What To Do With a Collection of Random Kitchen Do-Dads

12 July
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It's the second Wednesday of the month which means it's time for our second round of  Thrifty Chicks!

Thrifty Chicks is a group of seven blogging friends and on the second Wednesday of each month, we will be sharing a themed challenge project on our blogs. If you missed last month's chair projects you can see those here: Trash to Treasure Repurposed Dining Chair.

This month's challenge was kitchen items!

I am so excited to share my project and I'm also super excited to see the other projects (I haven't seen them yet either)!

How to Make an Upcycled Junk Robot!



I'll share all the links to the rest of the projects at the end of this post.

Here is my collection of mostly kitchen items that I started with... an empty lemonade can, spoons, and vintage Jello molds. Obviously, the faucet handle and the lamp part are not kitchen items but they just worked so well to make my super cute upcycled junk robot!


My daughter drinks these, she finds them at the convenience store near her house. I've never seen them before but I think the cans are super cute and cheerful! I used another one to make a Mother's Day flower vase here: Happy Mother's Day - Trash to Treasure Flower Vase.


I started my robot body with the can by first cutting off the bottom with a knife (to puncture the can) and then my kitchen scissors. These cans are SO thin, they cut like paper!

Then I cut little slits all the way around.


I also used a can opener to remove the top.

Two of the spoons were used for arms. I bend them over my anvil but any hard, round item would work... a rock, pipe, etc. Then drilled a hole in each end to attach them to the can.

regular nuts, bolts, and washers were used to put the majority of my robot together.


I was so disappointed when I realized... AFTER I attached her arms that the lemon graphic was not centered on either side of the can... so my girl is off center!

Next, I used the two vintage Jello molds to form her head. I used my Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch by We R Memory Keepers (This thing cuts through anything!) to punch a hole in each mold.


Then a nut, bolt, and washer to attach the two together.




It's starting to look a little more like a head now! She's a chatty-Kathy!


The second set of spoons was flattened and then bent into little legs.


I drilled holes in the ends of them as well as in the top of the white lamp piece that is her skirt.


I totally forgot to take any more assembly pictures from this point on... my bad... it really depends on what you are using to make the robot to determine how it will be assembled though.

I used more nuts, bolts, and washers as well as E6000 High Viscosity Adhesive to finish assembling her.

Here she is in all her glory! 😂


The faucet handle became her hat. I made a hole in the top of her head and pushed the end of the handle in it.

She also got some earrings made from the tabs of the juice cans.



Her eyes are scrapbooking brads. I just clipped off the ends and glued them on top of the washers that I added when making her head.

Her nose is a wooden bead.

And she is wearing a vintage bread tab necklace.




I found a root beer bottle cap in my stash of strange supplies and it fit perfectly in the top of her faucet hat!


She's posing with a little bit of attitude by the looks of her feet!

You can see I glued the lemonade can down on the top of the lamp part.


She is now my kitchen-bot friend!!


I had SO much fun making her and I have so many weird odds and ends that I'll be making more for sure!


August's theme is license plates!

Now it's time to see the other ladies' projects... here's a little sneak peek at all the items before their makeovers!


A Kitchen Cabinet Door Into A Towel Holder by Debra at Shoppe No. 5
Christmas in July Kitchen DIY Project by Diana at Adirondack Girl @ Heart
How to Make a Coffee Bar Sign by Kandice at Just the Woods
Sewing Machine Drawer Kitchen Organizer by Lora B. at Create & Ponder
Silverware Wind Chimes by Marie at Interior Frugalista
How To Make Repurposed Folding Strainer Flowers by Tuula at Thrifty Rebel Vintage


P.S. I have included links to some of the products I used to make my junk robot for your convenience. If you use one of the links to make a purchase I will earn a small commission but it will not cost you a penny more! Here you can see my full Disclosure Policy. Thank you for helping me support my favorite brands!
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  1. Amanda WallaceJuly 12, 2017

    Seriously your talent, vision and imagination cease to amaze me! You are one talented lady.

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  2. Nancy CarrollJuly 12, 2017

    I LOVE HER!! She's adorable! Great job!

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  3. She is seriously ADORABLE! She definitely has some sass under all that vintage junk charm. I love how your mind works Tania!

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  4. She is very cute--and makes me smile!

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  5. Debra PashkowskyJuly 12, 2017

    She is so cute. I just love how creative this project is and it looks like so much fun to put together. You can make a whole robot family. Having items like this in our homes makes it uniquely ours, I love it.

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  6. She's fabulous Tania! I actually love that she's a little off centre. She fits in perfectly with us Thrifty Chicks. lol.

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  7. Diana PetrilloJuly 12, 2017

    She is absolutely delightful, Tania--I LOVE her! I suspect she will be making you smile for a very long time :)

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  8. Thanks Diana! Yes, she puts a smile on my face every time I look at her! :o)

    Tania

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  9. You are so right Tuula! I could have started over since I have another can but I thought it was fine too!

    Tania

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  10. Thanks Debra! I have definitely got the bug now and want to make more!!

    Tania

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  11. Thanks Vikki, me too! :o)

    Tania

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  12. Thanks Marie... sassy just like her maker! lol!

    Tania

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  13. Aww, you're so sweet Amanda, thank you :o)

    Tania

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  14. So stinkin' cute. You must have had fun creating her. I love the bent spoons for her legs/feet.

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  15. Thanks JoElle, she was very fun to make!!

    Tania

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  16. That is one cool soda can! And one ingenious creation! She's adorable. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm! xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home

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  17. Thank you Kathleen!

    Tania

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  18. JustUsCrittersSeptember 24, 2017

    She's gorgeous! So cute, extremely clever & I just love her! What's her name?

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  19. Ha Ha, thank you! I think her name should be Gabby since she looks like she's got things to say! lol!

    Tania

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