Hello friends!
I'm Evie from Brown Paper Packages and I am so excited to be guest posting today at Design Dazzle!!
Thank you so much, Toni, for inviting me!!
Thank you so much, Toni, for inviting me!!
Today I'm going to be showing you how to turn an ordinary every day item into something
special and extraordinary!
Right now I am in the "baby stage" of life and attend quite a few baby showers and, rather than using a gift bag, I think it's fun to create special and unique containers to hold my gift items, using materials I already have around the house!
Let me show you how you can do it too!
I tend to save things like coffee cans, formula cans and even oatmeal cans for making these containers.
(This tendency may or may not drive my hubby completely batty!)
For this project I chose an emptied coffee can...I might have even bought this brand just for the size of the container...but...I'll never tell!
First I peeled off the plastic label and made sure the inside was wiped clean with a damp cloth.
Then I chose a pretty piece of scrap booking paper and cut it down to size. You scrapbookers will have some great tools for cutting your paper, but I have to use archaic things like scissors!
Most cans will require two strips of paper to completely cover, so I try to line up the pattern so the seams are inconspicuous. I hot glued the paper with very thin beads in order to avoid bumps underneath.
Next, I ripped two strips of cotton remnants I had in my fabric stash. The white strip is 2" wide and the pink is 1.5" and both strips are 40" long. (You can decide how long to make your strips by measuring around the container and then doubling it.) I purposely ripped the fabric in order to get that great texture! Then I hand-stitched a large running stitch all the way down the center of the two fabrics and gently pulled on the thread to create a fun little ruffle.
Next I made little rolled flowers out of more strips of fabric.
You can find tutorials for these flowers everywhere in blogland and they are so easy to make! I hot glued a little heart shaped gem into the center to add a little sparkle.
The finished embellishments all ready to go...
I hot glued the ruffle down the center of the container, trying my best to evenly arrange the gathers...
...and then glued the little flowers on top of the ruffle...
I could have left it as is, but I wanted to ramp up the cute factor a bit by adding a handle
and creating a little bucket. This is so easy!
Wrap some wire around a dowel until you get the length of handle you want, making sure to leave both "ends" straight. I used 20 gauge aluminum wire and a 1/4" dowel, but this handle is for looks only! If you want to create a sturdy handle that will be able to bear weight, you'll need a heavier gauge wire.
After wrapping, carefully slide it off the dowel.
Then grab a big ol' nail and pound a hole through both sides of the container!
I used a nail set to make the hole bigger by wiggling it around and pushing the tip through the hole, but I think you could achieve the same result by using a large nail too.
Next, you'll need four dime sized washers. Glue one on each side of the hole...one on the outside and one on the inside on each side of the container. This will neaten things up and add support.
Fish the straight ends of your wire handle through the hole on each side...
...loop through and twist the end around the handle as shown in the picture.
You may need to use pliers for this depending on how heavy your wire is.
And there you have it! A darling little container to hold your gift items.
I like to roll up different pieces of clothing (color coordinated of course!) and add a cute little stuffed animal as well.
The great thing about these containers is that Mommy can continue to use it later for holding diaper cremes, lotions, etc. How fun would it be to create something that matches the theme of the baby's nursery?!
Here's a boyish container I recently made for a new baby in our family.
I simply used argyle patterned paper with coordinating striped paper as trim along the top and bottom.
There are so many different ways to dress up recycled cans and turn them into something special...just use your creativity and you'll be amazed at what you will come up with!
Thanks so much for joining me here today!
If you'd like to see some more container inspiration (and lots of other home decor and crafty projects!), I would LOVE to have you come over and visit me at Brown Paper Packages!!
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Thank you Evie for sharing such a great idea! The possibilities are endless for creating such adorable gift containers.
Have you been working on a kids party, decorating a baby nursery, creating a kids craft, slaving over a DIY project, etc.? Please share your fabulousness and join our Link Up Party! Our Link Up Party starts tonight 12:01 AM (EST) Friday.
