Friday 22 November 2013

... and some Pop Can Christmas Stars

I have been saving my pop cans for some time now - for crafting purposes - not because I'm a hoarder - and they were starting to accumulate (much to Dunc's annoyance!) It was time to trawl through my Pinterest boards and see what seasonal creations I could come up with...
Through the thousands (I'm not joking) of projects I've pinned, this post by milomade immediately jumped out at me and I knew I had to give it a go. Here's my version...

Materials
  • One or more empty pop cans
  • Kitchen Scissors (not your best fabric ones!)
  • Scrap of Card
  • Compass, Protractor, Ruler and Pen (or a star template you have from somewhere else)
  • Sticky Tape
  • Embossing Tool (or any other sharp pointy thing)
  • Hole Punch, Ribbon

Pierce the scissors into the top part of the can and cut the top part off (this was surprisingly easy!)

Repeat with bottom part and then cut through the tube to create one long piece of aluminium.
Flatten the piece out by curling it up in the opposite direction (and pressing down if needed)

Measure the height of the piece to work out your star's dimensions 
(I used a standard 330ml can so the piece of foil I was working from was 9cm high.)

Using this measurement make your template from card
(I made a five-point star out of a circle with a 10cm diameter. I measured out 10 points using a protractor (36 degrees apart) and connected the lines up as shown)
Attach the template to the inside (silver side)of the metal piece with some sticky tape, and using the embossing tool mark around it, and also the internal lines that meet up to the centre.
Flip it round and go over the shorter lines (so they become valleys rather than peaks) and cut the piece out.

Gently squeeze the points together at the sides to make it all 3D and stuff...
Punch a hole in ( normal hole punch woks fine) attach a piece of ribbon, and repeat as many times as you want. I managed to get two out of  one can - I have many more cans to go through!!
On milomade, she sprayed hers with metallic spray but I like these with the print showing - its up to you!

These are really quick to make and light enough to hang from anywhere - maybe without the ribbon and made into a garland?
(NB. I didn't have any trouble cutting these stars from the cans but if you are worried, you could always use gloves). Why not give it a go - its a great way to recycle!

We are linking up to these parties!

1st Dec 2013: Update - this post has been featured here by Dream a Little Bigger
 Dream a Little Bigger
4th Dec 2013: Update - this post has been featured here by Someday Crafts
10th Dec 2013: Update - this post was featured here by Entre Cositas (From Little things)

Dec 2013: Update - this post was featured here by Bored Blog Almighty

22 comments:

  1. This is ridiculously cute! Also, I love the can you used. Definitely pinning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Diane! The possibilties are endless - there's some proper crazy packaging out there! xx

      Delete
  2. Wow, you girls have outdone yourselves again! I absolutely love this project and am adding onto my craft to-do list! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! Thanks Emma! Send us some pics of how they turn out! xx

      Delete
  3. Oh my goodness, this is such a neat project! Thanks so much for linking up at our Link It or Lump It party!

    Amy @ Delineateyourdwelling.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love anything that rescues things from the rubbish bin, this is great. Was the metal sharp at all or not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not really Julia - Its just really like thick foil. I wouldn't let my four yr old do it, but it's fine for us grown-ups!

      Delete
  5. OK I need these cans!!!! I'm in total love or is it lust? I too save my cans especially the energy drinks my hubby and adult kids drink they have such fantastic colors. Thanks for sharing!
    Happy Thanksgiving,
    Vicki
    stardesertnight@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha Ha Vicki - unfortunately the best cans are the worst ones for ingredients... But never mind!! Have a great Thanksgiving! xx

      Delete
  6. They are very impressive and surprisingly easy to make too, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. OK this is awesome!!! Please come share this on a party I cohost, DIY Sunday Showcase! It's open now! Hope to see ya there!!
    Shelly
    minettemaze.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Stopping by from Gingerly Made's Show & Tell party. These are so cute! Plus, this gives me a reason to drink soda again, so I can make a bunch of these for our tree. Thanks for sharing! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Meg - not sure I want to encourage people to pick up bad habits! ;) xx

      Delete
  9. Love, love, love. Those are the cutest darn soda cans and your ornaments came out perfectly. I'd totally buy some of them at a cute little kitschy shop. Totally!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Allison - that's a lovely thing to say! And thanks for the feature! xx

      Delete
  10. Thanks for linking up at Whatever Goes Wednesday! This was the most viewed link at last week's party, so we'll be highlighting your stars at tomorrow's party :) We hope you'll stop by and join the party again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! Thanks Miranda! We pop by every week - its a great party! xx

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...