Patriotic themed repurposed tin can vase

(This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and All You, but all my opinions are my own. #lifeforless #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO)

Have you heard of All You magazine?  This is the cover of their July issue.

Back when I was couponing heavily and frequenting lots of coupon blogs and forums, All You magazine was very valued for the rare and sometimes high value coupons that it contains.  But All You is definitely not all about coupons!  They have many articles from recipes,  household management helps, money saving tips, and even DIY projects and crafts.  Their recipes are amazing too and they even list every recipe in the table of contents by cost-per-serving, so if you are on a tight budget and need a low-cost recipe but delicious recipe, they have you covered.

While I was doing my grocery shopping at Ingles preparing to go on our anniversary trip last week, I picked up a copy of the July issue of All You magazine.  I knew I would have plenty of time while at the pool or at the beach to get some good magazine reading in.  And I did – nothing like lounging in a pool chair reading a magazine with no to-do list on the horizon!

Recipe for Coffee waffles, how to save money using apps on your phone, and some simple tips on making your home happier with color are just some of what you can find in this issue of All You magazine

I especially loved this one particular column that they have just started called the Craft Challenge.  They challenge 2 crafty bloggers to repurpose an everyday item into some kind of pretty home accent or décor.  Totally up my alley!  The 2 bloggers had $5 and a tin can to work with and needed to create a project in 3 steps or less.  You’ll have to pick up a copy of the magazine to see what they created.

So I thought I would give myself a little craft challenge and see what I could come up with using a tin can and less than $5.  

Here’s what I came up with:

 

Would you have guessed those were made with repurposed aluminum cans?

Here’s how you can make your own.  You will need:

• 3 craft paints – $0.59 at Michael’s,
• a spool of rope  – $3.00 at Home Depot,
• 3 cans from the recycle bin
• You will also need a glue gun, glue sticks, and paint brush – which hopefully you will have on hand.

I am in summer/beach mode in my decorating right now and I love the look and texture of rope or sisal combined with flowers or plants.  So I decided I would do a rope wrapped can.  It was easier and much faster than I thought.  I think each can only took about 5 minutes to wrap.

I started the rope and secured it with a little hot glue and then wrapped about 1/3 of the way around the can, secured with a little more hot glue, wrapped a little more secured with glue… you get the picture.  I glued each line of rope about 3 times as I was going around the can.   Just make sure you get it nice and tight to the can and the rope is wrapped close together. 

Here’s my 3 cans all wrapped and done.  I just tucked the end of the rope sort of over the edge as I plan to use these mostly for flowers so you won’t see that part at all.

Then to add some more interest, I wanted to give it a “paint dipped look”.  I used some Frog Tape that I had on hand to mark off the measurements of my bottom stripe and then taped a strip around the rest of the can. 

Took those 2 pieces off that were marking my measurements and painted the bottom portion of the can. 

I did one can white, one can blue, and one can red.  There is so many options with these – you could do stripes up the whole can or vertical stripes or even do a chevron pattern.  And any color you choose too – customize them for your party, décor, or even for wedding centerpieces.

I picked up some clearance tulips from the store and then cut some other flower stems and greenery from around my yard.  Hydrangeas would be gorgeous in these too!    Just take a look around your yard and see what you have – the red leaves are just off a non-flowering bush in my yard and I love them in this – simple, easy and FREE!

Then you can use them as a centerpiece or outside on a side table – wherever you wish. 

I keep my kitchen table set with placemats and napkins all the time and I love to have a pretty centerpiece on there as well.  These rope-wrapped, paint-dipped repurposed aluminum cans are the perfect decoration for my table!

I love just the hint of the red, white, and blue with the natural look of the rope.

So fun!    I am going to be keeping my eye out for a larger can to do this with and make a large white striped one to use year round. 

So about you, challenged yourself to repurpose a household item into pretty décor for your home recently?  I am looking at the recycle bin and other things around my home a bit differently now, thinking “How could I repurpose that?”   Can’t wait to see what next month’s craft challenge is in All You magazine! 

You can visit this site to to see what store in your area carries All You magazine, as well as print a coupon to save off the purchase of your magazine purchase.