Dollhouse miniatures from plastic pull tabs

Get ready to dive into a treasure trove of dollhouse miniatures made from something you might usually toss in the recycling bin: those trusty plastic pull tabs from orange juice bottles and liquid egg cartons. It’s a crafty adventure waiting to happen!

When working with miniatures it is easy to fall in love with every little adorable piece you find online or in the stores. It is hard to resist not buying everything you see.

Of course, sticker shock is one way to curb your shopping spree. Miniatures vary in prices depending on the craftsmanship and work involved. So many us who love all things mini, find ourselves making a lot of our miniatures.

One place to find inspiration and small unique building blocks for our mini creations is in our trash. I have a plastic bin filled with bits and baubles I have collected and saved over the years. It started as a small resealable bag and quickly evolved from a small plastic bin to a much larger one.

Some of trashy treasures include bottle caps, broken pens, spray bottle components, plastic pull tabs, andI-don’t-know-where-this-came-from-scrap. I look for small unique shapes that can can be glued, painted or made into…well, something in miniature.

Today I am sharing some ideas on how to use one favorite bit of trash: the plastic pull tab from egg white cartons and orange juice bottles. And if you make miniatures, you know you have hoarded quite a collection of these!

One conversation that always pops up in my miniature facebook groups is what to do with these pieces. I have used them in a number of different ways, but I also found more inspiration from my fellow mini makers. So, I thought I would put all these ideas together here in one place so that I could inspire you, as well.

Now there are two parts to pull tab, the round ring and the flat disc. I have found them in small sizes (about 2.5cm wide) and larger ones (3 cm wide). Some of the discs are flatter than others, some have a little shallow bowl and then several come with ridges in them.

I have projects that use all of these shapes and sizes, as well both the discs and the rings. After reading this, you’ll never throw another pull tab in the garbage again!

Handles

First let’s tackle a super easy project. I frequently use the round rings as handles. Cut them in half or thirds, depending on how large you need them, and presto! You have sleek handles.

Use them as:

• Door handles
• Cabinet handles
• Drawer pulls
• Basket handles
• Tray handles

I have a tutorial showing how I use them as handles to make these miniature wooden trays. I have also used them for cabinet handles, too.

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Plates

As I mentioned before, the round discs come in different shapes and sizes. They obviously resemble little plates, so it is not surprising that many us use them for that purpose.

Add some nail stickers directly on the plastic rounds and you have pretty plates. You can also paint them with simple or ornate designs. I tried to create a Mexican Talavera plate by using super fine paint brushes and toothpicks to paint the design, then sealed with Mod Podge Gloss.

If you aren’t a painter, you can print out small plate designs and Mod Podge them onto the plates. I did this with one of the larger discs to create a cute Easter platter. The original plastic round was orange so I painted it white first then glued on the printout.

You can also create the mini paper plates using these discs as molds. Cut out your plate design and add a layer of Mod Podge into the plate. Press the paper round into the plastic disc and add more Mod Podge on top.

Once dried, gently pry out the paper plate, and ta-dah! You are ready for a mini birthday party!

I also use the plastic round discs to make a mold. Press it into some silicone moulding paste to make a mold then use the mold with UV resin to make some clear dishes. You can also use air dry clay or polymer clay to make dishes with your mold, too.

I have a free printable of Easter and spring themed plates for you here.

Mini Supplies

• Tweezers
• Pliers
• UV Resin

SHOP NOW

Scales

Some of the round discs have grooves in them, which does not make them especially useful for a dinner plate. I like to use these for the bowls of my antique scales. I have a fascination with scales and make a miniature kitchen scales in all shapes, colors and sizes.

They are ridiculously cute and so much fun to make. I used the larger plastic discs to make the bowls for the larger antique scales. I gently folded the disc like a taco, slightly heating it with a lighter so it will fold more easily. Once cooled, it holds this shape.

I used this same heating technique to make this gathering basket. The handle is, you guessed, a plastic ring.

Lids

The round discs also make great lids to containers and can be made for:

• Trash cans
• Cooking pots
• Kitchen canisters
• Anything that a needs a lid!

You can rummage through your bauble bin for containers. I save plastic caps from my hair products, sauce bottles and any other things that I think I could use… one day.

For my little trash can, I used the small clear cap from my hair curling spray. The little casserole pot is from the screw top of a carton of chicken broth. This little disc fits on top of a large number of items.

If you need a handle for your lid, like the one I have for my casserole dish, cut a straight pin that has a ball top, push it into the center of the plastic disc and secure with a dab of glue. Voila!

More ideas

So while I was making these little miniatures and waiting for glue to set and paint to dry, I wandered around my house looking for more inspiration. What else do I have that is round?

Here are some more options:

• Round picture frame
• Round clock
• Smoke detector
• Needle point hoop
• Hand mirror
• Towel ring
• Tray
• Paella pan
• Tiered cake stand
• Mobile
• Step stool
• Cat tower

For the clocks, I blued a small printed out clock face onto a wood round. Once dry, I brush on some UV resin. I usually start with the nail polish version. A few zaps under the UV light and it is cured.

I paint the ring that will go around the clock and once that is dry, glue over the clock face. After that dries, I start adding layers of UV resin, curing the layers before adding more. There are small gaps between the clock face and ring and I do thin layers so it doesn’t ooze out.

The towel ring is made with a plastic ring, a toothpick (the ones like this one that have some cool carved handles) a few thin wood rounds and a bead. The hand held mirror is made with a toothpick, plastic ring and one of these tiny craft mirrors.

Painting the plastic takes a few coats. I find that adding a layer of regular acrylic paint first helps the metallic paints stick better to the plastic. I also like to seal my painted creations with Mod Podge, either in matte or gloss finishes.

I am sure I have missed more ideas, so feel free to comment below and share what you have made with these magical and marvelous pull tabs. I will keep this post updated as I come up with more ideas.

If you need more details on the minis I made in this post, let me know and I’ll provide them.

As always, let your imagination take flight and create something amazing!

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