Thursday, November 4, 2010

Fabric Covered Cans - More Red for My Kitchen

Okay, there's nothing brilliant here today...but here's a super easy idea to add some custom counter containers to your kitchen without buying anything (provided you've got some fabric and mod podge laying around).

Now my execution of this project is not perfect.  Maybe sometime I'll re-make them...but probably not.  Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.


I picked up this cute fabric several months ago, just because I liked it.  I didn't buy much because I didn't have a specific project in mind.  Now I'm wishing I'd bought more, so I'd have enough for kitchen curtains, but there was more than enough for making some new utensil holders.  I like having my cooking spoons, scrapers, spatulas and other things out where I can grab them quickly while cooking.  I'd been using a nice glass vase from Ikea...which I liked the look of...but it wasn't cutting it.  It could only hold about half of the utensils and the other half lived in a drawer.  I never knew where to go for a needed item because it could be either place.

I needed something bigger and this old #10 can that once held food storage was the perfect size.  I tried it out with the ugly can for a few weeks to see how I liked it, and decided it was a keeper.  The only problem was that it was ugly.  I painted the top and bottom rims with the very same bottle of glossy red acrylic paint that I used for my Little Red Shelf and my Painted Bowl.  Here is where you could really improve on what I did...I was sloppy with the paint thinking it would be covered.  It IS covered, but shows through the fabric a little...so don't be sloppy and yours will look better.  That only needs to dry 30-60 minutes or so, but I let mine dry for a couple weeks while those utensils make a mess all over my counter.  Then I cut out my fabric.  You want to get the width of your fabric to match the height of your can pretty exactly, but you want the length of the fabric to be about 1/2 inch longer than the distance around your can, so there's a little overlap.  Then slather the can with mod-podge, carefully lay your fabric on it, stretching it slightly so there are not wrinkles, but not so much it distorts the print.  Then slather Mod Podge on to the fabric is coated.  Once it all dries, you'll be left with a pretty cannister. 

Note:  One other thing I wasn't thrilled about on this project is the bumps in the can show through, making it obvious that it is...a covered can.  I haven't thought of anything brilliant to remedy that, but if you do, let me know!

I did the same thing with another can to hold my measuring spoons.  I'd been using this lovely cannister that I got years ago that looks like some my mom used to have.  It reminded me of her kitchen...but now it is old and rusty and gross (the can...not my mom's kitchen), too tall for the measuring spoons anyway, and this one wasn't even hers...so it got the boot. 

Instead I covered up an mandarin orange can with the same paint and mod podge.  This can was short enough that the tops of the spoons peak out and it's easier to find what I need.  It's also just the right size to sit on my Little Red Shelf and be out of the way.
And even though the cans didn't turn out quite as perfect as I imagined, I think they coordinate well without being too red... from a distance the mistakes aren't as noticable.

10 comments:

  1. Very nice. I actually like the bumps showing through the fabric. And I am so glad to hear that my kitchen (and I) are not old, rusty, and gross. :) I like the red in your kitchen!

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  2. I love your red kitchen! Here's another way to do your cans: http://sew4home.com/projects/storage-solutions/557-french-desk-set-pencil-cups I've made a bunch of them --- very cute finished project, and they're easy! Instead of always using leather as the decoration though, I also used raffia.

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  3. LOL my mom didn't have THAT can, but she DID have things that matched it!

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  4. Cute little cans! Those are great.

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  5. Cute cans. Love them! I would add a thick ribbon and then a thinner ribbon in the middle. The thinner one can be tied into a bow or a knot. Cute!

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  6. I love those cans! I need to go out and buy some cute fabric right this instant!

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  7. I had this idea also. I wrapped the can with duck tape so you wouldn't see the lines of the can. Hope this helps!!

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  8. One thought about covering the lines in the can would be to wrap string or yarn around the can and then cover it. That way it might look intentional. You don't even have to wrap it neatly.

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