I save things. Random things, useless things, odd things... I'm a packrat, but I am not in need of reform.
Ok... maybe I am in need of a little reform. I do save some ridiculous stuff for a ridiculously long time, but I just never really know if it won't come in handy one day! Like trash I save trash.
Let me just put in a small advertisement that I sincerely wish they were paying me for. Cafe Bustelo is awesomesauce. It's only a few dollars more than regular coffee (i.e. Folgers, Maxwell House) for the 36 oz cans, but it's espresso ground, dark roast coffee with a really rich smooth taste. It's way cheaper than gourmet coffees, too. Gourmet flavor, much lower price. I'm in love.
These can's are sadly empty, but that makes them more useful.
A can of spray paint, some fabric, some string, and I think I can make these coffee cans pretty. I have lots of them. Did I mention I'm a packrat?
Today, I only did the big cans. I want to do the little cans in a different color. I also have this handy thingy-ma-jig called a Crop-a-dile.
It punches holes, does grommets, snaps, and other stuff I haven't quite figured out, yet. I bought it a long time ago because I had tons of grommets and snaps left over in my Gramma's goody boxes, but nothing to put them on with. I haven't used it in ages, but it turned up in a box the other day, and I got an idea.
Yes, this is the same burgundy fabric as above, but the light in my kitchen washed it out something fierce in the picture.
I've put grommets all around the edges, and cut an X into the center of a circle of fabric. The circle is roughly twice the diameter of the cans. I used my pressure cooker lid to trace the circles out. The lines of the X need to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the cans.
I slid the cans through the X bottom first, and slid the fabric up nearly the the rim of the can. Then I folded the fabric over, threaded some braided hemp twine through, cinched it up, and tied a bow.
They don't look quite as I anticipated. Originally, I was going to have the cans sitting in sacks, cinched up around under the lids, but the circles I cut out weren't big enough to come up as high as I liked. They're dressed up some at least, and it's really easy to change if I decide I don't like it as well as I thought I did. I'll label the tops once I figure out what I'm going to put in them.
I think I'm going to use the smaller cans for mine and B's hot teas. These big ones *might* be big enough for flour, iced tea bags, and rice.
they look great! I've got a couple of the big coffee cans for canisters too.
ReplyDeleteWay back when I was a newlywed in the 80s, Crisco came in metal cans. I saved 2 of the big 6 pound ones and used them for my flour and sugar canisters for years.
I've never heard or seen your Bustelo coffee, but then Oklahoma is not exactly a shopping mecca
They have it at Wat-mart and the commissary, but they sell out kind of quick. Both GA and TX have large Hispanic populations, too, so that could have something to do with it. I'd love some six pound canisters for flour and sugar. I think these two pound canisters are big enough for a five pound bag, but I want to start getting flour and sugar in larger sacks. The canisters have rice, tea, and flour in them for now. It might change, lol. I do remember the big metal tubs. We also used to get peanut butter in metal cans, and cheese, and a few other things. I think it was government issue stuff. Ugh, and powdered milk LOL. I used to hate that stuff.
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