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Fun With Cans: Creative Crafts for Kids

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So Many Cans, So Little Time!

Most households have plenty of cans: soup cans, fruits and veggie cans, spaghetti sauce and so on. Add to the list other canned products--pet foods & coffee, for instance, and you have enough cans to start a small crafting supplies corner.

Cans are a great starting point for fun kids' crafts, as well as a family recycling project. This lens explores common and not-so-common ways to turn trash into creative arts and crafts


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Smashed Can Cow

Here's a clever way to turn an ordinary aluminum can into something cute! This fun activity comes from Heidi Borchers, the creative person behind the Inspired at Home blog. Give it a try!

Excuses, Excuses...

Don't let disorganization rob you of recycling fun!

So, you think you're disorganized, hmmm? Can't locate a pen that works, or a pair of scissors within ten minutes? Well, think again. If you've been using the excuse that you're too disorganized to be creative, I hope you'll reconsider the fun you're missing with the children in your life.

You might be surprised to learn that disorganization sometimes brings out the creative side in people, especially when we finally face the fact that it's actually fun and time-saving to organize our Stuff. Maybe it's time to declutter?

As you toss and box up usable items, look for supplies that can be turned into fun crafts projects. Gather your clean, recycled cans, but think of a variety of other recyclables that could be worked into something artsy and fun.

Make a Christmas Tree
Hang onto those SODA CANS. Here's a fun holiday craft from About.com!
Make a time capsule!
Here's an idea for New Year's--a fun way to use a COFFEE CAN.
Candy Containers
Put those clean TUNA CANS to good use!
Herb Pots
Kids will love growing their own herbs, in reused TIN CANS.
Halloween Cat
Just in time for Halloween: a cute black cat formed around a recycled can. Perfect!
Scrap Pencil Holder
A fabric scrap-covered can makes a pretty and useful gift! See more fabric crafts at Fun with Fabric: Crafts Ideas for Families.
Tin Can Turkey
Another great idea from Kaboose.com!
Aluminum Can Ornaments
Think ahead to Christmas! Here's a great idea from a recycle-minded blogger.

Wash, Dry, Store, Use...

4 Steps Towards Crafting with Cans

Why cans?
Well, why not?

Cans are a big part of our lives. If you don't think so, check your pantry What do you see?


I'd like to say I cook only with fresh foods (uncanned), but it's simply not true. Certain canned items are a convenience in many dishes I make. They're easy to store and handy to keep in the pantry. I suspect many of you busy families out there feel the same. So, what do you do after you've dumped the kidney beans into your crockpot full of simmering chili? Toss 'em or clean 'em? I vote for cleaning, drying, and tossing them in the recycle bin...but it's even better to find ways to create fun crafts with your children or, if you're a teacher, with your students. Here's why:

1. Cans are durable.
2. Cans come in many sizes.
3. Cans are a good starting point for a variety of crafts projects.
4. Cans are happiest when they're re-used.

Can Robots

Create the whole set!

Family.com has long been known for its fun family projects, and they've certainly jumped on the recycling bandwagon, too. This fun set of robotic creatures made from cans is sure to add to the fun of recycling. So the next time you load up your aluminum cans in bags to head to the recycling center, be sure to save a few for crafting!

Take One Used Tuna Can...

Tuna sandwiches. Tuna casserole. Tuna is a part of our lives. But those cans...what can you do with a can that small? Here are a few ideas from creative types out there.

1. Make a pin cushion. Fill the clean tuna can with polyester fiberfill like the kind your grandma stuffs pillows with. Hot blue a fabric scrap over the top. Wrap a ribbon around the can to pretty it up and there you have it. (Note: I'm not too sure about this one. What do you think? Pins probably wouldn't stick in cottony fiberfill...would they?) Hey, I don't make this stuff up, I just report the news.

2. Use a tuna can for paints when your young children sit at the crafts table. It doesn't tip over as easily as a glass, and is easy for little hands to reach.

3. Feed your kitties with it. It's a perfectly good water dish as long as you wash it well in hot, soapy water first.

4. Wrap it in a pretty adhesive-backed paper that you buy in rolls. Use it on a desk for paperclips, rubberbands, or candy.

5. Hot glue several cans together by their bottom side. Voila! It's a candle holder.

Why Recycle?

Children's books about recycling fun

Pick a book to read together as a family or in the classroom. Recycling is a mindset. It's a turning from wastefulness to creativity. Why not let a book be the springboard that changes the way we look at "garbage"?

In the process, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how EASY and FUN recycling can be, and how lasting an impression it will make on the children in your life.
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Smashed Can Pig

Recycle those aluminum cans!

Crafts made with recycled cans are fun to make throughout the year. Think of ideas you can create on your own, too. Kids have fun coming up with one-of-a-kind crafts, so keep plenty of supplies on hand, and turn their ingenuity loose!

This is another fun, silly smashed-can animal from Heidi Borchers, the creative person behind the Inspired at Home blog. After you make this one, I bet you'll want to try the Smashed Can Cow, too!

An Artist Who Creates from Trash

Someone's trash is truly another person's treasure

People the world over are finding ways to re-use trash. Artists in particular are coming up with some amazing uses for ordinary cans. Perhaps one of the most unique body of work is H.A. Schult's "trash people," which have been described as "haunting".

Schult's exhibit has traveled the world. Made of cans, castoff computer parts, and anything else deemed worthy of including, these sculptures work hand-in-hand with a projector. The projector is placed behind what looks like a heap of connected trash, and that's where the amazement begins.

Images of people spring to life on a nearby wall--people crouching, sitting, celebrating, and thinking. It goes to show you that the potential for art is everywhere--even from the trash bin.

Before You Toss That Label...

Take a look...

Listen up.
Those labels you peel off cans might just look like scrap paper, but hold on. You might be surprised to find how some recyclers are donating them for good causes.

Campbell's Labels for Education is a good reason to think twice before tossing out labels. Read all about it in the following links. It could be a great project for your family or school!

Forums!
Join in discussions about Campbell's Labels for Education
Collection Sheets (download link)
Here's where you'll find the official collection sheets for CLE's labels program.
Want to sign up?
Enroll your school! Get your friends and teachers involved.
Which products are eligible?
Campbell's Labels for Education program provides a list of eligible products to look for when you shop.
Details! Details!
Read all about the program. It's all here.
How to Clip & Save
What do you do and how do you do it? More details, once you begin the program.

More Recycling Fun...

Visit the whole series!

I've worked hard to create a lens series that combines recycling with fun crafts the whole family will enjoy. Use my ideas at home, in the classroom, or anywhere else where kids gather. Recycling is easier than most people think, and the best way to introduce it is through hands-on projects like crafting.
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Crafting lenses by Seedplanter...

Visit the lenses in the list above & tell me what you think.
If you'd like to see a different recycling/crafting topic, leave me a message or send an email. I'd love to hear from you.

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Sing-Along Songs

Music to craft by!

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Let's Talk History!

How much do you know about the history of canning?

The canning industry wasn't always with us. Long ago, people took care of their own home-canning needs. Of course many still do, in order to wisely use food from their gardens.

Canned foods take up a huge portion of every grocery store's space and our pantries at home. But how many of us know the history behind such a convenience? Here' are books that provide a quickie course on canning, and how it all began.
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Festive Gift Boxes

One way to recycle empty baby formula cans!

Who said cans can't be pretty? This mom proves it.
Visit her instructions for turning empty baby formula cans into something festive, beautiful, and useful!

Test Your Memory

How much do you know about the history of canning?

What does Napoleon Bonaparte have in common with Nicholas Appert, and where does Peter Durand fit in to the story of canning?

Discover all you thought you knew (but didn't) about the history of food preservation.

But what about home canning? When did it come about, and who in the world was John L. Mason? Hmmm?
Give up?

More Crafting with Cans

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Boomerang!

A quick way to revisit selected modules

When I read a new magazine, I generally browse the entire thing first, then return to articles or stories I want to read in depth. Here's an easy way to use this lens--an index that will take you back to sections you may want to explore further. Just click and go.
  1. Smashed Can Cow
  2. Excuses, Excuses...
  3. Wash, Dry, Store, Use...
  4. Can Robots
  5. Take One Used Tuna Can...
  6. Why Recycle?
  7. Smashed Can Pig
  8. An Artist Who Creates from Trash
  9. Before You Toss That Label...
  10. More Recycling Fun...
  11. Vote for Your Favorite
  12. Sing-Along Songs
  13. Let's Talk History!
  14. Festive Gift Boxes
  15. Test Your Memory
  16. More Crafting with Cans
  18. Leave Your Footprint!
  19. Seedplanter's **Top 10** ranked Lenses
  20. Twitter Me!

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