Classy Cannisters

When three thoughts come together.......

1.    Two of the little things in life that make me happy are coffee and recycling.  So I was doubly chuffed when it dawned on me that I could recycle our coffee tins.  Don't get me wrong, previously they never actually made it into the bin, hubby usually whisked them away for use in his workshop.  

2.    I was recently pondering how to inexpensively revamp my pantry.  I have taken more of an interest in cooking from scratch lately and have lots of ingredients in bags and other assorted mismatched containers.

3.    I love using mod podge

Thoroughly clean and dry the inside of the container and remove the outer label.

Select your scrapbooking paper.  Measure container and cut paper accordingly.  With a sponge brush, apply mod podge to the wrong side of the paper and position it on the container, being careful not to have any air bubbles.

Set aside and allow to dry.  I then added the labels, but you could do this at the end if you think you might change them later

Apply 3 coats of mod podge to the papered container, allowing 20 minutes drying time between each coat.    

 And there you have it - some recycling and a really inexpensive way to jazz up your pantry...or indeed any area of your home that needs a bit of updating.

You can use a can opener to remove the lid lip and then they make great  containers for holding kitchen utensils, pens, pencils and anything else you can think of.

Coaster Tutorial

Having had my collection of patchwork coasters depleted to nothing by being sucked into the vacuum cleaner, eaten by the cat, and generally going missing in action, I was on the look out for something more sturdy and robust.  This is what I came up with after wondering through the internet, rather than the shopping centre, Mod Podge Coasters.......

You will need

Square ceramic tiles from a hardware or tile store.

Scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, or spend 3 hours drawing your own images like I did.

Mod Podge

Sponge Brush

Foam or rubber circles or squares

PVA Glue

Cut your paper 1cm smaller than your tile - My tiles are 9.5cm x 9.5cm so my paper is 8.5cm x 8.5cm

Using the sponge brush, apply Mod Podge evenly to the back of the paper, and position it on the tiles.  Press down on the paper firmly, especially around the edges.

Set aside and allow to dry for around 20 minutes

Brush one coat of Mod Podge onto the entire top of the coaster.  Set aside and allow to dry for around 20 minutes.  Repeat for another 3 coats.

Onto the back of each tile glue foam or rubber feet.  Allow to dry

I am thinking that these would also make good birthday and Christmas presents, especially if the drawings were more personalised.  You could also use greeting card images, photos or even fabric.....so many posibilities....