Hey Bernice!

Every day I am reminded of the disposable lifestyle we live – constantly chucking out packaging (glass, plastic and metal). So many of the things we put in the rubbish bin could be used for other purposes in our house – so I started collecting them.

For some reason it seems a lot worse with a baby… formula tins that seem to multiply, washing detergent packaging, empty wine bottles (they seem to mysteriously appear after all the washing and feeding is done for the day!!).

Combine my frustration with the amount of garbage our house produces, with some rather nifty upcycling inspiration I gained from Pinterest…

:\\****abracadabra ****//:

and this is what you get:

Empty wine bottle(s)… yes, there have been several occasions where a glass of wine was the reward after Heidi was in bed asleep!

Turned into vases or decorative ornaments…

I stuck different coloured ribbon around the top of each bottle.

Cling wrap packaging/box…

Now a mini muffin gift box…

I covered the box with beautiful wrapping paper from Mozi, and lined it with tissue paper (and filled it with my banana bran muffins)

Baby Formula Tin…

Now a [insert purpose here] holder (in this case cooking utensils)…

I covered the tin with burlap. I used two layers stuck together with iron-on webbing (so you can’t see through to the tin). I then sewed the burlap around the tin with red embroidery thread (holding it around the tin as I sewed to ensure it was firm enough to stay on). If you use the finished edge of the burlap, you don’t have to hem the burlap at the bottom of the tin.

Any tins can also be easily covered with contact…

Washing detergent bucket…

Now a toy box…

I covered the bucket and lid with patterned contact.

There is one more Pinterest inspiration I wanted to make (and still will), this one…

Using toilet paper rolls to make a christmas wreath. Details about how to make the wreath can be found on See you There! I think I have allowed myself just enough time to save up the rolls to have it completed by Christmas… naturally, you will be seeing the end result in a month or so!

Cheers,

Bernice