How to Recycle Bleach Bottles into Plastic Paper Dolls

Recycling is a fact of life today, and reusing clean, dry bleach bottles has never been more fun. Design “paper” dolls out of your used bleach bottles and create one-of-a-kind dolls. Sell your dolls at fundraisers or church bazaars. Make custom dolls for your children or school. Add felt clothes, and you may very well find yourself wiling away a few hours designing hats, purses and evening dresses for your new plastic “paper” dolls.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rinsed and dried bleach bottles
• Markers
• Scissors
• Felt
• Velcro sticky-back tape
• Craft trims
• Glue
• Sewing needle
• Thread

1. Rinse out your empty bleach bottles. Remove the label and let the bottles dry completely.

2. Select a basic paper doll pattern. Download a pattern or search your local library for paper doll patterns. Keep the pattern simple.

3. Trace the pattern onto the bleach bottle. Cut out your plastic “paper” doll.

4. Add felt hair to your new doll. Carefully draw on a face.

5. Cut out several doll clothing patterns. Add tabs to the collar of the patterns. The tabs will be used to wrap around the doll’s neck. You will secure the tabs with sticky-back hook and loop tape.

6. Create doll clothes out of felt. Trace the doll clothing patterns onto the felt. Cut out the clothing.

7. Trim your new doll clothes with ribbon or lace. Add hook and loop tape to the tabs of the clothing.

8. Design hats for your new doll. Copy paper doll hat patterns.

9. Trace the doll hat patterns onto the felt. Cut out the hats.

10. Add feathers, ribbon or lace to your doll hats.

Tips & Warnings

• Simple paper doll patterns will work best.
• Tack the hook and loop tape down for extra durability.
• Try adding dangly earrings to your new doll.
• Make sure your bleach bottles are throughly rinsed and dried.

Resources

• Make Paper Dolls from Recycled Materials