Introduction: Pirate Treasure From Trash, Really!
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About: I am a mixed media artist living in the Ozarks with my family. I have been published in many magazines including the cover of Sew Somerset.
Ok, who doesn't love pirate stuff? Kid's these days love pirate parties and what pirate party doesn't need tons of loot? With all the cool accessories you can buy for a pirate theme party, throwing a shin-dig can get pretty pricey. Here in this Instructable I will teach you the amazing art of turning trash into gold and silver treasure! Shhhhh! Don't tell anybody, it's a pirate secret. Anyone caught stealing secrets will walk the plank!
Step 1: Raid the Recycle Bin, and Pillage Needed Materials. Arrr!
First you will need a few things from around the house.
---A pizza box, or any cardboard will do. We have used cereal boxes, the backs of old notepads, and old shipping boxes.
---Now you need something round to trace around, we used a can from the pantry, just find something that is the size you want your coins to be.
---You need some glue, we used Aleene's Tacky Glue because it's thick, but you could use regular Elmer's school glue, or even hot glue (adults only).
---Aluminum duct tape, or tinfoil (requires more gluing) OR silver or gold acrylic paint.
First thing to do is to place the can (or round object) on the cardboard and trace around it, move trace, repeat until you have lots of circles drawn. Now you will begin drawing the skull and crossbones in each circle with the Aleene's tacky glue. 1st draw a keyhole shape in the center, 2nd draw two dots for eyes, a triangle for a nose, 3rd a line for the mouth. Then draw two upside down hearts for the bottom crossbones, and last draw two hearts for the top crossbones. (SEE THE PICTURES BELOW FOR EXAMPLES, EACH IS DETAILED WITH DESCRIPTIONS)
---A pizza box, or any cardboard will do. We have used cereal boxes, the backs of old notepads, and old shipping boxes.
---Now you need something round to trace around, we used a can from the pantry, just find something that is the size you want your coins to be.
---You need some glue, we used Aleene's Tacky Glue because it's thick, but you could use regular Elmer's school glue, or even hot glue (adults only).
---Aluminum duct tape, or tinfoil (requires more gluing) OR silver or gold acrylic paint.
First thing to do is to place the can (or round object) on the cardboard and trace around it, move trace, repeat until you have lots of circles drawn. Now you will begin drawing the skull and crossbones in each circle with the Aleene's tacky glue. 1st draw a keyhole shape in the center, 2nd draw two dots for eyes, a triangle for a nose, 3rd a line for the mouth. Then draw two upside down hearts for the bottom crossbones, and last draw two hearts for the top crossbones. (SEE THE PICTURES BELOW FOR EXAMPLES, EACH IS DETAILED WITH DESCRIPTIONS)
Step 2: Learning Patience Is NOT a Happy Thing for a Pirate
Now set aside your glue drawn cardboard and let dry. We usually draw ours before bedtime, that way the next day we get to get up and do the really fun part. Turning trash into gold and silver! Now that the glue has dried, cut out each circle.
Step 3: Technique for Turning Trash Into Silver and Gold!
Now that you have all the circles cut out you will tear a length of aluminum duct tape off of the roll, remove the backing and stick it to the front of the coin (the part with the dried glue) Gently rub to smooth around nooks and crannies made by the glue. You may need to put another strip of aluminum tape down depending on how big your coin is. I had to use two strips side by side for these. We usually make our coins small like regular coin size but for this instructable we made it big so you can see better. (If you don't have aluminum tape you can put down a very thin layer of glue and smooth on some aluminum foil, OR you can simlpy paint these with gold or silver paint) Now you need to cover the back sides of the coins with the tape as well. Next we will glue the fronts of the coins to the backs of the coins with the tacky glue. ( I like to use the tacky glue because it is thick so when it dries it's got a good thickness to it that looks nice through the tape.) Now if you want you can give the coins a little bit of paint for patina and texture, if you use acrylic paint to can scrape some off here and there so that the silver shines through. And there you have it, a big pile of Pirates treasure from trash!