We always forget what a nice, industrial look tin cans have when they're stripped of their labels. Before tossing them into the recycling bin, think about repurposing a few of them for a project...
FIRST ROW
- 1 Laure used tin cans to make planters for her succulents.
- 2 Susy and Dale keep a set of painted coffee cans for storage on their shelf.
- 3 Beth made outdoor lanterns from coffee cans and white paint.
- 4 Jack Bresnahan designed a set of stylish and useful lids to fit over used tin cans.
- 5 Martha Stewart uses sets of white painted tin cans as vases.
SECOND ROW
- 6 HGTV shows us how to use pie-filling cans to hold kitchen tools.
- 7 Also from HGTV: a soup can pencil organizer.
- 8 Country Living shows you how to make candles in tin cans.
- 9 Design*Sponge's Derek and Lauren explain how to make a tin can pincushion.
- 10 Better Homes & Gardens has a how-to for making a tiered tin can organizer.
Photos: Susy Hammermeister, Beth Zeigler, Laure Joliet, Dezeen, Martha Stewart, HGTV, HGTV, Keith Scott Morton / Country Living, Derek & Lauren / Design*Sponge, Better Homes & Garden
Tina Wilson's Striking Style 
30 DIY Projects for the 3-Day Weekend
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Dunes & Duchess Can...
Make Chocolate Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping with Only 2 Ingredients
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (6)
Love the candle idea, and the tiered can organizer....I absolutely love the planter thats painted like a tree stump but I would line the inside with maybe a plastic bag or something because it will eventually start to rust with watering and then it's by by plants.
the range of styles here is interesting... very few actually look industrial!
Great ideas here, including a whole new intrepretation of the *tea light* candle! And I am SO going to be making one of those tin can tiered organizers...
I did the tin cans as planters thing and had mixed results.
They were OK if I didn't punch drainage holes in the bottom (I added a layer of gravel though) and just potted succulents. Even after several months the insides never rusted. Maybe they have a special coating on the inside so the food doesn't damage the steel?
But when I did poke holes and even coated them in 3 layers of shellac, but planted "normal" houseplants and watered them through, they rusted. Badly :(
Forgot I was going to post another idea:
Find small tins (like for tomato paste) that have attractive colors/graphics printed right onto the tin. Open tin using one of those openers that do not leave a jagged sharp edge. After consuming contents, remove the other end w/the same type of opener, so that you have a cylinder. Use these for napkin rings, especially when serving up an Italian dinner!
I made upside planters with paint cans:
http://typearamblings.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-upside-down-planters.html
I'd love to try making a lamp out of time cans - if only I had extra rooms just to put all my DIY projects in.