Thursday, September 16, 2010

Gettin' Crafty With Empty Cans


Question :
What do you do with your empty food storage cans?


Answer :
Ummmmm, I save them for a rainy day......of course!



I knew I was hanging onto them for a good reason. I just didn't know what that reason was, until this week. I was clamoring around for a last minute birthday gift, with very little time and even less money...not a good combination for a winning gift! Luckily, I work best under pressure and came up with, what I think, is a pretty cute idea.



I found some adorable scrapbook papers in my stash that I've been hanging on to for years. I cut them to fit the can, mod podged them on, added a cute tag with vinyl letter stickers (all cut with my cricut), and voila.....a custom birthday bucket is born!


When you're finished decorating the buckets, you can stuff them full of all kinds of goodies. Army men, glow swords or crowns, silly putty, dvds, candy......the possibilities are endless! The best part.....you can totally customize them to fit the personality of the birthday child {and your budget as well}!



For this cute boy bucket, I ended up using a paint can you can buy at the craft store to decorate yourself. I had an old one I'd never used lying around, so I thought I'd put it to good use now! Better late than never, right?



This one was a bit more fun to put together, honestly. Boys are usually more adventurous and really dig things like flarp (noise putty, for those of you without young boys) and stretchy, gooey frogs and lizards!




I had so much fun making these birthday buckets, they might very well become my new gift staple! The price was right {free}, they were quick and easy, and they look so darn cute! How could you resist that? So, go dig those empty #10 cans out of the garbage and give them new life!





63 comments:

  1. That is a great idea Amanda! And they look so festive - I love the paper and ribbons that you used. You are so clever!!

    I hope you are having a great week. Love ya!

    xox
    Jen

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  2. that is awesome! I am totally stealing this idea. I am bookmarking it, so when I do use it, I'll link to you and give you your props! I may not get the vinyl on, though. As I have made you well aware, I am scared of my Cricut. It lives in my closet and has rarely seen in the light of day. Sometimes I am afraid to walk into my closet because I know it's staring at me. And laughing. And mocking. I deserve it. Maybe I should just put her up for adoption. She deserves a better home. But, that would mean touching her. And she scares me...

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  4. A great idea! My 10 year old daughter said "those are soooo cute!" :)

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  5. CUTE! I think I may have to make one for myself next year, for my birthday,hehe ;) Thanks for the cute idea!

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  6. What a great idea! The colors you chose are so cute & festive, it's like a Bucket O' Fun! :-)

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  7. I really like this idea. I have a couple of these can around and didnt know what to do with them - Im so going to try this!

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  8. Looove!!! My problem is that I save stuff like that and need to MAKE the time to use it, otherwise it just lays around. :s

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  9. That is so totally cute you won't need the following info... but just in case... Most stakes have a machine that will fix the top of the can so that it can be reused for food storage. You run it through the machine and then fill and seal as usual.

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  10. this is so cute! What a creative, simple idea. One question: it looks like you put a handle on the can... how did you do that? THanks for sharing. Could you email me? I probably won't check back for a response. katecreer@gmail.com

    Thanks.

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  11. Great idea. I've used my leftover cans for gift buckets as well. I've filled mine with cookies to deliver to a new neighbor too. They work great for lots of things. Love the paper you chose.

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  12. Oh Amanda- this is my new favorite idea!!!!! I love it!

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  13. I love this idea! Super fun and cute! Definitely brings new life to the decorating the tin can pencil holders!

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  14. Hi, I love your cans, those are beautiful.
    One year we used one of those openers that doesn't leave sharp edges, to open a soup can. Washed it out carefully, not to ruin the label, and filled it with a bar of gourmet soap and a gift card to her favorite store, then glued the lid back on. Gave it to my 'crafty' daughter in law, and laughed when she opened the package and thought she had a can of Campbells Vegetable soup.

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  15. These look great, Amanda! And frankly, I think any age "kid" would be glad to get one filled with fun stuff. I think you've got a winner of an idea here!

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  16. Amanda-That is a great idea. It is so much more fun that a box with a model in it or something.

    Wonderful idea! Diana

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  17. Girl, I have a stack of 8 formula containers like this in my studio bathroom RIGHT NOW waiting for organizational use or something else. Love your birthday idea! So personal and cute!

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  18. Wow, that is really cute! I love that you are recycling too! Fantastic job.

    Lauren

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  19. I love this! I had actually just saved some for a rainy day too! :)

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  20. I was wondering what I should do these cans.

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  21. Love this idea! Looks like so much fun. The possibilities are endless.

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  22. Wow, how creative you are. Well I already knew that! I bet any kid would be happy to receive one of those, I know I would!

    Megan

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  23. Those are not just pretty cute, those are WAY cute! I wouldn't have thought to use food storage cans like that. What a fun project!

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  24. hi there! I just wanted to say hi and thanks for picking my family room at CSI Project! I don't know if I ever commented on this post before, but I love them and am totally going to keep it in mind - I often give buckets of arts and crafts as a gift, and these would be even better than buying the buckets.

    I've missed your posts lately - I'm sure you're crazy busy! Can't wait to hear what you've been up to when you have time.

    Lisa

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  25. this is a fabulous idea! I love it. Bet it would be great for Christmas too.

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  26. Oh goodness! These are so cute. What great ideas (:

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  27. I'm totally going to have to steal this idea and use them for Christmas gifts! A pair of warms socks, some popcorn and some treats...what a perfect little gift! Yeehaw! Thanks for sharing your creativeness!
    I'n soooooooo excited. I also have a TON of paper and I'm not scrapping any more because of time so this uses it nicely!

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  28. Amanda,
    I am in love with this post! Woohoo! I am fix'n on trying it out tomorrow and doing it with Christmas paper and using your tips for the Cricut to cut out some vinyl! Thanks for your smarts!

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  29. I've been saving cans to make pencil holders. My Guy finds them and throws them away - if he doesn't use them for cooking grease or cleaning solvents. (That's what the glass jars w/ lids were for that I saw in the trash can too!) Ugh! I started hiding them but just tonight I have them sitting on the coffee table right now with fabrics. I told him that UPcycling is a cheap way to give gifts. I will show him this tutorial of the paint cans. Very nice work!

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  30. This is an amazing idea! Now I know what to do with all of the empty paint cans in our basement!

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  31. so nice - I would also love to know how you fixed the handles on there?

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