Art In A Can

I am desperate for some organization.  The task is so big and the budget so small there is no hope that I will ever get the intervention organization I need.  So I have to do what I can to make it seem not so painful, and I'm desperate for some cuteness.  Therefore I have taken matters into my own hands.

We love arts and crafts, Ads does them every day and usually multiple times a day.  But having crayons and makers and paper and glue and stickers and glitter... have you gone crazy yet? all over our tiny apartment is about enough to make me go insane.  I relied often on my homeopathic Rescue Remedy to get me through each project {that stuff is aaahhhmazing!} but was tired of dragging it out every time she wanted to do an art project, which lets face it is always.  I needed help.

I had been saving any kind of jar or container that came through the door, driving Husband insane {it wasn't the arts and crafts but the random 136 jars I had all over the place}.  Finally after a day of playing cleanup with my daughter it struck me, why don't I make these jars cute and display all her artsy stuff in them.  It took forever for  me to realize this, but at least I got there.


 
 So I blew the dust off my piles of scrapbooking paper {I have no time to do that fancy stuff anymore} and started cutting and gluing.  And I came up with paper wrapped cans.  Sounds a bit plain doesn't it?  I actually think they turned out pretty cute and they're totally functional.  Then I really got into it and did the lids of some glass jars.  Then I got carried away and covered paperclips in pretty paper.


It was really pretty easy and I sat on the floor catching up on my tv shows from the last 2 weeks.  Rarely do I have the free time to do either of those so doing them together was a prefect way to end the weekend.

Here's the how to:

To wrap the cans, I put the paper along the top rim then I marked on the paper the bottom rim.  I then used a ruler to draw a straight line which made it the exact height of the can.  Then I wrapped the paper around and cut off any excess.  Next I slathered glue all over the can and wrapped the paper around it, overlapping the ends a bit and gluing them down.  I put rubber bands around them and let them dry overnight.

For the paperclips, I just cut scraps of paper down to size and glued them on.  So quick and easy and it totally makes them so much cuter than the black ones.  We use them in the kitchen to close any opened bag, crackers, frozen veggies, nuts.

The glass jar lids took a little bit more time. I'm not one to follow directions all that well, which is why baking isn't good for me, so I don't have exact directions here for that.  But I will tell you what I did as best as I can.  I basically traced the lid on the wrong side of the paper I wanted to use.  Then I drew another bigger circle around that one.  I cut it out leaving enough of an edge to cut the little slits to fold over the edge and into the inside of the lid {I wouldn't use these for anything that would require washing}.  This is where I cut the little slits and once I had them cut I slathered Mod Podge all over the top and sides of the lid {I only used Mod Podge because I had some leftover from years ago.  You can easily and cheaply make your own by mixing equal parts Elmer's glue and water in a jar and shaking like crazy.  This is a bit on the runny side so use less water if you want it thicker}.  Then I positioned the paper on top and started folding the cut sides over the edges and on to the inside of the lid {you may want to do this before adding the glue to make sure it's the right size}.  Do this around the entire lid and when that's done slap some Mod Podge over the top and side and let it dry.  I let mine dry for several days because I didn't want the lid to stick to the jar.   

These make perfect gifts for the holidays and people love them.  They're cute, good for the earth, and easy on the pocket book.

-J