Recycled Gift Cans

Skip the gift wrap aisle the next time you're at the store - these Recycled Gift Cans from Heidi Borchers are a fun and fabulous eco-friendly option. Crafts with cans help you cut down on your trash haul and save money on supplies. Add decorative paper for a unique aesthetic.


 

Materials:

• Cool2Cast  (¼ cup of C2C plaster to 1/8 cup of water will fill 2 medium lids)
• Water & measuring cups
• Zip top plastic bag
• Tin cans (use a can opener that removes the lids safely with no sharp edges)
• Stamp pad – any color
• Small rubber stamps – various shapes and an alphabet
• Alcohol inks
• Brush
• Aleene’s Tacky Tape Runner
• Papers, paint, trims, glue, embellishments and fabric to decorate tin cans

Instructions:

1. Pour 1/4 cup Cool2Cast plaster into zip top bag.
    
2. Add 1/8 cup room temp water to bag. Re-zip bag to seal and shake bag for about one minute.
    
3. Cut off one corner on the bottom of the bag.
    
4. Hold over lid and let the plaster flow from the cut corner into the lid.
    
5. Fill to the top edge of can lid. Carefully tap the edge of the lid, to help the liquid plaster settle. Let plaster dry completely. It will be solid to the touch in about 1 hour but leave overnight to dry completely.
    
6. Decorate the top by brushing on alcohol inks on the plaster. Let dry.  Next, stamp words or sayings with rubber stamps.
    
7. When you use the no-sharp edges type of can opener, you should find that the lid will snap back on when you are finished. If your lid does not, just tie ribbon from top to bottom to hold the lid in place in transit.

Note:

1. Remove lid from can using the type of can opener that leaves no sharp edges on the lid.