A Cute Children DIY Project ~ Cakes out of Bottle Caps

Reuse old bottle caps! You already saw how to make a bottle caps chandelier and a bottle caps soad dish.

Here's one delicious and colorful kids bottle caps project!

Remember that famous quote: Let them eat cakes? In this case - DON'T let them eat cakes! Let them make cakes, let them admire them and let them play with them! :)

Extra tip: you can probably use food colors for caps coloring too. Try it and report the result!

Recycle plastic bottles and give your kid an effective take-off!

We've spoken about recycling plastic bottles before. We said that they can be reused as bracelets, brooms, vases, light makers and in gardening, but we've never used them for intergalactic trips. Until now.

More about this rocket project - at this place. 

Extra tip: join your kid - make also a rocket for yourself and plan your trip!

DIY recycling: from a detergent jag to an african mask

Here's a great & fun idea on how to reuse old detergent jags! You can play with your kids and make your very own africa influenced masks and even a totem pole!

For other important instructions click here.

Extra tip: as you can see in the first picture, these "masks" don't have to be african. You can play and search for some interesting portret and then try to make it out of a jag. Or maybe you could start with a family photo!

DIY: a cheap & eco light bulb made out of a recycled plastic bottle

This brilliant affordable idea is actually a part of a Liter of Light project. It's about finding sustainable light solutions for those living in low-cost homes without electricty.

You can see the whole proces of making a bottle bulb:

And here you can find more details on the project.

Extra tip: you can try this idea on your improvised garden or tool sheds or a garage. You can also participate in the project either by volunteering or donating - more.

Remember the article about melting plastic bags? Here's one idea on what you can do with that material. It's pretty simple - cut it and create simple and effective coasters! Try out different bags combos.

Extra tip: This is also a great gift idea, don't you think? 

A simple upcycle idea: what to with an old milk jug?

After you already made a broom, a dustpan, a soap holder and a flower pot for your temporary home, here's one more simple idea - make a practical plant watering can!

Extra tip: pick the size of a jug depending on the size of the pot.

DIY: recycle plastic bottles and create unique flower pots

Take old plastic bottles and some CDs and turn them into little flower pots. You will also need a hot glue gun and some paint.

Details can be found at this place.

Extra tip: notice how some paints give the pot a marble look! Play with that effect and post photos in the comment section!

An original DIY project: a cell phone holder from an upcycled lotion or shampoo bottle

Depending on the type of cell phone charger you have, you might find this idea useful. Also, there will be no more wires across the room to stumble over.

I'm a bit concerned about the weight of the whole installation on the plugging, but no one mentioned the possibility of the plug slipping out. An alternative - you can just make a cell holder such as this one (you don't need a hole then):

Or this one:

Extra tip: decoration possibilities are endless - wrapping paper, pieces of fabric, stickers....

DIY: recycle disposable plastic spoons and create an original tealight candle holder

If you're one of those people who often use disposable plastic spoons, at work or in a favorite bar, collect them instead of leaving them at the table after you've finished your coffee. Plastic spoons can be recycled! You’ll need two or three dozen spoons, and a disposable plastic cup.

One of the suggestions is coming right up:

Extra tip: I'm not sure what to think about that plastic cup and candle flame. The same spoon-method can be used with a glass cup or a jar...Feel free to post a photo of your work!

DIY : collect plastic bags and reuse them - fuse them together!

Humankind has finally found a way to reuse old plastic bags! After you've done using them for the purpose they've been made for, store them until you gather up the number you need. And here's the story: you're gonna iron them! That's right! By doing so, you’ll get sewing-like material.

These are the instructions, and next time you'll find out about all kinds of cool things you can do with it!

Extra tip: if you're worried about the patterns or color of your material, use the same type of plastic bags. If you want a funky, unpredictable result - mix all sorts of bags together!

Reuse plastic bottles in plant growing

If you’re a plant lover, here's a simple idea on how to use plastic bottles for your hobby.

Allegedly, you can put sealed plastic bottles at the bottom of a big flower pot instead of rocks. They'll provide the pot with drainage, but won't make it so heavy!

Here's how it looks:

Extra tip: Since the pot is lighter without the stones, you can now change its location more often to brighten up different corners of your room! Feel free to send us feedback on this project!

Upcycle plastic bottle caps - make a unique soap dish

Remember those ideas for the poorly furnished apartment where you’re only temporarily staying? We talked about brooms and dustpans. You may want to have a soap holder too.

Here's a cheap and original idea on how to make it. You will need plastic bottle caps, a little plastic container and some pebbles.

Extra tip: instead of using pebbles and a plastic container, you can try and glue the caps together with a hot glue gun. Keep in mind -  it's questionable that the glue cansurvive water and soap!

Recycle plastic bags - make your own plarn

You've probably heard about plarn. If not, you'll find out what it is in just a second!

Namely, it’s yarn made out of plastic bags! So, if you know how to knit or crochet, make a supply of plastic bags and a supply of plarn and you're ready!

First of all, here's how to make that plastic bag yarn!

Ideas for plarning coming soon!

Extra tip: use the thinnest plastic bags for this purpose!

A simple DIY dustpan - upcycle an old milk jug

Here’s a simple accessory for your plastic bottle broom. It's a handy milk jug dustpan! I presume it's also legit to use a detergent jug.

See?

Click on this link and find out the details!

Extra tip: this little shovel is also a lovely toy to be used on a beach , in a sandbox or when it’s snowing.

DIY: Make your own broom: upcycle a plastic bottle

This is an awesome idea! Let’s say you’re moving house, renting a flat or staying in a poorly furnished apartment for a while, and you don't want to waste your money on a new broom, but you’d still like to keep the place tidy and clean while you're staying there- you can simply use a 1.5liter plastic bottle for this purpose. Upcycle it into a handy broom!

Here's how you do it!

Extra tip: a broomstick doesn't have to be long. You can even use some branches!

Upcycled detergent bottles: reuse detergent bottles and turn them into a hardware storing place for your workshop

Have you noticed how detergent bottles, detergent jugs or detergent containers are neglected in the whole recycle - upcycling story? Well, at this page we haven’t forgotten about those.

Here's a simple idea for the reuse of old detergent bottles, ideal if your hubby (or you!) like to keep a well stocked supply of nails, screws and the like.

Extra tip: The bottles can be used as hardware storage in a workshop, but you can use them for storing all sorts of thingies, although, I must say, they seem pretty "at home" in a workshop or a garage.

Upcycle plastic bottle caps and freshen up your home with an original chandelier

There are recycling containers for collecting plastic bottles, paper, glass etc. Have you noticed how plastic bottle caps aren’t collected at all? So what should we do with them? There is a special way they might be recycled, but you have to "investigate" that in your own city. Meanwhile, we’ll see how you can reuse them.

Creative minds worldwide have already started to come up with cool ideas on how to put those caps to use!

My first cap suggestion is a beautiful lampshade. It is not very complicated, but it takes some time, precision and patience to get it right.

Here it is!

A step by step guide is described at this page , where you can even find some print material to help you pin the lampshade up.

Extra tip: try out different colored caps. Pictures are very welcome in the comment section!

Cool DIY bracelets made from upcycled plastic bottles

If you want to renew your jewellery collection, check out this cool&cheap idea! Nature abhors plastic bottles, so why should we keep piling them up. Reuse, recycle, upcycle!

All you need is one plastic bottle (you can make up to 5 different bracelets with just one 1.5 liter plastic bottle!), some duct tape, a piece of fabric, glue (preferably a hot glue gun), and a cutter. Be careful with that blade!

You can add some decorations such as buttons, ribbons and the like.

Click here for a GREAT step-by-step tutorial.

More posh ideas you can find here.

And one more example:

Extra tip: use old fabric leftovers to make your bracelet 100% eco friendly!

What to do with a bunch of milk jugs ?!

Does your love of milk often leave you stumbling among piles of empty milk jugs? In need of some new curtains?

Here’s a swell idea – milk jug curtains!!

It really doesn’t seem very complicated! So - go ahead and make some new curtains for your own or  for your childrens’ room!

Extra tip: I don’t see a reason why you shouldn't paint it! Maybe in a lighter color that will make the light in the room seem softer, or perhaps you could color each square in a different shade!

More details about how to exactly get to the final product at Homemade Mamas' page