Organizer made from Formula Cans

Yup, I have finally used up all those formula cans! Remember this post on making a centerpiece from a formula can? Well, a friend of mine remembered it too and when she saw a picture of an organizer made from these very same "leftovers" on Pinterest, she was kind enough to send it my way. I finally found a project that would let me use up a bunch at once! This is great because we are done with formula in our house so I can check that off my list of useless clutter future projects in the making.

Now at the same time as one friend was showing me this fun idea, another friend was in need of organizing her school room at home (she has 5 kids and home schools...talk about an excuse to be slightly unorganized!). She instantly came to mind when I began to think about bringing this project to life.

Here is the basic idea:

I wiped down my cans first. If you are using something that is actually metal you can wash it but these formula cans are cardboard so I just wiped them out.

I peeled the labels next. This step is probably unnecessary so take it or leave it:)

You'll see I had 5 formula cans and one Nesquik which was a little taller. You really can use any size!

Next I Mod Podged the paper onto the cans. On 3 of them I used wrapping paper and the other 3 I used construction paper. The wrapping paper is much more likely to crinkle or tear so I recommend sticking with sturdier papers.

All wrapped

I then used hot glue to attach all of the cans in a pyramid shape with the tallest can in the center of the bottom row.

Look at all that storage space! Perfect for school supplies, craft supplies, or any other thing you can think up:)

 Now the version I made is pretty plain. I just used paper to cover the cans but there are endless decorating possibilities. I figure since my friend is artistic in all kinds of ways that I am not, she can jazz it up to her liking when it is finally in her possession. I also stuck with a basic pyramid design but there are all different ways to do this. I have even thought about adding smaller cans (think soup cans maybe) to attach in an upright manner so that you could hold things that way as well. Or painting paper towel rolls to match and gluing those on the outside for open ended storage options.The possibilities are pretty limitless so I hope you take this idea and run with it. And of course, come back and share if you do!

Re-purposing formula cans into centerpieces

After nursing for 8 months straight our little guy up and  refused to nurse anymore so we have entered back into the world of formula. I can't help but think every time we finish a can that there is something more I could do with it than put it in the trash. When Nathan was a baby I made noise makers out of his formula cans but I wanted to do something more decorative this time around. So I searched around for a little bit of inspiration and found some at deWolde Daily and ISLY. Combining these two ideas I came up with a cute spring looking centerpiece. Those flowers may not be blooming outside yet but I sure can pretend spring is around the corner inside my house!

Here's what you need:

* Formula can (or other food/coffee can)
* Paper - I used wrapping paper but wallpaper, construction, scrapbook paper would work as well
* Mod Podge (or glue or tape)
* Wooden skewers
* Ribbon
* ruler
* scissors
* hot glue
* buttons

Ready to get started? Let me loosely walk you through it:

1. Remove label from can and clean out the inside.

2. Measure can and cut paper to match:

3. Stick paper to can using your preferred method. Let me say that Mod Podge on wrapping paper didn't work out as well as I hoped. It wasn't a totally smooth finished project. So a little tape or dab of hot glue on the ends might work best:

4. Now for the flowers, I didn't do a step by step so check out deWolde Daily for detailed instructions. I will say that I used a skewer instead of pipe cleaner and ribbon instead of paper. I didn't have to punch holes ahead of time because the pointy end of the skewer went right through the ribbon. I used hot glue to attach the button to the top of the flower (I still need to cut the little points off, I was waiting for them to dry completely):

5. Now you could stop here and plop them in the can but my can was pretty tall and I didn't want them resting against the edge so I used the empty ribbon spools, stacked them on top of each other and poked the skewer through the paper to create a stand:

6. Place the flowers and make shift stand into the can and you have a lovely centerpiece! I am planning to probably add 2 more flowers but I am trying to use only items I have on hand so I need to dig around for some more ribbon:

Don't be surprised if formula cans make several appearances in future craft projects...we've got a few more months of formula to go and I like to use what I've got!