Ideas for reusing film canisters.
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When painting a room, fill a film canister with paint. You can use it for touch ups later and when buying more paint it's handy to take to the store for color matching.
By Cheryl from Missouri
You can put together a small emergency sewing kit in a film canister. Take a few different colors of thread and wind them around a small piece of cardboard that is short enough to fit inside the canister.
Add a needle and a few safety pins, and you are all set. If you want to have scissors, too, you can find one of those small pocket knives with the scissors, or even just the knife blade if you are careful.
Bring the canister with you when you are shopping to be sure the knife fits. These are great little gifts for people going on a trip, or headed off to college. You can also decorate the canisters with paint pens to personalize them.
I think I may have read about this tip here on the site, so I can't take credit for it. Take a pink foam roll from a hair roller and put it in the film canister, pour a bit of nail polish remover in, and presto: a mini nail polish remover system. You just stick your finger in the little hole in the center of the pink foam and wiggle it around.
By Lee-Ann
I use film canisters to hold embroidery floss for my cross stitch and embroidery projects. Keeps floss clean, and tangle free. I seperate the floss strands and also keep my needles and in the can.
By Gena Rae
I use film canisters to fill with my flower seeds when I want to share them with friends.
By Joesgirl
Turn one cannister into a stamp roll dispenser. Take the cap off, cut a thin slot out from the top of the open cannister towards the middle, thread your stamp roll inside to dispense and put the cap back on. The thing sits upside down on the cap.
I save all of my empty 35 mm film containers, and use them to save my seeds I pick from flowers in fall. I put a slip of paper in with the seeds and the date I picked them . They store nicely is a tupperware box.
By Rosa
I use this to put in my son's backpack with his lunch money for each day. The coins fit in perfectly and I don't have to worry about my son losing his change in his backpack or on the way to school.
I use film cannisters to store my dangling earrings. I don't use the lids--I just set the cannisters in a box on a shelf so I can see down into all of them. I put two or three similar pairs together in each cannister.
Also, a friend uses them to store spices on camping trips. (Mmm, noodles and cheese with tuna is so much better with basil in it!) Of course you need to wash out the containers quite thoroughly before storing food in them.
You could also use them to store ear plugs in the car for loud movies or shows.
And you can fill them from large discount containers of pills you take frequently so you can have a small container for your purse, brief case, or glove compartment.
By Debbie
Great for holding quarters for the laundromat...also for diet/fat free dressing for eating out at restaurants, or for low fat creamer instead of using the high fat creamer at a restaurant. I'm diabetic and also use the test strip containers to hold daily pills when on vacation.
they have chemicals in them! dont use for food
You can use them to make a toothbrush holder. Just cut a hole in the lid, take off the lid and put in the toothbrush and then slide the lid back on.
I used to use them for buttons, beads, safety pins, etc. I would tape one of whatever was in there to the top or you could glue it on there and that way you know what is in each one.
I use film canisters for many of the things already mentioned.Also make mini salt shakers with them for the lunch box. If you would like to would like to use these and don't have any, ask at the photo Dept where you have your pictures developed. They may save them for you as they throw many away every day.
I save all of my empty 35mm film containers, and use them to save seeds from the garden in. I either write on the container, or put a small slip of paper inside, along with growing info.
By Rosa
These can be used to make checkers or to replace missing parts
from games. A coat of that new fusions paint and some stickers
and they can become a concentration game too. Try the Alphabet
By Debra in Colorado
You could use a film canister to make a mini first aid kit for when your on a hike or someting!! :D
Use those empty film containers to hold your harvested and cleaned morning glory seed for next years blooms. Label and keep with your packages of seeds.
By Susan
If you make a hole in the cap and thread a string though it with the knoted end to the inside of canister then snap lid back on, the kids (and adults) can use it as a necklace to hold money, earplugs, jewerly, etc. when going to the beach, lake, or public swimming pool or park. You can also use the small M&M containers for this as well.
I use film canisters for holding earplugs, while I'm traveling. Keeps 'em clean and the plugs don't get lost floating around in your stuff.
From July 16, 1999
Editors Note: We've had a lot of discussion about those little film canisters of late here in the "Clipper." Here's some interesting and unusual uses for them.
Film canisters have chemical residue from the film. Make sure that you keep that in mind when reusing them.
I find them useful for holding all kinds of tiny sewing and crafting supplies. Pins, needles, snaps, small beads, the last bit of glitter from a large shaker, mixed glitter left after a project, the glue rescued from a bottle that has lost it's lid or cracked from age, a specially mixed paint I want to use later, ear wires and other jewelry findings, and more things need small places that have tight closures. They can protect flat razor blades from humidity.
You can make the film canister change holder more useful if you lay a loop of string or flat trim (like ribbon) across the top-- the lid will hold it in place. Or, you can put a bunch of them on a long ribbon, and use that to keep all the containers of tiny things together. If you tie the ribbon into a loop that can go around your neck, you have a chatelaine for your seed beads.
With a film canister, you can make a portable fishing rig. You keep the line and hook inside, and the canister itself snaps onto the line as your bobber. When not in use, the line does nor wrap around your other possessions, and the hook does not snag on fingers or silk blouses.
A film canister can also be a highly amusing cat toy. They roll into more of the places cats like to play, and can also be tossed up a few inches into the air by a cat. You can put a jingle bell inside or something that will rattle. This is safe, because cats almost never chew their toys like dogs do. Just be sure you collect them all if you bring a dog or a baby into the house, or if you add a cat large enough to swallow them (unlikely).
I am a brownie leader and we use film canisters for various camp hat crafts. These things that are good for all ages to work on. Once completed the children can decorate them with stickers.
One idea is to make an emergency kit. Put a few sewing needles on a piece of cardboard. Wrap some thread around this piece of card. Put in safety pins and a few buttons for those quick fix needs. Put in change for a phone call, and some matches. Poke a hole in the canister lid and string through some yarn. Attach a pin and put it on your hat.
Another is to make a few toys. For a tic tac toe game cut a piece of light coloured felt about 3" x 3". With a dark marker draw the tic tac toe grid on it. You need 5 markers in two different colours. This can be other pieces of felt, beads, small pom poms or anything small enough to fit in the canister but easy to handle. Simply fold the felt up and put it in the canister put in your markers and put on the lid. Poke a hole in the top and string through some yarn and attach to your hat with a pin.
You can also make a ball and cup game. Simply poke a hole in the bottom of the canister string through some yarn about 6 inches in length. Be sure to tie a knot in the inside of the canister. Attach a pom pom that will fit into your canister. The pom pom should hang from the bottom of the cansiter. When not playing with it put the pom pom in the canister for storage. You can also attach this to a camp hat with a pin using the part of the yarn that is outside of the canister.
To make a first aid kit, clean one out with soap and water and put in a few bandaids and alcohol wipes. Since these are wrapped in paper they will be safe to use. Poke a hole in lid string through yarn and attach to your hat with a pin.
You can use them for friendship ashes from a campfire. Once your campfire has cooled down allow the children to fill their containers with the ashes. At your next campfire they can add their ashes to the pit and once that one is cool they can take more. The following saying can be put onto lables such as address lables and stuck onto the container.
"These are the ashes from the campfire. They are made from memories and friendship. At your next campfire, spread these ashes, and take some more. Spread the friendship" Poke a hole in the lid and attach a piece of yarn and hang it from your hat.
These are small enough to carry in any purse, glove compartment or pocket, and make a perfect carry along for camping.
By Joan Turner
I use the film canisters to keep quarters in, usually one in my purse and another in my car. This way, whenever I want to purchase a newspaper or a soft drink out of a machine, I have the correct change with me.
By Nancy S. Hill
We inquired to the Kodak company about use of the film canisters while they did say that the cansisters are completely non toxic in every single way.And that no claim has ever been brought up about any type of poisoning from them ,that the FDA does not require any testing on the cansisters themselves. Also they added that the film that is in canisters does not leave ANY!! Residue of any kind. We have used these for years in my troop and have never had any adverse effects.We enquired to relieve any concern although not one person has ever asked in my 8 years as a leader , we did want to know from the film company itself.
Thank you,
Troop Leader
The empty canisters serve as a way for students to keep their teeth in when they come out at school. It saves doing a" floor search" when they
fall out of their hands.
Grades 1-3
They are also great to keep in with your Xmas stuff, holding the extra little light bulbs, ornament hooks.
They are great for holding small barrettes for toddles when not being used.
I use film canisters to make toys for infants and toddlders. Most people who have seen the toys just say "WOW!" Will have these items featured on my website Aplusbabycrochetc.com
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