Frugal Parenting (featured column)
by Rachel Keller
Have you ever wondered what you can do with all those metal juice lids? Here are some ideas to get you started.
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* Cut out pictures from Christmas cards and glue to the lid. Punch a hole in top and place a ribbon through it to hang on your tree. (Instead of punching a hole in the lid, you can glue a hanger or ribbon on the back.) Check here for some great juice lid Christmas ornaments.
* Glue pictures on the lid and a magnet on the back and use to decorate refrigerators or filing cabinets, etc...
* Remove the top of a soda can lid and glue to the back of the lid instead of a magnet. Now, you can hang the lid on a nail or you can tie ribbon through it.
* Cut photos to fit the lid. Trim the lid with ribbon, lace, rickrack, buttons, or anything else.
* Use the white plastic juice lids for creative art work (center of a flower, for instance).
* Collect several lids and decorate with pictures or stickers. Punch holes in them and string onto a hanger for a mobile or wind chime decoration.
* After decorating with pictures or painting, tie several lids together to make an unusual musical instrument.
* Young children can use metal or plastic juice lids for counters or simple addition/subtraction problems.
* Use the lids for games. (For hopscotch, use in place of a stone.) Be creative in thinking of games with the lids.
* Let children experiment with magnets and juice lids. You could even build unusual designs using magnets and lids.
* Use juice lids as an accessory with scarves. I had a friend who would use the white plastic juice lids that came from plastic juice bottles as a scarf accessory. (You could also use a metal lid.) She would put the lid inside the scarf and put a rubber band around the outside to hold the lid in place and then tie the scarf around her neck. Though it’s hard to explain in writing, it was very pretty! Try it for a new look!
* Make a photo tie. Recently, I read an article about Father’s Day gifts, and this was one of the gifts mentioned. After decorating the juice lids with pictures or photos, use heavy glue to attach to an old tie. What a creative way to recycle while making a unique photo collage! See Baby Zone for this article.
* And if you can’t think of anything else to do with them, you can always recycle the lids.
What creative ideas do you have for using metal or plastic juice lids? We'd love to hear from you!
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Copyright © 2006 by Rachel Keller. All rights reserved.
