Upcycling Tin Cans Into Vintage Inspired Storage

4 Materials
Do you have tin cans in your recycle bin? Why not turn them into vintagy looking storage that can be used anywhere in your home or office.
Last month, when a neighbour was giving away these plain tin cans I snatched them up. The cans had previously been used but had been cleaned and saved and were in perfect condition. I am so excited that she had the foresight to save them from the trash...


I have been wanting (OK needing!) to find a way to sort and store all of the hardware in my work area for a while now and thought they would be the perfect solution.
This tin bread box had also been hanging around for while and I wanted to use it as well. While the tin cans would be perfect for holding screws and nails, the bread box was the perfect size for knobs and pulls.


In order to have the bread box match the tins, I gave it two coats (inside and out) of Country Chic Paint in Simplicity.


The tins and bread box were now a blank slate and I loved that!


I wanted them to have a vintagy look and feel so began by free-hand painting some grain sack type stripes. I used the All-in-One Decor Paint in Cranberry Sauce, for the stripes on the tops and bottoms of each can.
I love that the stripes came out very blotchy and uneven. They have the feel of water-colour paint lines to me and I find that so pretty.
In contrast to the lines, I wanted the labels to be crisp and clean (not hand painted). The Image Transfer Medium provided the perfect solution.


I printed off the words I would need and cut them out. Make sure the words are printed backwards (they can be flipped/revered in most editing programs) so that when they are applied they will turn out the right way. Tip: Picmonkey.com is a great editing site that has a ton of cool fonts and features
I liberally applied some of the Image Transfer Medium over each word and “stuck” it to the tin where I wanted the label to be.


Once the paper was applied, I let them dry for about 24 hours. Be patient... if you try to rub off the paper too soon, it won't work. The longer you can leave it at this stage the better.
When I came back to the tins the next day, I wet the pieces of paper and began to gently rub in circles moving towards the edges. The paper began to ball up and eventually only the word was left in the centre of the tin.
Once all of the paper was removed, I painted on a layer of Tough Coat to seal and protect both the paint and transfer.


The crisp black words turned out to be the perfect contrast to the hand painted, vintagy red lines.
These simple recycled tins now provide me with great storage... not to mention how pretty they look sitting up on the shelf.


To see additional pictures and other great ways to reuse everyday items with paint, drop by the website...
Suggested materials:
  • Recycled tin cans
  • Country Chic Paint in Cranberry   (Local Stockist)
  • Country Chic Image Transfer Medium
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Recreated Designs
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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