Challenge #57: Creative Upcycling at Unstampabelles - final week

Yep,it is the final week to enter the challenge at Unstampabelles

The theme is 

Creative Upcycling

This means that you are to recycle something creatively - that is use something you would normally throw away in a creative way - not just to use materials that are old. 

TWIST use something you have had in your craft room for a year or more

There is a prize - with an extra surprise thrown in

Mine for this week is another toilet roll project

I followed a tutorial by the Craftaholic Witch and can assure you, her's is much better than mine!

I worked with a normal roll but would think of using a stronger roll such as a kitchen roll of paper as the toilet roll was a bit flimsy. She gives no size instructions but I went with halving the roll, and then taking a 2 cm off the end of one. These smaller two were the main bits for the box.

Next you cut two circles for a lid. Now, my tutor told me that I had to glue them carefully to the end of each cut roll. Not so easy to do. I ended up using a circle of paper inside slightly larger than the roll, and glueing that to the lid and the inside of the roll and even then it was not that stable. Perhaps strips across the lid first, and then glued inside .......

Anyway, I just ran glue around the edge and tried to get them to stick.

Then you take a strip of card (mine was about 4.5 cm wide and enough to make the inner circle of the roll. This becomes the inside of the box, and creates the lip for the top to sit on. 

Once it is constructed, you decorate it.

My red flower is well over a year old, and so are the red buttons.

The ribbon around the base is also recycled from a flower arrangement 

It is cute - I am currently waiting for all the glue to dry though to see if it is sturdier.

A good little gift box for a small gift - suitable for jewelry or for a silk item (?) if squashed.

It took me about 3 hours of fiddling (plus dealing with hubbies constant interruptions) to make. 

You can go to Unstampabelles and see what else is there to inspire you before entering your own work.