iPad/Tablet Stand from Repurposed Paper Towel Rolls

I always love being part of the Craft Lightning Series hosted by my blog friends Angie from the Country Chic Cottage & Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts and I was especially thrilled to hear about this one showcasing Recycled Crafts!

As most of my regular visitors already know...I love to make things from materials that would otherwise be disposed of...so this edition of Craft Lighting is right in my wheelhouse!

One of the things I "collect" and mean to someday USE...is cardboard toilet paper and paper towel rolls and my hubby always wonders WHEN I am going to use some of them up and unburden us from all the mass of cardboard!

He will be thrilled to see that I have made good use of a couple of the paper towel rolls and created this awesome iPad Holder/Stand:

The idea for this came out of necessity really...as we do a lot of traveling to auto swap meets and races in our Motorhome and I like to watch episodes of my favorite TV show of all time (Friends) on my iPad when I am going to sleep.

I have never found a good way to get the iPad to sit-up on the bed in the MH, even with one of those pad covers that is supposed to make them stand up. The mattress is just too squishy and it never stays up!

So I tried to think of something I could make that would keep the iPad upright and still let me view the entire screen.

For some reason the cardboard rolls popped into my mind...I figured if I could put two of them side-by-side and somehow secure them to hold the weight of the iPad then I would have a good solution to my problem and it would be a "recycled" craft!

I picked the brains of my family a bit for ideas on what would work best to stabilize it and we decided on rocks and rubber bands!

The rocks give it weight to balance out the weight of the tablet and the rubber bands keep the glued down rolls from taking on too much pressure from that weight.

I covered the cardboard tubes in duck brand duct tape to strengthen the cardboard and make it look prettier of course!

I made the base from an old Capri Sun cardboard box because it was a fairly thick cardboard and would hold-up well.

I covered the base in duck tape also for added strength.

I glued the covered rolls down on the base using E6000, which I recommend because of it flexibility, even after it has dried.

Some heavy duty glues can become very hard when dry and would not work as well for this project, but the E6000 performed great and allows for any pushing/pressure that may be put on the rolls.

I tried to put an even weight of rocks into each tube, I didn't weigh them, but just tried to pick 10 rocks of similar size and put 5 rocks in each tube.

You can glue these down inside the tube if you like, but I did not.

I left them loose and just shake them slightly to align evenly before I put the iPad in between the tubes.

To seal off the tubes I used old baby food jar tops spray painted silver to compliment the colors in my Flying Pig Duck Tape.

After letting the glue on the tubes and base set for a bit I put shims in between the tubes and let it dry overnight. (This was to be sure that I had some extra flexibility with the size of the slot to input the tablet.) For shims, I just used some mini cardboard baby books that I have on hand for my Grandchildren, but you can use thick pieces of cardboard or wood shims if you have them.

This project came together fast (minus drying time) and was so easy!

I recycled three different items (cardboard tubes, baby food jar lids & a cardboard juice box) that would normally be thrown away and the best part is...I made something I really needed and saved some money (have you seen the price of iPad stands??!! Yikes!).

                           

Here is a collage of the steps I took to make this project (click to enlarge): 

Here are the tools/supplies I used for this project:

Cardboard Tubes (from Empty Paper Towel Rolls) - 2 ea.

Duck Brand Decorative Duct Tape, 1.88", Flying Pigs Design

Spray Paint, Sterling Silver, Enamel, Champion Sprayon

Small Smooth Rocks, 10 ea.

Cardboard Box, Capri Sun (Med. Wt.)

Baby Food Jar Lids, 2 ea.

Rubber Bands, 2 ea.

Scissors

Ruler (Not shown in photo above)

Utility Knife, Husky

Adhesive, E6000

Marker, Sharpie, Black

Toothpick (to help place glue on lids)

Hope you enjoyed my post and are inspired to create something from recyclable or throw-away materials!

For more crafty, recycled inspiration be sure to check out all the cool projects featured on the blogs below by clicking on the graphic.

Thanks for stopping by!

Duck Tape Soap Dispenser

I always look forward to another Craft Lightning round to inspire me and get the old wheels turning to come up with a cute crafty creation in 15 minutes or less (minus drying time of course!).

The Holiday version is my favorite but seems to challenge me the most as I struggle to find something I can whip up in a jiffy but yet still make it somewhat unique.

I don't know how unique this one is...I'm sure someone, somewhere has thought of it...but I love to upcycle/recycle household items so I decided to go with it anyway...

I used an old plastic soap dispenser and decorated it with Duck Tape and ribbon to spruce it up for the Holidays!

I suffered a lot of indecision in deciding what embellishment to use on the front and made a big mess trying to figure it out...

Fortunately my sweet Granddaughter B was with me when I was finishing this up and after snapping a few photos of possibilities and then showing them to her, she decided the Gingerbread Man looked best!

Collage of Steps to make this project:

Materials/Tools Used in this Project:

List:

Empty/Used  Plastic Soap Dispenser Bottle (Different Size/Shaped Bottle shown here from what I used in project)

Razor Blade

Duck Brand Duct Tape, Red

Scissors

E6000 Glue

Craft Ribbon, Big Lots, Poinsetta Print, Gold Edged, 7/8", 100% Polyester

Craft Ribbon, Michaels, Green Glitter Stripe, Celebrate It, Holiday, 5/8", 100% Nylon

Wooden Embellishment, Small, Gingerbread Man, Mfr. Unknown, from Stock-on-Hand

Notes and Tips:

Because this finished project is subject to getting wet, you'll want to use a permanent type glue such as the E6000 I used, but be careful when using thin ribbon like I did...I didn't realize that if I put it on thick it would seep through and show a bit on the front (you can see my craft "mini-fail" if you look closely at the pictures! Yikes!) After gluing down the first piece of ribbon I was more careful with the second piece and put smaller amounts.
You might be able to use a glue gun on this if you use it at low temp, but I wouldn't recommend using one unless it's your only choice. There is always the possibility of melting the plastic and the resulting smell could be toxic as well.
Another nifty use for this container would be filling it with sanitizer!

This project was super easy and quick but still makes for a sweet little accent in your bathroom or kitchen to spread some Christmas Cheer for the Holiday Guests to enjoy!

Be sure to click on the graphic below and check out all the other great Christmas and Holiday Ideas at The Country Chic Cottage and 30 Minute Crafts!

Thank-you and Happy Holidays!

                                         

Dr. Seuss Cat-in-the-Hat Pen/Pencil Holder

As many of you know, Dr. Seuss is a pretty big deal every year around this time, as his Birthday is coming up on March 2nd as is "Read across America" Day!

In honor of this, my awesome bloggie friends Angie at The Country Chic Cottage and  Carolina at 30 Minute Crafts are hosting a Craft Lightning Series "Seuss Edition".

The goal of this series is to come up with a Dr. Seuss craft that takes 15 minutes or less to make (minus drying time).

I thought a craft that would be super easy for kids to do and would make use of things you might have around the house would be good for this project.

One thing any child young or old could use and easily make, would be a pen/pencil holder for their desk.

Since I have TONS of empty toilet paper rolls laying around (just ask my husband...he always wants to know WHY??!!), I immediately thought of using one of those...one less for hubby to fret about! Ha-Ha!

I wanted to make it look more like a hat and not just put the striped cylinder with a flush bottom on it.

Also, I knew it needed to be a little heavy and somehow be able to remain sturdy to hold the pens and pencils, so I scoured around my kitchen to find some old jar lids and finally found one the right size to make it look like a brim of a hat and to stabilize the holder.

I wrapped the paper tube with Duck brand duct tape (white, then red for the stripes).
You could measure before doing this, but to be honest, I just eyeballed it and cut the tape with scissors and/or an exacto knife.

Next, I painted the metal jar lid with a Elmer's white paint pen.(You might have to do more than one coat, depending on the color of your lid).

After the lid was dry I used a glue gun to glue the tube hat onto the lid/brim.

Easy Peasy and a recycle craft to boot!

Here are the supplies/tools used for this project:

Tools/Supplies List:

Empty Cardboard Toilet Paper Roll
Metal Lid from Glass Jar
Duck Brand White Duct Tape
Duck Brand Red Duct Tape
Elmer's Painters - Opaque Paint Marker - White
Exacto Knife
Scissors
Glue Gun

Hope you enjoyed this quick and easy, kid-friendly craft and be sure to check out the other great Seuss inspired crafts by clicking on the Craft Lightning Badge below!

Thank-you for checking out my blog and this project!