Inspired scrap craft - Reusing lotion, shampoo bottles

Proud moment for a scrappy parent! Big Sister came to me with a small card board candy box and said she is not going to throw it away, but is going to use it for a project. Now she is on a mission to make an airplane out of it. And is collecting some more 'junk' that can make its wings and tail! As happy as I am, I now have to make a scraps box for her projects as well...

Here is a really cool inspired recycling project.

Make holders from empty shampoo, moisturizer, body wash containers. Read on for the step-by-step.

For a while now, I have been using old shampoo and moisturizer containers to make simple holders. Just cut them up to desired height. Sand off the rough edges. Accent it with paint or just leave it be and use it as a light weight holder.

Until I came across this super cool post by an awesome DIYer at Make It & Love It. Then I made this.

You can click on the link here to see her tutorial or read on to see my version. Though most steps are the same, I prefer to list them here as well. I have ran into many a tutorials online where the blogger says they found the tutorial 'here' but the link is long broken and then I am stuck with just 'here' and no lead.
(Although I am sure Make It & Love It isn't disappearing anywhere now!)

First step: Don't throw away anything! Once empty clean them out thoroughly and dry it out.

Peel off the sticker. If there is some glue residue left on the bottle, don't wash it off yet. We can put that residue to good use.

After deciding on the height of your holder, create a similar paper template.

Wrap it around the bottle. Remember the glue residue? That will hold the paper template in place while you trace the outline.

Using a scissor or a box cutter cut along the line.

The edges are bound to be rough. Just sand it down using sand paper. Now wash the bottles with dish soap and a scrub to take off the glue. Some bloggers recommend using Goo Gone. But dish soap and a scrub worked good enough for me.

Now, for the finishing. You can leave the holders as it is. Or you can stick fabric on to it like Ashley did at Make it & Love it. Or you can paint on it like I did.

I used acrylic colors and after one coating, found that it does not adhere very well to plastic. I read some recommendations online that oil based paints have better adherence to plastic. I have not verified this. Maybe it works. But I have also heard that oil colors are messy to work with and clean up is a chore. So I decided go the acrylic way. You just need to prep the plastic with a primer.

You can find this in any hardware store for about $3-4. When you spray it, make sure you work in an open environment but not when it's windy!

Once the primer dries, let your imagination run wild with your acrylics. I let Big Sister paint the first coat. And if you think the paint job is shoddy, I will shamelessly blame her. :)

Attach a hook to the wall and hang your holder. The fat markers, skinny markers, crayons, pencils and brushes now have their neat little homes on the wall.

Save up those bottle now...and make something fun!