Repurposing Ice Cream Container Lids

Funny thing to reuse, but the idea worked pretty well! Since I didn't have a scrollsaw, I was trying to think of an easy way to recreate a snowman plaque. I saw a pretty simple and inexpensive idea in a magazine years ago that I wanted to make for the holiday bazaar. I decided to try using the lid to an ice cream container, the type that has a plastic band around a cardboard insert. It probably took more time to make using this as my base, but it was cheap, didn't require a saw and kept something out of the landfill.

I don't have photos of that project since it was so long ago, but I can describe how it was done:

1) lightly sand the glossy finish on the lid
2) coat with gesso (may require two coats)
3) base coat with white (may require two coats)
4) paint on the snowman face / features
5) create a simple hat out of a fabric scrap
6) add extra embellishments such as a scarf, greenery, snowflakes
7) attach something to the back to hang with (hot glue a loop of ribbon or wire for example)



Last winter I created this from a different brand of ice cream container lid, much smaller than the one I used for the snowman:

Rather than spending all of the time painting, I stamped and adhered a piece of card stock to this lid project, wrapped ribbon (reused from a gift package!) around the edges and tied in a bow. Even the beads in the center of the flower are reused: they were once part of a beaded napkin ring !

Obviously not as sturdy as wood, but ice cream lids make great, cheap bases for many plaque ideas: "Shhhhh... baby is sleeping" door sign; name sign for a bedroom door; "I'm out/studying/etc" for a dorm room door; attach a note pad and pen then hang from a pantry door to write a grocery list on; so on.

Another great use for them: to mix paints on/ hold paint "puddles" ! I have used them, upside down, to water down or mix acrylic craft paint on or to use as a "stamp pad" for a shallow puddle of paint to dip sponge stamps in for kids to use.


Thanks for looking !