Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Tin Can Flowers


We made these tin can flowers a while back.  I could not post them because the girls gave them to grandma for Mother's day.  And my mom reads the blog so the only way to have a suprise for her is to not post.

However these are not just a mothers day present.  We made some extra to put in our yard too and I just LOVE them.  They are so pretty and make a great yard decoration!  Then when you add some bird seed to them they change to one of the prettiest bird feeders I have ever seen.

 And as usual with some of our projects they end up being a learning experience.  We originally made four of these two for grandma and two for us.  But then we learned that we used the wrong paint.  Yep I originally used regular old craft pain, and it all started chipping off the flowers after a week.  So lesson learned we went and got some outdoor craft paint and made a couple more for grandma and they turned out great!

I am also happy to report that my mom's squirrel was not able to get up the flower stem to get the bird seed.  He tried but the stem is just too thin for him to climb so until he learns to pull it out or tip it over these appear to be squirrel proof.

If you decide to make these with your child just note that I did all the cutting of the cans and supervised the kids while they painted them.  They did not get any cuts the entire time we did this, however that is not too say your kids wont get cut, so keep an eye on them and be careful.

Supplies
14oz Tin Can
Tin Cutters
Washable Marker
Hammer
Nail
Green Plant Stake
Out Door Craft Paint
Heavy Duty Glue
Clear Sealer/Protectant

Directions
 Use your hammer and nail to put a LARGE hole in the bottom of your can.  NOTE: You need the hole to be big enough to fit your plant stake, so you may need to do more than one hole and connect them.
Make sure you don’t make the hole too big, this is what it should look like when done.


Use your washable marker to mark of where you are going to cut.


Use your Tin cutters to cut the can where you marked.

Bend your petals down

Using your tin cutters snip the ends off of each corner of petal

 Now paint your flowers.
 You can do any pattern you like, make sure to paint the inside and outside since you will see both.
 Once the paint is dry. Insert your Planting rod into the bottom of your can.  Then apply your heavy glue on the inside of your flower
 And then apply the glue on the outside of your flower.

Once the glue is dry bring your flowers outside and spray your flowers with clear protectant to help protect from the elements.
 
 Fill your flowers with bird seed and watch the birds come to enjoy your pretty flowers.



40 comments:

  1. So cute! Such a great gift idea! I sense a summer project coming on...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nicole! And they do make a great gift!

      Delete
  2. How cute! I usually just throw birdseed on the grass to tempt the birds but they never seem to find it. I'm going to have to try this :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised that the birds found the seed so fast in these, We had birds in 2 days!

      Delete
  3. This is a cute idea. Thanks for linking up at What'd You Do This Weekend? Hope to see you again next week.

    Ashes for tasty dishes,
    Linda
    Tumbleweed Contess

    ReplyDelete
  4. That has got to be the coolest thing I have seen! I mean really.. I called my son over to take a look at them and he was like cool can we make one for our flower garden!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kristina! I just love them and am so happy with how they turned out, I want to make a bunch more with different size tin cans!

      Delete
  5. They turned out great. What a cool gift that's made with love.


    Heidi’s Wanderings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Heidi! And yes they are, my mom loved them even more because the girls made them! I just love homemade gifts.

      Delete
  6. Love this idea! Sharing with my brothers who are pretty handy with the tin snippers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Laureen! And trust me when I say you don't need to be good with them, this was my first time ever using them. They are just like scissors but they cut tin.

      Delete
  7. This is so cute! I need to make some and put them around our house and in the garden's. Would love to have you join my friend Kayla and I at our link party, Circle of Faith. We would love to have you share this and any other posts :) We have no rules.
    xoxo Heather
    www.heatherlyloves.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are so adorable! I may have to schedule a craft day :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Found you on Let's Connect Thursday! I'm a new follower! I love this bird feeder idea! My girls will love it too. We will try this. I don't think I have any 'tin cutters'. I don't even have a good can opener that works! :)
    I'd love for you to visit me and follow back @ Gina's Craft Corner. :)
    Gina
    http://ginascraftcorner.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ahhh, those are adorable! Thank you for showing us how to do them! Found you through the Favorite Things Blog Hop :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. those are really really pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a fun and pretty birdfeeder. That's awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for linking up Monday Kid Corner Weekly Linky Party. The next party goes live Sunday morning and this week’s theme is SIDEWALK CHALK. Be sure to brush off those archives as well and link them up at http://thejennyevolution.com/category/linky-parties/monday-kid-corner/ See you there! Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a cool idea. My daughter would love to make these and put them in the yard. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful and repurposed - lo-ove it! Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just love this! Amazing project!
    Thanks for linking up to my party! I wanted to let you know I picked your link to feature this week! See my post and grab my feature button here http://handmadecuddles.com/2013/06/create-inspire-71-picks.html

    ReplyDelete
  17. So, so adorable! Love these creative idea and the lovely children work!
    Hope you have a good week!
    Hugs from Portugal,

    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. This was such a great idea!!! I love this! Totally pinning this for future reference!

    I hope you link up with us this week!
    http://www.sowderingabout.com/2013/06/on-display-monday-linkup-6.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. I thought I loved the yarn butterflies - but then I saw these! OMG, so much fun! What can I cook for dinner from a can???

    ReplyDelete
  20. nice and fun idea for kids. I wonder if the edges are sharp?

    Judy
    Pursuit Of Functional Home

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Judy! We had no issues with the edges being sharp. And after snipping the corners off of the flower peddles there are not pointed edges either. I was very comfortable having my girls paint these and none of use were cut by the cans at all.

      Delete
  21. What a great idea!! I was wondering the same thing as the commenter above about the sharp edges. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for hosting Carrie, no worries about having sharp edges. We had no sharp edges on these and neither the kids or I were cut in the process of making these.

      Delete
  22. I have to try this with the boys! How fantastic! Pinned and featuring tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I seriously love this idea! We need a bird feeder and have few large trees this would be perfect! Thanks for the great idea! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love to decorate my yard and these are too cute!

    Thank you for sharing them at the In and Out of the Kitchen LInk party. I will be featuring them in my Top 10 post that will go live Monday afternoon!

    Hope to see you at the party tonight! Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.co

    ReplyDelete
  25. What an ingenious idea, and they brighten up the garden! Thanks for sharing on Summer Carnival.

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a brilliant idea! Great way to upcycle old cans!
    I was wondering if you’d mind if I featured this in a top 10 upcycles of the week post. I’d like to use just one photo from your blog and put a direct link back to your post. Please let me know if this would be ok.
    Thanks so much,
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  27. Just stopped by to let you know that I featured this project on my Top 10 Upcycles of the week!
    Top 10 Upcycles of the Week
    Hope you have a great weekend!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success

    ReplyDelete
  28. We make these & sell 100 or so every year around mothers day, they really go quick. You can use different size cans layered on each other for double or triple the flower petals!

    ReplyDelete
  29. So glad I came across this. So cute and clever. Will try it. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Awesome idea!! What paint did you use? Our outdoors craft paint is not sticking to the cans?

    ReplyDelete