They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that cant be truer than if youre having oatmeal for breakfast. Sure, oatmeal is nutritious but it also comes in that great cylindrical canister! Those canisters can be used to make all sorts of new things for your home, yourself and your family. Use empty oatmeal containers to make kitchen canisters, bathroom tissue storage and many other things. If oatmeal is a staple in your house you likely go through dozens and dozens of those containers. Take the next one you empty and use it to make a cool toy for a crawling baby. He or she will absolutely love it and play with it for hours on end.
To make the baby toy youll actually need one empty oatmeal container plus the lid from a second container. The size oatmeal container you use is up to you but the second lid must be from a canister of the same size. You can use a damp washcloth to wipe out the inside of the canister as well as the inside of both lids. The next order of business is to choose what you want to use for covering the canister. Use decorative paper, fabric, felt or something similar.
Youll be making a see-thru, rolling toy for a crawling baby, and since you cant see through an oatmeal canister youll have to do something about that. Purchase acetate sheets at a craft store to make windows for the rolling toy. Or, use acetate pieces from product boxes you have at home. Acetate is a see-through material found on many boxes. It is used to create a window so that you can see inside the box. Acetate sheets are perfect for making windows in the new toy. Remove the lid from the canister and set it aside with the second lid. Wrap the oatmeal container in the cloth or paper youve selected. The lid will not fit on the canister after you wrap it so be sure to keep the cloth or paper below the line where the lid fits onto the canister. Just place the lid on the container, draw around the edge of it, then use that line as a measure for where to stop with the cloth or paper. Do the same thing to the bottom: place the lid on the bottom, draw around it, and use that line to guide you. Completely glue the covering on the canister by covering the container with white glue before wrapping the paper or cloth around it. Make sure the glue is completely dry before proceeding. Decide how large you want the windows to be. The best toy is made when several windows are cut all the way around the canister. The windows should stretch from the top of the canister to near the bottom and should be several inches wide. Its easiest to cut the windows if you first make a pattern thats a long, wide rectangle. Cut the paper pattern, place it against the canister, and draw around it. Do this several times to make the windows that encircle the oatmeal canister. Upon cutting the windows into the new toy, youll have cut away most of the canister but will have left a cardboard strip, here and there, all the way around. Use a craft knife to cut the windows after the fabric or paper has been attached. On the inside, use tape to position the acetate sheets over the openings youve cut. Now your windows are in place. Decorate the lids to match the canister by cutting a circle of fabric or paper and gluing it to each lid. To do the sides of the lid you can use a simple piece of wide ribbon. After the lids and canister have been covered you can begin adding small items to the inside of the canister. Drop in lightweight, colorful balls, small bells, lengths of colored ribbon, beads, buttons or similar items. Dont make the canister heavy with these objects; just put in enough to look colorful through the windows and to make some noise as it rolls. After youve added all the objects glue the top and bottom lid onto the canister. This toy will thrill any crawling child who will chase it for hours. He or she will love peering in the windows, and seeing the objects roll around, while rolling, shaking or just holding the toy. Make these for a friends baby, a young niece or nephew, or for your own child. Theyre easy t
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