Formula Can Recycle-A Third Way

Ok, normally I would have added this on to our "one project made 3 ways" post. However, my crazy weekend started Friday followed by out of town Birthday parties both Saturday and Sunday. Happy Birthday to my little one!! He turned 5 last week!! We had a special party for his 5th and took him up to the Train Park in Scottsdale, Az on Saturday. For us that is 2 hours away and totally worth it. He loved it!! The other party was for a school friend of my son's down in Sierra Vista, 1 1/2 hours away. Again totally worth it we had so much fun at "The Cove".

Ok, another small confession. I got my wires crossed and thought we were doing a totally different project 3 ways for yesterday. I had worked on that one, while my SILs were working on this one. Not to mention that the one I worked on still wasn't one that had been talked about. I totally mistook what Rebecca had posted about in an email. Oops. LOL

I really wanted to get in on the formula can made 3 ways and really wanted to add my idea to the mix. Not to mention that I already had made up some templates for this. So here mine is, just a day late is all. ;) I hope you don't mind me stretching it out another day.

This is a summer craft project I tried to do with my boys. They aren't much into crafting per say but they love to build things. They like using Daddy's tools. This project requires using a hammer and a nail to punch holes in a tin can. I think in general it is harder to get boys to do "crafts" than it is with girls. Girls seem to naturally like doing things with crayons or markers, cutting and pasting to make pretty things. For my boys, it is work to color in a design. They have never wanted coloring books or used the ones that I purchased. It just wasn't their thing. Unless the craft produced a 3D object, they are not interested. For this project they were interested for a while. They were more interested in freezing their own water and then "mining out the ice" with a hammer and nails.

With this project they will get to see their item light up. If it involves glowing in the dark, flame or lights they are excited. They love to take things into the bathroom and make them glow or project images on the wall or have fun with shadows with a flashlight.

The neat thing about these is that you don't really have to buy anything special. I am using a baby formula can( or you can use a 28oz tomato can, they are the same size). The possibilities are endless. The kids can punch out a design of their own making or use a template like we did. If they do a design of their own, I suggest cutting a piece of paper to fit the can and have them draw their design on the paper first. Remind them not to draw their pictures too small so that they can punch holes along the lines. In general simple is better. You can do just about any theme with them. They would be great for a baby shower or a bridal shower or any other kind of outdoor party. Use them instead of candles in paper bag luminaries to line your walk way for an evening party. They will add sparkle to any summer night.

What you need to do ahead of time:
wash out your can
smooth down sharp edges (if you used a can opener on your can
Consider priming and painting your can at this stage or if you want to do it last. (painting it is optional)
Fill with water -replace lid if using a formula can
Freeze

What you need for this project:
Hammer
Nail
Spray paint (optional)
Cans
Pattern
Rubber Band
Dish Towel or hot pad
Wire for hanging--can use a heavy gage wire
wire cutters
pliers

I printed out my template and cut the excess paper off the top and bottom. Then used rubber bands to hold it onto my can. If you are using a paper template like I am, you will need to work quickly. The outside of the can will get wet as the ice heats up. From time to time, return the can to the freezer so the paper doesn't get too wet and tear on you.

I used a larger nail to make larger holes for the center of the flowers and the eye spots on the butterflies. Here you can also see that I placed my can on top of a pot holder. This keeps the can from rolling around while you punch your holes.

I have used a small nail to punch holes to outline the images. If you want a little light to shine through, use a smaller nail. The larger the hole the more light. I wanted to make sure that you could see what the shapes are when this is lit. So I used a small nail and put the holes closer together. For younger children, I would suggest a much simpler design (like stars made by punching lines that cross each other in the center). Don't forget to punch two holes (one on each side) near the rim for your hanging wire.


Here is my lantern in it's unpainted state. I could have just left it like this. However, I wanted to show you how it can look if you just do a quick coat of primer and spray paint.

It only took one coat of primer that dried quickly. In fact, in the time it took me to put the cap on the primer and shake the yellow paint up it was ready for the next coat of color. I had some yellow that I thought would look nice. The wire I have it hanging from is just a thin wire that I doubled up and wrapped around. No pliers were needed for this stuff. The can is very light so you don't need anything heavy duty. Just make the wire long enough that when you have a votive candle in it, you won't burn yourself trying to hang it up.

Hang your lanterns or simply put them on tables. You can use LED tea lites or regular tea lites, votive or small citronella candles. I like LED tea lites around kids. However when mosquitoes come around I am all for citronella candles.

My lantern all lit up with an LED tea light after I painted it. The picture at the top of the post is the unpainted version of this lantern lit up with a votive candle.

Below are some patterns that I have made to share. I made them to be 4.25 by 11 so they can be printed on a standard piece of paper. Be sure that when you print them out that they are 11 inches wide if you are using the same size can I am. The cans I am using are just shy of 13 inches around by 4.25 tall. So I have some of the shapes as close to the edges as possible so the gap isn't obvious.

On this template, "Dad is a Star", you can choose to punch between the lines or both lines in the stars and moon. I like the double layered effect myself but for little kids it may be easier for them to punch between the lines or on the outside line of the moon and stars.