Full Circle Friday - Well, sort of

We are going to take a break from the sketch this week. I am working on a ton of gifts right now and thought I would share a couple. This week I created a bucket for my girls to hold all their hundreds of little plastic animals. The collection is outgrowing the little tupperware where they are currently stored. This concept can be adapted to hold small toys of all kinds... cars, princess, Barbie accessories, crayons & markers, etc. The ideas don't stop at children. Use the bucket to hold a spa set for a friend or teenager, a family-movie-night kit for a neighbor, or just use it as fun gift wrapping!

Supplies:

• Metal bucket by EK
• Patterned Paper by Basic Grey
• Stickers by American Crafts and Basic Grey
• Rub Ons by Creative Imaginations
• Ribbons by Maya Road and unknown
• Super Tape by ThermOWeb

(Did you know W.C.S. sells this particular white bucket and other plain paint cans? They come in gallon, quart, and pint sizes.)

The first thing I did was measure the diameter of the lid and cut out a circle to adhere to the top. Then I cut paper strips to go on the sides of the bucket. My bucket took 2-12 inch long strips to go all the way around. In the end, however, I only used 3 sheets of patterned paper! When adhering the paper to the metal I recommend using ThermOWeb's Super Tape and place it completely around the edges of the paper. It is strong enough to keep the paper in place despite some wear and tear. After the paper is on, embellish with stickers, rub ons, Stickles, or whatever you would like.

My animal toy bucket took only about 30 minutes start to finish. It was a great quick and easy gift with a big impact. I know my little girls will love toting it around the house. With busy schedules and a shrinking time frame, quick and easy is the way to go!