The Recycling Bin: May Day Baskets

This is the perfect project for people who are too lazy to take out their recycling, but not too lazy to do arts and crafts (i.e. me). For whatever reason, I never feel the need to take out the recycling until there are at least four cans and a couple bottles that I have set on the floor next to the bin. I agree, it’s ridiculous and disgusting, but if I took out the recycling … I wouldn’t have been able to do this cool May Day basket project.

Let’s begin!

First, go to your recycling bin and survey the scene. Tin cans work well, as do the bottom half of plastic bottles, and milk or juice cartons. I didn’t have any small glass jars – but those would be a good option too. Anything that held a liquid before is a good choice since you will putting flowers and water in it.

Now comes the gross part. If you are like me, you didn’t properly rinse out all of your containers before putting them in the bin … so you’re going to have to give everything a good rinse and scrub. Nobody wants a May Day basket that has dried tomato sauce on it!

For bottles and cartons, you will need to peel off any labels and cut off the top half to make a proper container ……… this is me waiting for you to cut the bottles in half …….. be careful – nobody wants a May Day basket with dried blood on it!

Now comes the fun part – decorating! I have decided to use this super-cool decorative masking tape. This stuff is great. It comes in all these wonderful patterns and colors, so you can create a lot of different looks when you have several rolls. I started with a few simple patterns and then went on to do layered designs.

The tape is really easy to apply and peel off if you make a mistake. You can even peel it off a previous layer and it won’t mess anything up. The tape is fairly sheer, so you’ll need a couple layers most of the time (especially if you are covering up a logo on the carton/can/bottle).

Next, you’ll need to give your basket a handle. I just cut some ribbon we had and hot glued it to the inside of the container. Make sure your handle is secure, as you will be filling up with water and flowers. You might want to put a few pieces of tape or glue a small piece of paper over the ribbon to reinforce it.

Now, simply fill your May Day basket with a few pretty blooms, write a short little note to go with it and go leave it on friend or neighbor’s front door knob. Voila! Instant smiles.