Blast from the Past: Upcycled Tin Cans

I'm out of town and not often at a computer.  I'm getting tons of craft ideas and can't wait to get home and try some out.  But for now, enjoy another blast from the past.





Provo takes them.  Rexburg takes them.  Casper does not take them.  I'm talking about my soup/fruit/chili cans.

  Because I know these are recyclable, throwing them away seems too painful.  I'm not saying I want 500 tin cans sitting in my home, but I know there has to be a better way.  So, I've been saving them.  I used a whole bunch at my daughter's birthday party.  I used my Pampered Chef Smooth-Edge Can-Opener (contact me if you want one)

I decorated the cans very simply (when you're mass producing, it helps the sanity).  Because of the type of can-opener I used, I was able to put the lid back onto the cans so they could reopen their cans and see what goodies I had filled it with.

I opted for not gluing the lids on, I just firmly put back in place.  However, you can easily use a little of your favorite adhesive and make the recipient open the gift the hard way. 

In the past, I've made cans for pens, paintbrushes, and of course, teachers.  Check out some of my past projects:

Sorry about the blurry picture.

And don't forget yesterday's project.

You would be amazed at how quickly one might accumliate cans.  Well, it was time to make more can redos.  So, back to my neverending ribbon supply and out with my glue gun.  Here's what I came up with while watching American Pickers.

This was my first one.  While the picture doesn't do it justice, it was my least favorite of all the cans.

I really like the colors on these ones.  Picture a stack of shapened pencils standing in the smaller can.  Or how about some of your favorite spatulas in the taller can.  But my most favorite...

I just love the white and red together.  It would look great for Christmas or Valentines.  Stuff that baby full of Hershey Hugs and Kisses and seal the top back up.  Or feel it with kitchen tools for a great host gift.  No matter what you end up doing with your cans, they are sure to please.  I can't wait to eat some more beans so I can make another can.  Okay, maybe I don't want the beans that bad, but at least I now have incentive to eat them.