Ideas for Recycling Plastic Food Trays and Lids
One simple thing to do with the deep, clear plastic lids is to make a basket to hold hairbrushes and toiletries or spices and kitchen tools. Purchase a piece of foam that is a quarter-inch wide and cut it to the height of the basket, minus an inch. You can also use cotton or batting. Complete wrap the sides of the basket with the foam, using spray adhesive to hold the foam in place quickly.
Cut a large piece of fabric, the shape of the basket, but much bigger. If the clear plastic top is a square, cut a square piece of fabric – oval, cut an oval piece. The piece should be large enough to come up to the edge of the basket, plus five inches.
Press the edge of the fabric down two and a half inches, all the way around. Glue or stitch the hem into place if you want, but it’s not a necessity for this project. Cut a piece of ribbon to 10 inches longer than the circumference of the basket. Pull the fabric up around the foam-covered deli lid and tie the ribbon around the circumference to secure. The easiest way to do this is to wrap the ribbon around the basket and fabric, then hold the ends loosely. Begin positioning the fabric, around the edge, to where it puckers evenly. Continue this from the front, around the back, and to where you began. Tie the ribbon securely and you have a beautiful catch-all basket.
Use other clear, plastic lids – such as the ones that come with a birthday cake – to make a doll swimming pool. The lids, whether round or rectangular, are perfect for a Barbie pool party. There’s no need to decorate or otherwise enhance the pool. Just fill with water and you’re all set.
These kinds of lids are also great for storing lots of CD’s, Roms, and DVD’s, magazines, sewing notions, and much more.
For Christmas you can make a beautiful scene with a clear plastic lid. Wrap the outside of the lid with foam and navy blue velvet. You can also use satin or another pretty fabric. Use the same technique as for the basket above. Punch a hole in the back of the inside portion of the lid, towards the top, to hang. Now decorate the inside with cotton or white batting. The batting should cover the back, where the hole has been punched, as well as the inside sides.
Now set the scene: a mini park bench with a horse and buggy moseying by or maybe a Christmas tree with reindeer nearby. It’s entirely up to you. Craft stores are packed with miniatures of all sorts, so the scene doesn’t necessarily have to be for Christmas. It can be for Easter, Thanksgiving or even someone’s anniversary. Simply change the cotton to straw or something appropriate for the particular scenery and choose miniatures that go along with your theme.
The plates from delis – the ones with the sections – can be used to make a table centerpiece. Each section can represent a different part of the entire scene. For example, if there are three sections, you can make one a skating rink with mini skaters, another section can be decorated with a mini Christmas tree and presents, while the third section is made up of houses and white picket fences. Use green garland to outline each section and to hide the sides of the tray.
The trays that aren’t sectioned are perfect for a mirror hanger. Spray paint the tray gold or silver, or just leave it black. Purchase a mirror that is slightly larger than the tray. The plain mirrors are available at most any craft store. Punch a hole in the inside part of the tray bottom, towards the top, to use for a hanger. Glue the mirror onto the tray with contact cement. Now make a border to go around the mirror by gluing on dolphins, shells, thin foam hearts, crayons, twigs, or any number of items.
Either the sectioned or non-sectioned trays are perfect for floral centerpieces as well. Just glue Spanish moss to cover the tray and attach silk flowers, leaves, wood chips, and other florals to the moss. There are many other things you can make, too. Fill the plastic lids with quick concrete mix and make stepping stones. Or, place the lids on kids’ shelves to hold art supplies, doll accessories and other things. You’ll find lots of other ways to use the lids and trays if you think about it. Happy Crafting!
