Storage containers for small items are very practical in a child's room or office. However, you don't always have to buy something new right away. With a little recycling and crafting, beautiful storage containers can be conjured up. Besides, it's fun for the children and decorates the desk. I also think it's important that they see that you don't always have to buy everything new, but can also recycle things.
I wrapped the tin cans with raffia with my children and decorated them with felt and plastic flowers; our instructions are attached:
Crafting with children: Colorful storage containers made from cans
What you’ll need:
washed-out tin cans- string, wool, gift ribbon, raffia,
- For decoration: beautiful stones, shells, feathers, rhinestones, artificial flowers, felt elements
- Uhu glue stick or glue
- Uhu
- possibly electrical tape
Crafting instructions for the storage containers with raffia
It is best to open cans with a can opener that does not leave a sharp edge. Unfortunately, I don't have one like that, so I covered the edge. Here, I glued electrical tape to the inside of the can with a Uhu glue stick.
Wrap raffia around the can
I chose colorful raffia as the string. The outside of the can is always smeared a little with a Uhu glue stick, and the raffia is glued onto the can very closely together. Do not cut the raffia, but always keep going around in a circle. Feel free to wrap it around the can several times; it will look even better. At the edges, I made the raffia a little wider and glued it nicely over the edge so that the edge is also 'padded'. I glued the end at the very end with normal Uhu glue.
Variation: If you like, you can also leave the end of the string open at the beginning and tie it with the second end at the end or make a nice bow.
Wrapping was too boring for the children, so I did that. That's why I recommend here: anyone who wants to do this with toddlers can easily wrap the cans the night before. Our children, however, had a lot of fun decorating them.
Decoration
Afterwards, we decorated the can with felt flowers and plastic flowers. To do this, put a drop of Uhu on the flower and glue it to the desired spot.
Variation: For my can, I always glued two plastic flowers together. To do this, always glue a small flower onto a larger one with Uhu.
Let everything dry well – we let our cans dry all night. The next day, we filled them with pens.
Covering tin cans with string
We decided on raffia as a base in the craft store, but there are many possibilities here, such as wool, string (e.g., sisal string), or gift ribbon. As with the raffia, coat the can with glue and wrap the string tightly around the can. For wool, it is best to choose a very thick one; it looks very good and you finish faster.
Covering tin cans with stones
The can looks very good when stones are glued onto it. Glue the stones directly onto the can with glue or a hot glue gun.
Extra tip: This decoration is excellent for a flower pot. Glue the stones onto the can and then fill with soil and plant the plant as usual.
Covering tin cans with shells
Anyone who has some shells left over from their summer vacation can use them for a summery storage container. Glue the shells onto the tin can with glue or a hot glue gun and let them dry well.
Covering tin cans with drinking straws
Cover the can with double-sided tape and distribute the drinking straws lengthwise very closely next to each other; cut off the ends that are too long.
Variation: the drinking straws can also be wrapped with a nice gift ribbon.
Decorating tin cans with feathers
Cover the empty can with double-sided tape and distribute and glue the feathers as desired.
Covering tin cans with leather
With leather scraps, the can can be used very exclusively for cosmetic items. Cover the can with double-sided tape. Distribute the leather scraps well on it. Also, put a little double-sided tape inside the can so that the leather can be folded inwards. This gives you a nice, clean edge finish.
Variation: The leather can can be decorated very elegantly with scatter items, such as rhinestones, glitter, etc.
These cans look really beautiful and are ideal small gifts for invitations. It definitely gave us a nice afternoon of crafting, and I am happy about a new storage container for my pens.
Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
Also read: Crafting with children – Easter garland
