Ladybugs from recycled milk bottle lid rounds

by Megan Bayliss | May 12, 2012 9:20 am

[1]Inspired by a beautiful craft at Crafts by Amanda[2], I made a recycled mobile version of her construction paper ladybugs: mine are instead smaller and made from recycled white waxy rounds found under many milk and drink bottles. Ladybabies, they are.

So gorgeous, so easy and so heavenly recycled, these are fun, bright and perfect for Ladybug themed parties or summer play.

Follow the pics to make your spinning Ladybabies.

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Collect and clean your recycled waxy white rounds (copious vinegar in hot soapy water kills any lurking bacteria). Lay them out on scrap paper ready to paint.

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Prior to painting, cut a straight line from one edge into the middle as though you are making a cone piece.

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Now paint the recycled waxy rounds in bright colours. You need a head, wing spots and eyes. NOTE: Your ladybugs get made in pairs: on each pair of circles, paint a head at the opposite end of each one. On one half of the pair the edge of the slit is the bottom. For the other half,  the slit is at the top where the painted head is. This will make sure that your “heads” line up together.

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When dry, line up the slits and slide the recycled waxy rounds into each other. If you have matched correctly, you will have the head ends matching.

Run a thin line of hot glue down the middle quarter of your Ladybaby and place a long string of cotton that will capture three or four Ladybabies at varying distances. Either hang this single string or attach to a milk bottle top painted as the mother ladybug Note: I used thinly stripped plastic webbing – it self curls and gave a bouncy effect).

Very cute, yes? If you’d like to buy a small box of cleaned waxy rounds to make oodles of these gorgeous Ladybabies, contact me[8]. $3.00 a box and $7.00 postage and handling in Australia…or, if you are in Cairns, see me at the Mother’s Day market at the Pier, Cairns.

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Source URL: http://thejunkwave.com/2012/05/12/ladybugs-from-recycled-milk-bottle-lid-rounds/

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