Em's recycled Baby Toys

DIY rattles with plastic containers

Now I'm a Mother, a lot of my craft ideas are baby related! I'm not going to spend big on toys and have been using plenty of recycled materials and containers for Bubby to play with, which he loves! Household items are also a hit! At the moment he loves to shake and bang anything and the louder the better! So I made some rattles with varies objects inside. Also trying to find different shaped clear plastic bottles was good.

Bubblewrap didn't entertain for long- bigger bubbles might be better

Kitchen utensils discovery basket. This is good to bring out when he's getting bored with other toys as a toy rotation.

This pomegranate juice bottle is such a great shape! Filled with pasta it is a good LOUD rattle. The shape of the bottle lets it spin interestingly too!  

This was a simple toy that he actually loves. A tissue box filled with silky scarves he can pull out one by one. We then also play peek-a-boo. I think he likes the sensory feel of the scarves too.

This is probably my favourite. A small milk bottle that is hexagonal so it doesn't roll away and is easily for him to hold. I filled it with shiny jewels but it wasn't washed enough beforehand so started to smell. I then put water and detergent in to wash it all and it looked fun so left it! The more it is shaken the more sudsy it is :)

I also love this one! A plastic water bottle with ribbons threaded through a hole in the lid with beads tied on the end inside, then all tied together under the lid so they can't be pulled through and the beads therefore stay dangly to create a rattle. I also added a few more loose beads. This is another loud one. via

A drinking choc container I poked holes in and threaded pieces of ribbon through two sides to create a pull toy. I could've made the ribbon longer. He doesn't quite get the pulling yet but loves shaking it around, so I added a piece of Duplo to also make it rattle.

Rain stick! I used a hard cardboard tube, nails and rice. I nailed the nails through the tube at different angles and cut any sharp bits off. After a test run I added more nails as the 'rain' didn't't last long. This make sit quite heavy but sounds great! I then wrapped the whole thing in duct tape. It would be cool to use different coloured tape or stickers to make it more exciting. via

Another toy he's still a bit young for, a posting box. Formula tin with cut up cardboard shapes. I coloured in each shape with Texta but he just mouths it and gets the ink all over him so we don't play with this one much yet. They make a good rattle until he can use it as intended.

The coloured-in square.