Wednesday, March 7, 2012

DIY Repurposed Pen Cap Vase


This post really belongs on my other blog, but I couldn't resist sharing it here. Why? Because it's green, it's upcycled, it's easy, it's kid-friendly, it's seasonally-appropriate, and it ties in nicely with a post that I wrote last March in which I sang the praises of little vases.

Readers, I give you the pen cap vase (which is, technically, more of a vase cluster). It's the perfect size for displaying the microscopic weed-flowers favored by the preschool set. Materials are simple: you'll need a bunch of colorful caps from dried-out markers, a wider, shallower lid (think: Gatorade), and some hot glue. If you don't have any dried-out markers in your house, then this blog, which is aimed at mere mortals, may not be for you.

Instructions are simple: fill the wide, shallow lid with hot glue, arrange the pen caps in it, and allow the glue to dry. Think "class photo" when you're arranging the pen caps in the lid: tall kids in back; scrawny kids in front. It might look something like this when you're finished (if this were my kindergarten class photo, I'd be the turquoise cap):
To fill the vases with water, you can run the whole thing under the sink (use low water pressure) or for some great fine-motor skill practice, have a preschooler use an eye dropper or plastic syringe to fill it. The final step is to grab your favorite preschooler and go on a weed-flower hunt. If you don't have any weed-flowers in your yard, then you are definitely not a mere mortal, and it's very likely that this blog is not for you.

Happy weed-flower picking!

This post has been linked to other great DIY projects at Tatertots and Jello and Blue Cricket Design.