Garage sale treasures! Ice cube trays? (besides the obvious)

[Ellyloo]

Best Garage sale/flea Market EVER!!

There was a 'free' bin, and I got 2 coloured ice cube trays... (could have taken 5, but ...if i DON"T wind up doing something with them, they'll just sit there).
 
A wooden wine holder box with a sliding top (style matches my slide top tea boxes I found a couple of weeks ago!!)
 
A glass square jar I thought of doing something with ...
A tealight holder with a glass oil holder above it-diffuser?  But ALSO, a glass bowl with those clear glass marbles that I'm goign to try that picture thing out with.
 
A mini paper cutter (scrapbookers cast off), a grab 'bag' of beads and a bead 'loom' and embroidery stuff...and... ummmmm... oh. hheh. Makeup. (the suppliers extra bags of unused stuff)

WooHoo!
*goes into a craft coma*

[pixiestixchick65]

0o0o0o0o.... gotta find me a good garage sale like that!  If the glass square jar has a lid, you could always make one of those little topiary things, kinda like a mini environment, with the moss, and small plants, gravel, and whatnot (saw it on The Brini Maxwell Show one night, I'm sure you'll be able to find instructions).  For the ice cube trays, you could always use them as paint palettes (I know it's not crafty, but w/e).  The obvious, other than ice, is to hold stuff in them.  OR (going back to plants) plant little flowers or cultivate bonsai trees in them.  I'm sure you could arrange the roots in a way that a bonsai tree could fit, maybe spill over into the surrounding molds.  I dunno, the thought of colored plastic ice cube trays with little plants seems really futuristic, and kinda cool.  If they turn out o.k., I'd suggest going back and getting the other 3!

 :-*ciao xox

[Ellyloo]

A TOPIARY!!!!!
 
That's right up my alley!!!!!

Thanks!
*puts it on her list*

[sassafras]

I saw an ice cube tray project on an episode of either Surprise by Design or Trading Spaces. They fastened about ten of them together, hot glueing the long edges to each other. The result was a cylinder that they used as a lamp shade. The light looked really cool filtering through the cube parts!

Another option would be to use them as casting trays for fabulous resin jewelry. I first saw this stuff at www.naughtysecretar yclub.com. It's really cool - they use resin, cool retro images, and glitter to make these necklaces, bracelets and rings. You gotta check these out.

[silencepainter]

ice cube trays would be good for sorting or holding little things.  Beads you are working with, jewelry, little screws and nails... etc


I'm not sure how this would work, might be a little too small to be useful.  But perhaps use them as little candle molds.  They would make itty bitty square candles

Or still on the candle thought... use them as wax molds in one color, and then drop the wax squares once they cool into a larger candle that you are making.  Then your larger candle would have random squares of a different color (or even scent).

[melidomi]

One of my friends used to use ice cube trays as seedling starters - you plant one seed in each section (with dirt, obviously) and once they get to a certain size, you transplant the ones that survived into real pots/the ground/whatever

[trufflegirl]

Use spare ice cube trays to freeze pesto and tomato sauce, so you can thaw out only the amount you need. Or, freeze juice, so that the "ice" cubes don't dilute your drinks as they melt...

[ScarySockMonster]

See what I was thinking is that maybe if you went out and bought a small strand of christmas lights, you could make some sort of light out of it?  Use a nail or something, heat it up; and make a hole in the bottom big enough for each light?  I think that once I get my stand for my cow collection built, I'm going to make a drinking trough out of an ice cube tray and put the lights in there with saran wrap glued to the top to give it a weird little thing.  I have no idea though.  I may just make them for around the house nightlights.   

[snapkrackelpop19]

You can use ice cube molds as resin molds!