Clear vinyl tubing has many uses, but one of the coolest things you can do with it is to make craft and decor items. Most people don’t relate the tubing to home decor, but you can’t believe how many things you can easily make with it, starting with some fabulous baskets.
Since the tubing is clear, and there’s no color whatsoever, you can add splashes of color by filling the tubing with any number of items: colored rice or colored corn, pieces of broken crayons, tiny foil balls, glitter, sequin, beads, colored paper, dry peas or beans. The possibilities are endless. After filling the tubing you’re ready to shape the basket.
Take the end of the tubing and cap it off then fold several inches of the tubing beside itself. Do this once again and you’ll have formed the bottom of the basket. Obviously, if you want the basket to be larger, start with a larger bottom. To hold the bent pieces next to each other, use a lightweight wire which can be wrapped around two or three pieces of the tubing at one time. So, you’ll fold the end over and use a piece of wire to hold the two pieces beside each other. Now bend again and wrap a piece of wire from the center piece of tubing to the recently bent piece.
Now you’ll take the tubing and circle it around the bottom you’ve just created. Use the wire to attach it to the bottom at several different positions. Continue wrapping the tubing around and around, securing it with the wire, until the basket is as tall as you want it to be. You can dangle a charm from the very end, if you’d like, to give the tubing a little more character and prevent it from just stopping abruptly.
Since it’s difficult to tell how much tubing you’ll need for a project, start by filling up quite a large section, then begin the project with that end. As you progress, you can add more filling to more tubing and continue with the project.
The tubing can be shaped into most any basket or plant holder, and you can even use it to make more unique designs. For example, you can circle the tubing round and around on a round table to make an interesting table cover. Shape the tubing into letters, numbers or even words and hang them on the wall. Shapes like musical notes, geometric shapes or even flowers are easy to accomplish with the tubing. During the holidays, fill the tubing with strands of Christmas lights and shape into any number of holiday designs.
The tubing is available in various diameters, colors and types. So, you don’t have to opt for the clear tubing that can be filled; you can get colors of black or blue and omit the part of filling them full of colors. The tubing is not too expensive and can be found online as well.
Start with a small project, like rolling the tubing into a curly-q for setting a planter, then work your way up to larger projects like baskets or hampers. The tubing can even be made into box shapes which can be turned upside-down and used as end tables or night stands. Use it to make baskets for storing small children’s items. Make baskets to hold your craft supplies. Or, just use the tubing to outline bookcases and similar items.
Look around online, or at a home improvement store in your town, to see what all types of the tubing are available. You’ll enjoy working with it, you’ll love the things you can make, and the clean up is easy as pie if you use a funnel to fill the tubing. Now get started – your friends are waiting for some fabulous gifts from you!
Reference:
- Purchase plastic or vinyl tubing online: www.lowes.com
