I love Christmas cards! Whether I make them myself, or buy them (usually the year before on-sale after Christmas) I love picking out a sweet design and mailing them to friends and family far away. Traditional Christmas cards seem to be a dying tradition, with many people opting for photo cards or e-cards these days, but I do still receive a few old fashioned cards in the mail.
There are some really pretty card designs, and I always hate to recycle them after the holidays, so last year I saved all of the cards I and my family received, and upcycled them into gift tags to use this year! I love wrapping gifts, and it was nice to be able to reuse the cards, coordinating the wrapping papers and ribbons to go with each tag. This was such a quick and easy DIY, it’s can’t even be called a tutorial, yet I did want to share the idea with you, in case you also hate to toss greeting cards!
I used my Creative Memories oval templates and blades to cut the tags. This is the cutting system I got a long time ago…maybe 18 years? After all these years, it’s still going strong and I love it!
Centre the template onto the artwork and cut it out.
Punch a hole in the top of the card, and then string a piece of twine or ribbon through. I used the Fiskars small holepunch. A few of the cards had writing on the back, so I cut out an oval the same size out of green paper and then glued the two ovals together to cover it up.
That’s it! As I said, not really a tutorial, but more of an inspiration for gift wrapping. I know Fiskars makes some large tag punches, so that could work if you don’t have oval/circle cutters. Or, if you don’t have any punches, you could cut the fronts of the cards off, measure a 45 degree angle across the top corners and cut them into traditional tag shapes.
I wrapped all of my gifts this year in reused kraft paper bags and wrapping paper. I also reused old pattern paper as tissue paper.
I even wrapped one gift in an old parchment paper document. And all of the ribbons were saved from previous years as well…these are very zero waste packages!
Do you like wrapping gifts? How did you wrap yours this year?
I love houseplants! While I’m not a collector, I do like having a variety of them with different leaves, colours and textures. Asparagus Fern, Chinese Money Plant, Purple Shamrock, Marble Queen Pothos, Hoya…those are some of my favourites. (You can see some of them here…)While houseplants are fun, the not-so-great part is that the more you get, the more pots you need to put them in, which can get pricey. If you’re buying pots from plant stores, then that can very quickly add up and if you’re going to big box stores you can usually get them for a lower price, but you are limited in selection. Of course you can always go the even more affordable terra cotta route which gives you a lovely earthy palette and patina over time, but that’s not everyone’s style, and it doesn’t suit every plant either. This is where it’s time to explore some homemade options! Here is how with a coffee can, some leftover paint, baking soda and twine I created this coffee can plant pot with a dimensional minimalist look.
You will need:
-A coffee can
-Paint. I used eggshell latex paint that I had leftover from my room (Benjamin Moore Acadia White). You could also use dollar store acrylic paint.
-Baking soda
-Hot glue (optional)
-Liquid tacky glue
-Twine or rope- I needed 10 feet to wrap 5 times around my pot
-A paintbrush that isn’t too precious
Start by removing any labels and glue that you can. Not all of the glue spots came off of mine, so I’ll just make sure that side faces the wall.
Next, measure out 1 part baking soda and 2 parts paint. I did1 tbsp of baking soda and 2 tbsp of paint which was enough for three coats.
Blend the paint well to make sure that there are no lumps. The baking soda in the paint will give a textured finish when it dries, kind of like a pebbled or adobe clay sort of look.
I didn’t prime my can first, but you might want to if you’re using craft paint to help it adhere well to the metal. Paint the can with one coat of paint. Make sure to paint a bit under the rim on the inside of the can too, so that the silver won’t show after you put your plant in it. Sit the coffee can up on another can or jar and leave it to dry.
Once the paint is dry, it is time to attach the twine. Originally I was going to paint it and leave it like that, but it just looked like a coffee can that had been painted white, so I added kitchen twine and sisal to make it look a bit more interesting. Dab a little hot glue to secure the end of the twine quickly. You don’t have to use hot glue if you’d rather just use the liquid, but you’ll have to wait longer for it to dry, so it won’t slide around on you as you wrap it.
After the hot glue is in place, then use a thin layer of liquid glue to attach the twine the rest of the way around the can. When you get to the end, trim the twine to meet up evenly.
(Ps. Another idea I had, for a totally different look, was instead of wrapping only in the grooves, you could wrap the can completely with rope to make it look like a basket. Then either leave it unpainted and natural at that stage, or continue painting. And if you did grey, it would probably look like textured concrete!)
I had two different kinds of string- sisal and kitchen twine. I couldn’t figure out which look I wanted so I ended up making two different planters to try both ideas out, and then gave one to my sister.
Once the glue is dry, it is time for a second coat of paint. This is why you don’t want to use a good paintbrush; so you can really work the paint in all angles of the twine to fully coat it. Let the second coat of paint dry, and then inspect to see if it needs any more coverage. Mine had a few spots showing through that needed a few extra touch ups.
Once the paint is dry, decide if you’re going to put a plastic pot inside or plant directly into the can. Depending on the size of your coffee can, you might be able to fit a 6″ growers pot directly inside, in which case you are done!
However, if you don’t have a growers pot and are planning to plant directly into the coffee can, then you’ll need drainage holes. (Using rocks at the bottom of a planter to stop soggy roots doesn’t work, by the way, so if you’re planting directly, you will need proper drainage.) Turn the can upside down and using a hammer and a nail, punch a few holes. (You could probably also use a drill.) After I punched holes with a nail, I then used a screwdriver tip to enlarge the holes. (Yes…I always use very professional techniques in my projects…)
At this point, because the holes dish upwards and into the can from hammering, the water won’t necessarily drain out well. Turn the can the right side up and hammer them the other direction; downwards. I used a screwdriver tip with a flat surface. The water will now be able to easily drain out, and this also flattens any sharp, jagged edges.
And now you’re done and ready to plant!
I took some pictures with my Hoya to see what it worked like with a pot inside it, but I actually ended up planting my umbrella tree directly into the coffee can. If you decide to plant directly into the pot, make sure to place it on a dish so you won’t get any water damage onto the surface below.
I like how it turned out; it has a good visual weight to it because it’s cylindrical rather than narrow at the bottom as many pots are. It works for the umbrella tree, because it is very tall and skinny and the pot it was in before was much too small looking for it.
And the best thing about this coffee can plant pot is that it was basically free- using up materials I already had on hand. Aren’t those the best kind of projects?
Do you like houseplants? Which is your favourite? Do you think you’ll try making your own coffee can plant pot?
