating an uneven "hedgy" effect. Paint with various shades of green.
Styrofoam has a perfect cake texture!! Denser textures cut easier. Cut into cake shape..." frost" with Spackle...cut out a slice for realism...paint the "cake" part "chocolate"!! Don't forget the filling!!
the bubble type Styrofoam breaks up into little balls. Collect them and place in a popcorn bag and drizzle with a bit of "butter'
if the little balls are big enough, they make a passable snowball. Coat them in glue, then roll them in some powdered snow. Also, sprinkle them with a little bit of crystal glitter to make them sparkle like snow in the sunlight.
suction cups
lampshade - paint with gallery glass, make a billiard lamp
compote bowl - glue a flat glass bead to the bottom and fill with fruit.
wok - staples for handles
tampons
make good bolster pillows. Use the cardboard for canisters.
thimbles
planters for your garden/yard
umbrella stands
trash cans
lamp shades
thread spool
plastic spool - slice the top off and use for a divider in a sewing basket,
To make round windows in the gable of your house, cut off the ends of an empty plastic thread spool.
staircase rods. Paint a round toothpick a brass colour, add a bead to each end and glue to the tread.
use to apply glue to small spots, apply paint to eyes
twist ties
cut into leaf shapes to make a plant. Paint or colour with a green marker if necessary.
½" lengths of twist ties can be coloured and twisted in the middle to make decorative bows.
Twist three ever-useful twist ties together, glue the twisted end into a bead. Spread the remainder to fit inside a toothpaste or glue tube cap, you now have an attractive simple lamp. Paint if desired.
wedding ring bridal favours
insert one inside the other like an x to make a ball shape. Put greenery and florals (mistletoe) with a bow on top and bottom - Viola! a kissing ball.
cut into pieces, straighten, and place in serving dishes full of food. The end is covered, so only you know it isn't a lovely spoon!
wires, plugs, cords
wire connectors - paint them silver to make milkshake containers
Check the power cord on your phone. The end that plugs into the phone is a perfect blow dryer.
Mini stereo headphones make a hand-held hair dryer or a drill with just a little tweaking needed (and I believe they have them in black too) plus the earbuds look like handheld shower heads, plus the 2 black cushion pieces for the ear will have a mini use too, I'm sure...AND the plastic container is sturdy and flat enough to be cut into great window panes...AND the plastic top cover was molded into the shape of one of the earbuds (shower heads) and is a perfect mold for a pot with a handle if I use metallic clay for the pot...
Wire cage from Champagne bottle- look at Christal Jensen's ice cream parlour chair!
What about a page for plastics? paper? metal?
Trash is a messy business (pun intended). I do like the idea of alphabetical grouping of hints. Makes it easier to find or add hints to the proper spot. And separating tips into pages seems like a good ideas as well.
I Love the trash to treasure pages. It is really interesting what all of these creative people come up with out of things that is being thrown away. Every little item that is created , keeps it out of the landfill and utilizes it into a work of art. Such talent to be able to make something extraordinary out of something ordinary trash. Also everyone can view see something different. Please keep it up I get such good ideas from all of you. Thankyou!
Thanks for the feedback Lori. I also admire all T2T innovators and want to list all the ideas I come up with on these pages. I just wish there would be more content creators on this page - and eventually there will be :).
You don't have permission to comment on this page.
Comments (14)
Mary Ciccolella said
at 4:37 am on Aug 18, 2009
...love these ideas...you are so creative and I mean all of you!...Mary Ciccolella
johanna janhonen said
at 10:21 am on Aug 18, 2009
I agree - it would be nice to get more of this kind of examples here but they are difficult to find. Help! :)
johanna janhonen said
at 2:05 pm on Feb 27, 2010
did you see new ideas on this page that inspired to try out? please share with us :)
johanna janhonen said
at 1:33 am on Apr 7, 2010
If you have photos of your trash miniatures in our Flick group, add a tag "trash" to get them to the slideshow above :)
Linda McD said
at 11:34 pm on Oct 24, 2010
This page has become too large and needs to be split......
johanna janhonen said
at 9:35 am on Oct 25, 2010
any ideas how to do it? i do not like alphabetical order - is there some better way for organizing trash?
johanna janhonen said
at 9:54 am on Oct 25, 2010
created a subpage for organic materials but i guess we need more subpages...
Linda McD said
at 11:00 pm on Oct 25, 2010
What about a page for plastics? paper? metal?
Trash is a messy business (pun intended). I do like the idea of alphabetical grouping of hints. Makes it easier to find or add hints to the proper spot. And separating tips into pages seems like a good ideas as well.
johanna janhonen said
at 11:54 pm on Oct 25, 2010
yes, let's create paper at first and then when this page grows again too big then plastic and metal. and in every page we use alphabetical order :)
Linda McD said
at 1:10 am on Oct 29, 2010
What about a separate page for links to T2T sites?
Linda McD said
at 1:33 am on Oct 29, 2010
Done! I made a paper page. But I don't know how to do the thumbnail pics?
Linda McD said
at 6:49 pm on Feb 13, 2011
We grew out of this page again!
I will make a plastic page.
Lori said
at 11:17 pm on Aug 25, 2011
I Love the trash to treasure pages. It is really interesting what all of these creative people come up with out of things that is being thrown away. Every little item that is created , keeps it out of the landfill and utilizes it into a work of art. Such talent to be able to make something extraordinary out of something ordinary trash. Also everyone can view see something different. Please keep it up I get such good ideas from all of you. Thankyou!
johanna janhonen said
at 4:37 pm on Aug 26, 2011
Thanks for the feedback Lori. I also admire all T2T innovators and want to list all the ideas I come up with on these pages. I just wish there would be more content creators on this page - and eventually there will be :).
You don't have permission to comment on this page.