I know, I know, cooking beans from scratch is much less expensive, but for a quick, cheap vegan meal you can’t beat a can of beans sauteed with garlic, onions, and spices over some steamed brown rice. Easy and delicious! But what do you do with the can after you’ve eaten the contents?
Sure, you can toss it in the recycle bin. Metal is one of the few materials that doesn’t get downcycled in the recycling process. That means that, unlike something like plastic, metal doesn’t lose quality in the recycling process. You can recycle it over and over. Still, recycling takes energy – it has to make it to the recycling center, and then it has to be processed into a new metal product.
Instead of throwing that empty can away, you can use your crafty skills to turn empty cans into all sorts of cool things! Here are some ideas to get you going.
1. Cover an empty can with pretty paper or fabric and use it to hold pens, pencils, or paint brushes.
2. Grab a bit of yarn or twine and turn an empty can into a chic yarn-wrapped vase.
3. HGTV shows us how to turn empty cans into a cute, magnetic storage board for kids’ craft supplies.
4. If you have a soda can handy, grab your tin snips and make a cute flower hair clip!
5. How cute are these can stiltsfrom Disney Family Fun? Just make sure you keep an eye on the kiddos while they play with these!
6. Another soda can craft: check out these awesome soda can’dle holders!
7. Use a dremel or small drill bit to poke holes in your can to turn it into a votive holder for a tea light.
8. Turn a bunch of empty cans into a sweet tin can wall garden. They’re growing flowers in theirs, but this would be great for herbs! Just remember to drill a couple of drainage holes into the bottom of each can before mounting on the wall.
9. Use a hammer and nail to add beautiful stippling details and create a picture frame from a tin can.
10. At Readymade, you can learn how to turn a few old coffee cans into a beautiful hanging lamp.
11. Over at leethal, she shows you how to make a coffee can storage unit for the wall. You could use tin cans instead to store tinier things!
12. Elsie Marley shows you how to make a cute tin can cover.
13. This looks like a fun one to do with kids: can robots!
14. You can use the tops of your cans to make pretty ornaments.
15. How clever is this tin can handbag?
