I have a really fun, easy, and versatile trash to treasure project for you today. We are going to take something that would normally get thrown away or tossed in the recycling and make some bowls. The “thing” we are using today is a blister pack from some over the counter medication. But there are so many different items that come in this type of package. Not only can you find a large variety of round shapes that hold things like medication but there are other shapes too. For instance I know I have had gum that came in rectangular shaped ones, those would make some fun mini serving trays. If you look around I bet you can find a lot of shapes and sizes to play with. Really if you look hard enough you can make so many different things with this easy project.
The first step is to empty the blister packaging in a way that preserves the shape. I like to use a knife to cut the foil at each location and pull the foil off to release the contents. This is a habit I have gotten into over the years of making miniatures and trying to save all kinds of stuff to use to make things with. Once the package is empty peel off as much of the remaining foil on the back as you can. Concentrate on the areas around the openings.
Once you have reached this step clean out the openings if needed. The package I was using had some powdery residue in each one so I used a cotton swab to wipe them out.
I know some people like to cut the little containers free and then add the finish to them. I find it so much easier to add my finish to them while they are still connected. Once this dries I can cut them free and do any touch-ups needed.
Today I am using some nail polish to add the finish. You could use other things but I like nail polish for this for several reasons. First I know it will stick to plastic pretty well and it is fairly durable. Second it is cheap, well at least it is if you buy yours at the dollar store like I do. Also it dries pretty quickly and I have a lot of colors of it on hand.
So I like to start adding the polish to the outsides of the bowls. I did use 2 coats on the outside and then 2 coats on the insides of each bowl.
I had been planning to make the insides of the bowls the same colors as the outsides. However one of the tasks I was doing while waiting for the polish to dry was putting my dishes away. I noticed that the majority of the bowls I like to use in my kitchen have white interiors and colors on the outside. I simply like the way food looks in those bowls. So I decided to do the same when coloring the miniature ones today.
Once the polish dries we can start to cut them apart. I used a pair of regular craft scissors to cut the packaging into strips then to cut each bowl apart. It is much easier to cut around the individual bowls if they are cut apart.
Off camera I did play around with different tools to cut the bowls free and found that the one thing that really worked the best for me was a pair of inexpensive curved cuticle scissors. I tried with a couple of different craft knives and found they were just too difficult to get the shape the way I wanted it.
To do this I made a small pool of nail polish on a piece of parchment paper and placed the bowl into it top down. Allow it to sit for a few seconds and carefully remove, turn it right side up and allow to dry.
And that is all there is to this project.
As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.
great ideas!
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