Altered Tin Can Tutorial

Upcycled Shabby Chic Soup Cans

It shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that I'm a fan of creating upcycled crafts, after all my tagline at SewforSoul is 'Because life's celebrations shouldn't cost the Earth'.  In keeping with this, the female guests at our recent Easter party were each gifted with an empty cat food tin!

Thankfully, I washed and altered the cans first! 



I lovingly created them with the application of delicate lace, a lick of paint and some handmade clay embellishments, I then filled each tin with a gorgeous little Primula bedding plant.  Whilst mine were created for Easter, they would make equally stunning wedding table centres.  The romantic blend of lace and linen conjuring up visions of antique wedding frocks, and their shabby chic vibe adding a touch of relaxed glamour to the celebration. 

Unlike cut blooms, flowering plants also won't fade within a few days, thus providing a lasting memento of your perfect day, which honoured guests can take away with them!  I actually popped my plants into a small paper inner cup, so that they could be lifted out and planted into the garden where, as a hardy perennial, they will provide years of beautiful flowers.  The empty tin cans would then make wonderful pen pots.

Viola who blogs over at 'Shabby Chic Inspired' also uses hers for stunning art supply storage

Tutorial

So, firstly prepare your tins with a very hot thorough wash, as mine had contained cat food this was an essential stage to remove any lingering odours!  Once dry, I then used a pair of pliers to flatten out the slightly sharp inner lip on each tin.



Next came a quick coat of white acrylic paint followed by an application of Powertex Stone Art mixed with Powertex Fabric Hardener which provides a lovely rough 'aged' texture.  If you can't easily source Powertex you can either miss out this stage or mix your white paint with a small amount of craft sand and plaster of Paris.


Leave to dry and then let your imagination run wild with a glue gun and lace trims.  You can use any colour of lace as the tins will have more paint applied, however pale colours will require less paint to cover.  I used lots of different lace, some from my Granny's sewing box which are at least fifty years old, mixed in with more modern pieces.



Once you're happy with your lace placement, give each tin can a couple more coats of white paint and then leave in a warm place to dry.



If you like the plain white look, then you're done!  I left the tin on the right below pure white and it looked lovely.  However, you can also get busy with your paints again and 'antique' the lace by sponging it with complementing shades of cream, grey and taupe.

The beauty of this project is that once you've created the basic tin, it can be then customised in any way you like, creating a totally unique finished item which perfectly reflects your individual character and tastes!



I added linen yo-yos, vintage 1950s buttons and personalised embossed clay tags



I also gently sponged the same shades of cream and taupe paint onto my linen yo-yos (Suffolk puffs) to tie them in with the lace and really rock the vintage shabby chic vibe!

A matching embossed clay butterfly completed the romantic spring feel

The possibilities are endless, what will you add to yours? Silk flowers, pearls or gems perhaps? 

Happy Crafting!