I look out the back windows of my home to a fence, where the ground is too rocky to plant a garden. I wanted something more interesting than a fence to look at from my windows. I’ve had hanging baskets in the summer time, and in the winter it is so boring and dull. I’ve seen yard art made from tin cans and thought, what about making some tin can flowers? That should be easy, right? It really was, and fun!
Pick a nice sunny day, grab some clean tin cans, metal shears and some paint to make these sustainable, colorful year-round flowers for your yard! Tip: Wear some gloves when handling the sharp tin cans. Make sure to spray the paint over the edges of the cans which helps make them not-so-sharp.
Here is a picture of the two trellises full of tin can flowers! All you need are some empty (and clean) tin cans, spray paint and acrylic paints or pens. Let’s start decorating your flowers!
How to Make Tin Can Flowers
Brighten your outdoor living space with these budget-friendly flowers made from tin cans. All you need is a pair of metal cutting shears, empty (and clean) tin cans and some paints.
Paint the cans bright and cheerful colors, add your own unique designs and then nail them to a trellis to dress up your yard! Now you can have colorful flowers year round in your yard!
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Add them to the top of a garden stake and scatter them around your garden for added color, especially in off seasons.
Materials
- Empty and clean tin cans
- Craft or acrylic paints in a variety of colors, spray paints and small containers
Tools
- Metal cutting shears
- Heavy gloves, such as canvas or leather gardening gloves
- Box or something to contain spray paint overspray
- Paint brushes
- Optional: Acrylic paint pens, I like Posca Pens
Instructions
- Collect a variety of cans in different sizes to have a variety of flowers. Make sure they are clean and dry before you get started. Waaring gloves to protect your hands from sharp metal edges, cut down the sides of the cans from the top to the bottom and open up the flower petals.
- I used spray paint to paint the base color, but you could easily paint with a brush. I sprayed both sides of the cans. Use a variety of colors for a colorful trellis or garden.
- When the first layer of paint is dry, choose a different color and paint the flower center. It doesn't need to be perfect. I like to use something with high contrast from the first round of paint to make it more interesting.
- Add some doodles with acrylic paints and markers. I added polka dots, squiggly lines, straight lines, grid patterns and more!
- Here is a close-up of finished tin can flowers, adding color to my boring fence. Now I have something cheerful to look at out my back windows.
Notes
TIP: Cans from tomato products are tougher to cut than soup and other veggie cans. Easiest to cut were soda pop cans, but they weren't as sturdy.
Recommended Products
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Uni Posca Paint Marker FULL RANGE Bundle Set , Mitsubishi Poster Colour ALL COLOR Marking Pen Medium Point ( PC-5M ) 29 Colours ( 22 Standard & 7 Natural ) Japan Import -
ALLEX Sheet Metal Cutter Straight Cut 9.5 Inch, Japanese Steel Metal Shears Heavy Duty Spring Loaded, Made in JAPAN, Straight Blade/Straight Cutting, Black
Tin can flower variations
Creative ideas for your home (and yard!) decor. Use the same basic tin can flower concept and hang them on your fence or outdoor wall. Combine them on a fence post or arbor to create a large tin can flower sculpture!
Benefits of creating tin can flowers
This is a budget-friendly diy project that is super easy to make. You can make a bundle of flowers in just one afternoon! Also, this project is eco-friendly, upcycling tin cans into your unique decorative piece that shows your personal style! Pick your colors, add your favorite designs with the acrylic markers!
Check out all of our projects and ideas to customize your home (and yard!) decor.
And, we’ve got more recycled projects on Create Whimsy.
