Recycling old tin cans – an easy and cheap alternative

A very simple and easy way of recycling old tin cans into planters, saving you money and meaning you don’t have to rely on plastics so heavily. When you think about it tin cans are a real renewable resource in our houses as, although they can be recycled by most councils in our fortnightly collections, why wouldn’t we use them ourselves?

You Will Need;

Old tin cans, washed and left to soak the labels off,

Hammer, 16 oz and 1 Screw

Paint Brushes

Paint such as Gloss Paint 250ml Oxford Blue Wood Metal Door Children Toys Furniture Oil-Based Indoor Outdoor

Old Newspaper to pop on the table and floor depending on who is ‘helping’ with this project!

STEP ONE take your washed and label free tin can and up end it to reveal the bottom, then very gently use the screw and hammer to make tiny little holes in the bottom. These holes will allow the plants to not get water logged and are ideally not too large either.

STEP TWO open up the tin and stir the contents to ensure it is all mixed well together.

STEP THREE if you hold on to the tin can from the inside you are less likely to get paint on yourself, but be careful of sharp edges.  Then just start to paint it, you can be as uneven as you like or you can keep very little paint on the brush to create different effects. Either way it becomes as unique as you are and a perfect planter for gifts or your windowsill!

Another use for your wood paint, and actually quite a nice way to co-ordinate your crafts