In keeping with the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new theme of the season, we’ll be focusing on crafts made with recycled materials for a couple of weeks.
For our first project, how about making a photo, recipe or memo holder out of an old salt and pepper shaker?
Unless you are one of those ruthless, highly organized souls without a strand of packrat DNA, you can probably find a stray salt or pepper shaker buried in a closet or cupboard.
Or perhaps you have a matched set that you are simply sick of using for the intended purpose.
Either way, you can recycle a shaker into a decorative holder by adding some filler and a few pieces of wire.
We found several shakers in the recesses of our cupboards – some ceramic and some plastic – which we no longer use but haven’t been able to part with.
The process for all three of the sets shown in our photo illustrations is the same, but we wanted to show you the different uses and filler options.
Begin by cleaning out the shaker completely and using a large needle or metal skewer to open the holes if they are clogged. It’s important to have the holes as clean as possible so that the wire will fit.
To give the shaker enough weight to hold cards or photos and to keep the wires you’ll be adding from flopping around, fill the shaker with sand, which you can probably find at the craft store or, if not, at the pet store with the fish tank accessories.
We used salt and birdseed to fill our shakers, but only because we wanted to use materials we had on hand, rather than purchasing something new. If you decide to follow our lead, keep in mind that birdseed has a tendency to sprout if it’s exposed to moisture, which could result in some surprises inside the shaker.
Sand from the craft or pet store also comes in colors, so if you use clear shakers, such as our plastic set, you can layer several colors to add an interesting touch. We used layers of salt and pepper for ours, but we might also have added other spices, legumes or even unpopped popcorn for some pizzazz.
Whatever your choice of filler, make sure to fill the shaker as tightly as possible to keep the wires in place.
Next, cut a length of wire long enough to be curled at one end to form a holder.
We twisted several strands of thin wire together for our holders, but we highly recommend using a stronger wire as the holders turned out a little floppier than we had hoped. (Again, we used only materials we had on hand and we were out of stronger wire.)
Using a pair of round-nosed pliers, curl one end of the wire piece back on itself to make a clip in which to insert your photo or card.
Attach your photos, cards or memos to the wires and insert the wires into the shaker holes.
Make sure that the wires, though kept in place by the filler, can be inserted and removed from the holes easily. This will make attaching photos and cards easier than if the wires are permanently stuck in the holes.
Decorative ceramic holders, such as our doggies and jungle animals, can be used on a desk or in any room in the house. The clear shakers, filled with spices or other food and kitchen-related items, make nice recipe card holders.
Looking ahead…
If you received one of those popcorn cans for the holidays, empty out the popcorn and hang onto the can as we’ll be using it for our project either next week or the week after.
And a note to our online readers …
If you read Craft Corner online, you don’t get to see the accompanying photos that appear in the print version of the column.
Because we’ve had many requests for the photos from our online readers and because we understand how crucial the photos can be when trying to follow instructions – we’ll be happy to send the photos to you by e-mail if you drop us a line at jrocoffin@aol.com.
To receive a prompt response, please send your request within a couple of weeks after the column runs; otherwise, we have to retrieve the photos from a backup disk, which takes a bit longer.
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