Tuesday Tutorial: Message In A...Film Canister?

No, I couldn't get a good shot, & my camera batteries decided to die of heartache.

Remember the good ole’ days when we used film in our cameras? (Life was simple then, huh?) I know some of you may list film right up there with plaid thermoses & woolly mammoths, but there are some stores that still sell this curiosity called camera film. Do you remember that nifty little canister thingamajig that that mysterious black roll came in? Well, I hope you saved some of those ‘objects of antiquity’ like my family did, because that’s the basis for today’s tutorial – which is a Mother’s Day one, to boot! =)

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I was racking my brain the other day trying to think of a good & unique Mother’s Day tutorial – did I mention I was trying to have a phone conversation at the same time. I was listening with one ear, thinking about crafts, & giving “uh-huhs” every so often (you know, the regular multi-tasker=). When I suddenly saw it sitting on our shelf – the “it” was the film canister, & then suddenly I knew…[angels singing somewhere]…

What You Need:
empty film canister (with lid)
stickers, ribbon, buttons, scrapbook paper, small pics, etc. – in other words whatever you’ve got in your stash =)
glue stick & hot glue gun (hot glue optional)
rubber band
a small individually wrapped piece of candy (optional)

For this crafty little Mother’s Day token you are going to decorate a film canister up real cute, stick in a heartfelt note, small picture, & piece of yummy candy (the last 2 are optional). So, let’s begin!

Step 1: Decorate your film canister.
I used bits of scrapbook paper I had left over from projects, color paint samples – yes, you know those are great (& free=) for cutting small items out…& you can get them in any color of the rainbow. I love to pretend I’m shopping for paint! I created a wrap-around strip of paper to decorate my canister, glued it on using a glue stick & then held it in place while it dried with a rubber band. For the top I took a cute little button, tied a bit of string through it (& knotted it), put 2 tiny sticky rhinestones on , & then hot glued the button to the lid of my canister – be careful about this because sometimes this can affect the way the bottle opens & closes, because it’s use to having a bit of elasticity which the hot glue can alter somewhat, but I had no major trouble…just noticed a slight difference when putting on/taking off the lid.

Step 2: Write a heartfelt note on a small slip of paper. Slip in a little picture &/or piece of candy (optional).
I wrote a simple message on the front, & then a poem I wrote on the back. I also put in a cute little pic of a mother & child I had from an old pull off calendar. My mom loves caramel chews, so I also stuck in one of those.

Step 3: Delivery
This is my favorite step! There are many ways to deliver your gift, here are a few:
-Put it by her plate at breakfast.
-Sneakily put it in her purse, car, bag, etc. – somewhere she’s sure to find it.
-Make sure the mail has come & stick it in the box.
-Put it on her bedside table.



So, use your creativity (& your love)! This is definitely a craft you could use for anytime to give your mom (or anyone you love) a boost!
I’ve got more Mother’s Day fun planned for today, so come back! =)
-Bess-