Thistle Dubh Ewe

Knitting Project Bags and Knitting Notions

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Scottish Crafting Podcasts Galore
    • Scottish Events: Crafting and Fibre Festivals
  • Etsy Shop
    • Order Cancellation Form
  • Ask Me A Question
  • About TDE & Me
  • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Contact Me
Home » Recycling Your Plastic Drink Bottles

by Lou Leave a Comment

Recycling Your Plastic Drink Bottles

  • Tweet
  • Email

So today I want to share one of the projects I’ve been playing around with recently. We go through a fair number of plastic drinks bottles in our household and there are several crafty ways to recycle them rather than dumping them in the rubbish bin. Over the years I’ve heard of and read about people making gadgets to measure rainfall, bird feeders, handy little watering cans and even small gift boxes. The ideas are only limited by your own imagination.

My partner tends to retain their original purpose and refills them with water: normal tap water for giving car windows a quick wash, chilled water for an easy drink while out and about and distilled water for filling batteries. On the other hand, I prefer to make something completely different that’s both decorative and practical.

On this occasion I made myself two new pen holders for my desk. A meagre attempt to bring some order to the usual mayhem! They’re both made from Coca Cola bottles, but each one had a slightly different shape to add a bit of interest. I do like the “hour glass” shape of the smaller 1.5 litre bottles. This is also a great little project to do with your kids when you have a spare hour or two as long as an adult is in charge of the scissors. All of the paper and ribbons used here were being recycled along with the bottles. The paper had been used in other long since finished journal projects and the ribbons came from chocolate box wrapping.

Starting Materials

Materials you will need are:

  • A selection of papers
  • Ribbon if required
  • Mod Podge glue
  • Sharp scissors
  • Shape punches if required
  • Small piece of wadding/padding
  • Acrylic paint to match your chosen papers
  • Paint brush / glue brush
  • Any other decorative items you want to use

First step was of course to wash the sticky residue out of the bottles with warm (not hot) water and a little detergent. You don’t want to warp the plastic so do be careful of the temperature. The next step was to cut them to size. This is completely up to you and your own taste. I tend to cut along the natural lines in the plastic where possible as it’s a little easier and looks nicer. On the taller 2 litre bottles that’s not possible as they’re smooth, so simply pick the height you prefer. I cut mine a little higher to hold some longer items such as rulers, pencils, bone folders etc.

Pen HolderNext it can be a good idea to lightly sand along the cut edge as plastic can be rather sharp and gives quite painful cuts to unwary fingers. The final step is to decorate any way you see fit.

On my smaller one, I decoupaged a selection of white and lilac handmade papers over the outside. Due to the nature of the paper, it becomes almost transparent when covered in glue and creates a frosted glass effect. As a finishing touch I punched out some purple and pink hearts and added them on top.

 

 

 

 

 

For the taller holder, I chose two contrasting designs in red and white from my scrap 12 x 12 paper box and glued them around the bottle one above the other. I painted the inside of the bottle (only round the bottom) with a cream coloured acrylic paint so I wouldn’t see all the bottoms of my pencils.White would have worked better but I was deliberately using things I already had in the house rather than buying new stuff.

Pen Holder Gap

As you can see from the photo, the papers didn’t quite meet up so to cover the gap, I added a thin red silk ribbon and then attached a red organza bow on top of it.

Pen Holder Final 2

The final step was to cut 2 strips of wadding (I use this to pad cross stitch designs that are going in cards usually) about 1 – 1.5 inches wide and place them over each other like a + sign before putting them into the bottom of the holder. This helps to reduce too much noisy rattling of pens and pencils against the plastic, particularly as my cats love to investigate anything that looks chewable!

You could alternatively use fabric to cover your bottle or simply paint the whole thing with your own design. Kids might enjoy stamping designs onto a blank piece of paper and then gluing the finished product round their bottle. It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2 litre bottles are tall enough to hold quite an assortment of things. With a little weight added, you could fill one with kitchen utensils or artificial flowers. Glass pebbles in the bottom in different colours can be useful for just such a purpose as well as adding another element of decoration.

If you make some pen holders of your own, do post and share a link to your work. Or if you have an alternative use for plastic bottles let us know about it.

Related posts:

  1. Recycled Storage Solution: Craft Fabric Boxes
  2. Tumblethumps Wool Tumble Dryer Balls
  3. Cool Craft Trends: What’s Hot For Your Makes In 2014
«
»

Filed Under: Craft Projects, Eco Crafting, Recycled Crafts Tagged With: craft projects, eco crafting, Recycled crafts, sustainable living

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

Louise at Thistle Dubh Ewe

Let’s Keep In Touch!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

  • A Crafting Life: General Musings
  • Craft Business Concerns
  • Craft Events
  • Craft Kit Review
  • Craft Materials
  • Craft Projects
  • Eco Crafting
  • Knitting Projects
  • Local Scottish Craft
  • Our Scottish Crafts on Etsy
  • Recycled Crafts
  • Tumblethumps

Instagram It

thistledubhewe

Louise Lockhart
Beautiful tartan on the cutting mat today, and not Beautiful tartan on the cutting mat today, and not just any tartan! Purple tartan! 😁 Pattern matching as best I can. I'll have 5 medium/sock size bags from this fabric, all going well, so a very limited run. #knittersofinstagram #britishknitters #tartanstyle #projectbags #knittingaccessories #etsyuk #sockknittingbag #knittingbags #igknitters
Last of the gnomes for now. They've been so popula Last of the gnomes for now. They've been so popular, thanks for all the orders folks! ☺️ This shawl bag is in a new colourway. A brighter blue on an ice blue background. Super winter-y. ❄️ It will be heading off to its forever home this weekend. Expect more spring appropriate fabrics in the coming weeks as I live in hope of warmer weather. 😁 #knittingbags #projectbag #knittingaccessories #knittersofinstagram #britishknitters #etsyselleruk #shoplocal
Another couple of custom bag orders that flew the Another couple of custom bag orders that flew the coop last weekend. 🥰😊 More gonks heading off to southern climes this weekend. Last posting date has now passed for this year but the Etsy shop will remain open (link in profile) through the holidays 🎄 for orders posting in January. #knittersofinstagram #knittingbags #knittingstorage #projectbag #gonksofinstagram #knittersofig #britishknitters  #shoplocaluk #etsyukseller
Latest custom order that went off to its new home Latest custom order that went off to its new home last week. 😍 A sweater size bag, perfect for those larger cold weather projects. #winterknitting #knittingaccessories #wipbags #projectbag #etsyukseller #smallbusinessuk #sweaterknitting #knittingstorage #gonks
It's a chilly night here in West Lothian, obviousl It's a chilly night here in West Lothian, obviously the perfect time for some therapeutic sock knitting. Especially since there's more sock yarn on the way! 😙 I started this beauty 3 years ago 😳 and have no idea why it's never been finished. The pattern is so easy to follow and I really like the contrasting colour and pattern in the panel below the cuff. Ruth, the designer behind the pattern, did a great job with this one. 👏🥰 I am going to have more actual pairs eventually. 😂 #socktawk #britishknitters #yarnink #womenwhomake #knitlife #socknittersofinstagram #mindfullymade
My lovely friend Lucy is hoping to re-open her LYS My lovely friend Lucy is hoping to re-open her LYS, Purl A Row, after a recent move from Cornwall to Lincolnshire. Under the current circumstances it's proving to be a bit of a struggle, so any and all support would be deeply appreciated. Even if it's just sharing the information with others! 😊
If you're looking for a knitty treat for yourself or even a gift for a knitting friend, do check out the luxury Christmas boxes that Lucy has available. Her Knit Lit box series has proven very popular, so you might also be interested in the new Woodland Box subscription boxes which start in January. 👏😉 All sign up links can be found on the website at the link below! #shoplocal #smallbusinessuk
Posted @withregram • @purl_a_row I'm so pleased to offer you all this luxury Christmas knit box. Numbers are limited and I will not be able to add more once they have sold. 
For all the exciting details follow the link or go to the website and sign up links page.
https://forms.gle/4MqJm7DggG4mTxEF7
#PURLAROW #LYS #WOOLSHOP #YARNSHOP #SUPPORTINGSMALLBUSINESSES #KNITBOX
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

What I’m Pinning

  • Faerie Knitting: 14 Tales of Love and Magic by Alice Hoffman and Lisa Hoffman - Signed Edition Coles Books
  • Celtic Grace Knitting pattern by Cheryl Beckerich
  • Ravelry: Silver Forest pattern by Jennifer Steingass
  • Learn How to Knit this Fancy Celtic Cable Pattern by Studio Knit with FREE written and chart pattern, along with video tutorial.
Follow Me on Pinterest

A Little History At the start of last month, Gilbert Baker died. He was just 65 years of age. The name may not mean anything to you but his legacy certainly will. Gilbert was the creator of the rainbow flag; a vibrant symbol for the LGBTQ community and one that is globally recognised. He said he wanted to […]

Say Ello!

Connect With Me On Ello

Pages

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Scottish Events: Crafting and Fibre Festivals
    • Scottish Crafting Podcasts Galore
  • About TDE & Me
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
  • Ask Me A Question
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Etsy Shop

Copyright © 2023 · Thistle Dubh Ewe design by Lovely Confetti

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept To find out how to delete cookies Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Necessary
Always Enabled