Thursday, May 29, 2008

Contain Yourself!

Today we will share other people's transformation of trash and talk about my minor obsession with things that hold things... CONTAINERS! I suppose it is related to my mom's love of Altoid Containers (great job on Whacking that yesterday, by the way), but my obsession is not specific to any single product. Basically, if you sell something and it comes with cool packaging, the value of it increases exponentially and in some cases, can be responsible for my brand loyalty.

I'll explain further, but first a brief note...
The mailman just came and went yesterday and either she FORGOT my mail bag filled with postcards or nobody... not one of you... took five minutes to jot your mailing address on a postcard and send it to me. I knew you were going to think I was talking to someone else. I knew it.

So, I'll try again. For all new comers, old-timers, and lurkers of highlowaha.com... Eager Beaver looking to do acts of kindness. Send postcard with your mailing address to 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas 76051 and see if you're the lucky recipient of a random act of kindness. Remember... if you don't want to, you don't have to include your name.

Now onto containers.

There are 
all kinds of containers and packaging I love to collect. Red boxes from Talbot's are the perfect way to create fancy packaging for homemade coupons, redeemable for either a dinner of your choice; an outing of your choosing; or any of the other hundred ideas you can come up with. Shoe boxes from Stride Rite can be covered with contact paper, fancy wall paper, or decoupaged and used when packaging up a box of cookies. I used four Stride Rite boxes one Valentine's Day and covered them to look like white envelopes. When you lifted the lid there were lip shaped cookies on the inside. S.W.A.K! Brooks Brother's shirt and suit boxes make great Attitude Boxes (a whole idea we'll cover another day). The boxes pictured here came when I purchased stationary. I've been keeping them for something I want to make at Christmas. If you could see them up front you would agree, they are way too nice to simply throw away.

Boxes aren't the only containers I collect. My husband ordered a bunch of these white containers in order to do a temperature study at his warehouse. All I know is there were a few left over and I was the lucky recipient. I am trying to be judicious with them, so I've only used a few. Here's one I use to hold all my spare buttons.


I love Mott's Applesauce containers. I stalk my kids as they are eating a serving, in order to make sure they don't throw away the containers. I use them to hold paint when we're painting, beads, rhinestones, google eyes... any and all craft items. They're easy to wash out and to stack and store when I am finished.



O.k. enough about me and my the trash. Cassie sent me some fun pictures of two things she likes to keep... wire hangers and old socks. Check it out.
The socks become puppets and the hanger becomes a awire trellis for her potted plants! Ingenious, right?

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Patience will the mail thing there....after all it is snail mail! You have at least one coming...You have to remember that there was a holiday in there and the mail went no where during that time! Have a great day!

Cheryl Houston said...

I am constantaly saving boxes. I save anything that I think will make a cool art project. For example, when I started my current job I had to make these booklets with wire binding. I kept having to pull the wire out. I wound the wire around my scissors so it wouldn't poke an eye out so it was in a cool ball. I have about 10 of them. When I turn my junk room into my guest/art room, I'm going to make something cool with them.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Anonymous and others who might have mailed me a postcard... Thank you and I will work on the patience thing

If, on the other hand, you haven't mailed my postcard yet... let's get hopping!

Anonymous said...

Hi - while this message isn't about containers, although I know Claudia's obsession with them, especially plain white boxes from the Container Store, I would like to mention a special coupon. Walgreens has a $10 off $30 purchase coupon for tomorrow only. It can be used on almost anything, including photos. If you want it, please email me at cristine@strublesuds.com and I'll forward it.
Have a great day

maureen said...

Claudia, If I had an obsession with containers I would need another house. I do a lot of ordering by mail and its amazing how some stuff is shipped. As for the white cardboards in stockings, I have 2 girls that go through at least 3 pairs of pantyhose each at least once a week. I could wallpaper a wall with the cardboards. I will never look at them the same again. I will always think of you when I throw them out.....

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

i didnt send a postcard, but a card... like you sent me!

Cheryl Houston said...

I just remembered something about yesterday's post and the "I never" game... did anyone else play that as a drinking game? If you had done the thing the person said they never you had to drink... of course, I was sweet and innocent so I never had to drink.

Brian K. Root said...

I have an obsession with keeping writing utensils when i come across them, even if i have no intention on using them... weird.