Recycled Beverage Caps: Real Wheels

Here's a fun way to recycle the small plastic lids (washed and dried) from milk or juice containers.

REAL WHEELS

Materials:

Assorted scrap mat board pieces

Black Sharpie pen

Watercolor paints

Watercolor paintbrush

Water container

Small clean plastic lids from milk or juice containers

Awl or sharp punch tool (to be used only by adults)

Brass fasteners, 1'' long

Procedure:

1. Using a Black Sharpie (permanent) pen, do a line drawing of a scene showing a vehicle that has wheels (car, truck, bus, bicycle, etc.). Don't draw the wheels, but do add other details to make your drawing interesting.

2. Paint your scene with watercolors, using realistic or fantasy colors. Try letting the wet colors run into each other and mix on their own. Your black lines will show through the watercolor paints. Allow to dry.

3. To make each wheel in your picture, use the awl to punch a hole in the middle of a plastic lid. Punch a hole through the mat board where the wheel will be attached. Push a brass fastener through the lid and through the hole in the board. On the back of the board, open the prongs of the fastener and flatten them against the board. Each wheel will be able to turn!

You can use other lids for anything round in your painting, such as the sun, or a clock. You can also use your Sharpie to draw details on the lids themselves. Another possibility is to make an abstract painting of any colors and designs you choose, and add turning wheels anywhere you'd like.