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the CreativeGiftGiver's bookshelf: Creative
Containers
by
Cheryl Schroeder
Do you sometimes hesitate before throwing
away that empty coffee can, Kool-AidŽ container, potato chip canister
or plastic peanut butter jar? Do you look at it and wish you could
reuse it, rather than just add another item to the landfill? If so,
I encourage you to check out the book Creative Containers: The
resourceful crafter's guide.
This 96-page softcover will give you hundreds of ways to turn those empty containers into something
useful! In it, Craft Designer Jill Evans shows us how to
transform a one-pound pumpkin pie filling can into a leprechaun candy
dish; turn a potato chip canister
into a lighthouse; make clever bathroom containers with plastic
frosting containers, and much more. You'll be amazed at all the things
you can do with empty containers!
This book is divided into five main
sections:
Home
Decor
Spring
and Summer
Halloween
and Fall Harvest
Winter
Holiday
There are also short sections filled with
basic instructions, crafting tips and photocopiable patterns for the
projects.
Home
Decor
Want
to add a little whimsy to your home decor? Start with this
chapter! In it, you will find directions to
make three different lighthouses with paper beverage cups and/or chip
canisters. You will also discover how to transform a coffee can into a
Northwoods-themed gift container (embellished with simple die-cut moose and fir
trees). Or spruce up your home office with a "pressed leaves desk
set" made from vegetable and soup cans and nature's
treasures.
Did
you recently purchase a new pair of tennis shoes? Don't throw away
that box--check out Evans' book and learn how to turn it into faux
leather catch-all. Other projects
include candleholders, coin sorter banks, pet treat cans and holders for
bathroom essentials like toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Spring
and Summer
Bring
a breath of fresh air into your home decor with these cute projects.
(Best of all, it won't cost you an arm and a leg to update your home
with these seasonal pieces!) Peruse this section to learn how to
make a faux watering can out of a coffee can and decorative
birdhouses from beverage cups.
You
will also find appropriate ideas for spring holidays. Find out how to
transform nesting cookie tins into a bridal 'cake' (a perfect shower
decoration), or tuck that graduation gift into a coffee can that's been
transformed to look like a graduate, complete with black mortar and
tassel! Need a cute Easter basket that can be re-used year after
year? Check out Evans' adorable Boris the Bunny!
My
bug-loving preschooler couldn't believe we could make insect catchers out of
empty peanut butter jars!
Halloween/Fall/Harvest
Decorating
in fall colors and themes has become a hot trend in the last few
years. Unfortunately, it means you can spend quite a bit of money
on decorations that you will only use for a couple of months or--in the
case of Halloween--for just an evening. This book shows how to get into
the spirit of the season without emptying your wallet. Two of my
favorite projects are the "Sammy Scarecrow" made out of a
coffee can and pilgrim nut cups made from
recycled pudding containers. For Halloween, various sized cans are used
to make treat containers that look like Frankenstein, a bat, a silly
looking Dracula, a mummy and a jack-o-lantern.
Winter
Finally,
Evans devotes 14 pages to decorations and gift containers for holidays
like Christmas and Valentine's Day. Coffee cans are turned into
snack containers shaped like a snowman, penguin and Santa
Claus.
Cub
Scout or Brownie leaders might enjoy making the simple "Rodney
Reindeer" with their little charges, since you only need a
one-pound can, a reindeer cutout and some candy to make a delightful
parent's gift. Need a gift for a Sunday School teacher? Sit down
with your children on a cold Saturday afternoon, grab some empty chip
canisters and create some cute angels to decorate that teacher's
fireplace mantel or brighten her desk.
Evans
finishes the book with two Valentine's Day projects. Both use coffee
cans embellished with bear cutouts or red and white
pom-poms.
This
is truly a clever book filled with many unique, yet easy, projects. One suggestion: start
saving those canisters and cans now! After perusing this book, you
will quickly discover that you need a truckload of them to create all of
the wonderful items in this book!
For more information or to purchase this book, click
below.
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