Use A Plastic Bottle To DIY The Cutest Mini Heart Storage Box

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

There are a ton of easy ways to repurpose your plastic water bottles around the house. With a little modification, you can use them to propagate plants, store craft supplies, or hold pens and pencils. You can even transform an old plastic bottle into a thrifty lampshade on a dime. Today, however, you're going to learn how to turn a plastic bottle into a cute storage box. Who said heart-shaped DIYs are only for Valentine's Day? In our humble opinion, fun, heart-themed DIY projects should be enjoyed year-round. Whether you need a cute trinket box for your jewelry or a gift for that special someone in your life, a mini heart-shaped storage box made from a plastic bottle might be just the thing.

First, you'll need to source a plastic bottle. Chances are you have one sitting in your recycling bin right now. If you don't, you could buy a bottle of water or soda or ask family, neighbors, or friends for an empty bottle. For this DIY, you'll also need this 36-pack of Better Office Products Glitter Foam Sheets in assorted colors for about $15 and this 5-pack of Art3d Clear Flexible Plexiglass Sheets for around $5. To ensure your creation holds up to repeated use, choose a strong craft glue, such as Fittdyhe B7000 Jewelry Glue. Decorate your box with pearl beads or any other embellishments you prefer. For tools, all you need is some masking tape and a pair of sharp scissors. Now, you're ready to get crafty!

Before getting started on this DIY project, you need to clean the plastic bottle thoroughly and remove any labels. If a label doesn't peel off easily, soak the bottle in warm water, not hot or boiling, with a little dish soap added for at least an hour. Use a sponge to rub off stubborn adhesive. Once the bottle is dry, wrap two pieces of masking tape around the center of the bottle where the plastic is flat, not curved. When you cut along the outside lines of the tape, you'll be left with a plastic tube. Flatten the tube, pressing along the creases to deepen them. Then press one of the creases downward, toward the first crease, to create a heart shape.

Cover one rim of the heart-shaped tube with glue and press it onto a piece of glitter foam. You can choose whatever color you prefer. Once the glue dries, cut the heart out of the foam. Measure the circumference of the heart and cut a strip of foam to match. Glue it to the plastic heart, right below the foam top. To make a lid for your box, place the heart-shaped tube on another sheet of foam and trace around it. Cut out this second heart, then cut out a smaller heart from the center to create a frame. Glue the frame to the Plexiglass sheet and cut it out. Glue another strip of glitter foam to the other edge of the frame, and fit the lid to the box. That's it!

Although red or pink glitter foam may be the stereotypical choice for heart-shaped decor, you don't have to stick to that palette. For example, if you love the dark glamor aesthetic, you could use black glitter foam paired with a big red glittery bow for a touch of romance. If you're tired of removing pesky glitter from your furniture and carpet, you don't need to use glitter foam at all — a regular non-glittery foam sheet works just as well. You could also make the lid from cardboard and patterned paper, forgoing the foam and Plexiglass sheet altogether.

You can also personalize your trinket box with embellishments. Tie a ribbon around the box, gluing it in place so it conforms to the curves of the heart. Adorn the inside border of the lid with artificial pearls, stick-on gems, or Wanste Silver Dot Stickers. Glue an artificial rosebud in the center of the lid as a knob. Weysat Mini Ribbon Roses come in a multitude of hues, and you get 300 pieces for less than $10. Or go really wild and make a box in a different shape: a circle, a square, a triangle, or even a hexagon. Whether you keep your decorations simple or get really creative with this idea, you can celebrate making a beautiful trinket box out of a plastic water bottle.