Crafts With Milk Gallon Jugs

Gallons of milk are almost always sold in plastic jugs.

There are a wide variety of crafts that you can make using plastic gallon milk jugs. You can use the natural shape of the jug to your advantage or cut the jug apart and use the plastic sheets as craft material. There are also a wide variety of ways to decorate the jugs. They can be colored with markers or painted, or you can glue embellishments on. The only limitation is your imagination.

Preparation and Materials

Before using them in crafts, all gallon milk jugs need to be washed with hot soapy water and dried. Permanent markers are ideal for decorating plastic milk jugs. You can also use typical craft items like craft foam, large googly eyes, acrylic or spray paint and yarn or feather boas for hair. Tools required include scissors for cutting and hot glue and a glue gun for attaching embellishments.

Using the Jug Shape

With simple modifications, gallon milk jugs can be used whole to make many items. For example, the shape lends itself well to making a ball catch. Simply cut off the bottom of a gallon milk jug to make a cup to catch a ball in while playing a game. Optionally, you can decorate the jug. For example, add stars and stripes or cut the bottom in such a way that it looks like the mouth of a whale. Then, you can play "catch" with a ball decorated to look like a biblical Jonah being swallowed by a milk jug whale. Or, you could leave the bottom intact but cut off the top and one side and use the jug upside down as a child's "helmet."

Using the Plastic

Many crafts with gallon milk jugs take advantage of the plastic material without retaining the jug shape. For example, you could draw garden markers on the side, cut them out, and decorate them with permanent markers. Or, you could punch holes in two pieces of milk jug plastic and use them as customized notepad covers.

Containers

Gallon milk jugs make great holiday crafts as containers for various items, such as for candy at Halloween. Cut a large mouth shape on the opposite side from the handle, or cut a line from side to side around two sides about 1 inch below where the jug starts to form the top. If using the latter method, cut a 1-inch section from the handle and tape the remaining handle together so that the mouth stays open. Spray paint the jug using your desired color. To make a monster, use purple or green spray paint; to make a pumpkin, use orange spray paint; or to make a bat, use black spray paint. Glue on embellishments, such as arms and legs cut from craft foam and googly eyes, and fill the jug with candy.

References

• Disney Family Fun: Artful Notepad
• Danielle's Place: Plastic Milk Jug Whale Craft
• Danielle's Place: Halloween Alternative Crafts and Activities for Kids