Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project, focusing on ways to reuse plastic bottles.

Plastic seems to be one of the biggest curses when it comes to the world’s environmental concerns.

It is responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of marine creatures every year. It accounts for nearly 20 per cent of landfill waste and up to 80 per cent of rubbish littering beaches, seabeds and oceans.

By finding fun ways to reinvent plastic and creating with children, we can avoid adding to this number and empower kids to help save the world.

THREE WAYS TO REUSE PLASTIC BOTTLES

REUSE PLASTIC BOTTLES –  PENCIL CASES

When I first came across this idea I was a little sceptical. Who would have thought we could convert a plastic bottle into a pencil case?

Also, zippers can be quite expensive and the idea of cutting them to make them fit the bottle had me full of doubt.

However, the curious crafter in me had to give it a go and I’m thrilled with the result.

The beauty of these pencil cases is that you can see what’s inside and the zipper makes it a little harder for tiny fingers to undo, so no more giant marker stains on my lounge. :)

MATERIALS

• Two plastic bottles – I used small water bottles for one pencil case and 1.25-litre soda water bottles for another.
• Zippers – I was lucky enough to find a pack of four short zippers at a cheap shop for just $2.00.
• Box cutters
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Colourful tape – optional

METHOD

It’s a good idea to decide what you want to store in the bottles before you start so you can measure and make sure your pencil case is tall enough.

• Place two bottles of the same size together lying down so that the bottom of one bottle and the top of the other are next to each other.
• Hold a pencil or marker you want to contain in them on one bottle and move the other bottle up or down to the height you want.
• Use a marker to create a cut line and box cutters to cut each bottle into two pieces.

• Put aside the top part of each bottle (we’ll use them in the next project).
• Place the zipper around the opening you created in one of the bottles to see how it fits. A little overlap is OK. My zipper wasn’t long enough to go all the way around the soda water bottle so I used strong sticky tape to cover the gap between the zipper’s start and end and it works fine. I have not tried cutting long zippers to make them fit.
• Use the glue gun to put a line of glue all around the inside of the bottle opening and attach the zipper so that a little material is sticking out (so you can move the zipper back and forth freely).
• Unzip the zipper and glue the other side to the other bottle.
• I used coloured tape on the outside of the bottle to hide the glue and liked the effect so much I added a few extra tape stripes on the bigger bottle.

REUSE PLASTIC BOTTLES –  CATCH THE BEAD TOYS

This is a really easy way to use the top of the bottles, put aside from the bottle pencil case craft, and it is so much fun for kids to play with.

MATERIALS

• Plastic bottle top with the cap screwed on.
• A length of string, about 40 cm long.
• A bead or button. I used a wooden bead for one toy for the older Goddess, but, mindful of little sore heads if they miss catching it, I used a leftover (from Easter) foam bunny for the littlest Goddess. I just tied the string around the bunny’s neck. She’s still too small to play catch the bunny but she likes to place it in it’s new home and because it’s attached with string, it won’t be so easy to lose.
• Paint
• Nail polish, stickers to decorate – optional.

METHOD

• Simply paint the leftover bottles. I used spray paint because I love how quickly it dries – and patience is not one of my virtues.
• I let one of the Goddesses decorate it using different coloured nail polishes – they really love using nail polish in art.
• Attach a bead, a button or whatever to one end of the string and thread the other end through the top of the bottle, where the cap is.
• Screw the bottle cap back on, right over the string and you have an instant catch toy.

REUSE PLASTIC BOTTLES – PLANTER

Another fun way to use the tops of bottles is to create a cute little planter by glueing the bottle, cap side down, to an old CD.

Cover the whole thing in paint, add soil and a plant. How cute.

Follow Gleeful Grandiva on Pinterest for more fun craft ideas.

Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.