Here are some ways that lids of plastic containers can be used in artmaking.
1. Make Your Own Templates
You can cut out lids and use the shapes as templates to mask areas of a painting or to use with Gelli press, or in other print making activities.
These lids can be standard shapes that can be cut out or you can use a drawing that the artist has previously done, to trace the template into a desired shape. The nice thing is that these templates can be reused whenever needed so less paper is consumed.
Here are some examples of templates I have made. Note that in addition to using the template itself, you can also use the remnants of the plastic to make a great stencil. The lids are soft and easy to cut with a craft blade or scissors.
2. Stencils
Similarly to templates, plastic lids can be cut to make your own stencils. For example, the lid of a package of tomatoes was used to create this simple Christmas tree to make cards on a watercolor background. Outlining the edges of the stencil helped Rita understand the exact shape of the tree. I used a yellow Posca marker to make a permanent outline on the stencil.
3. Paint Palettes
Pans of paint that you make from watercolors that come in tubes, or that you buy individually, can be stuck onto a lid with reusable sticky putty. The lid catches all the drips and the putty keeps the paint pan more stable when in use. When using acrylic paints, the lid can be used as a mixing palette or just to hold the individual colours.