alamodeus

Spurred by a featured project in an old Creative Ideas magazine from Lowe’s, I thought I would try upcycling an old paint can.

Here’s a little project primer that transforms a paint can (you can use a quart or gallon can, depending on the size of the floral arrangement you want) into a rustic container for flowers.



Peel any paper wrapper from the paint can and coat the exterior with adhesive (spray or layer on with brush.) Then, press moss onto the outside of the can and trim any excess with scissors. Next, measure the can height and circumference and use tin snips or a wire cutter to cut a piece of multipurpose mesh to fit.

The Creative Ideas project used hardware cloth with small mesh. Instead, I used poultry netting (because it’s what I had on hand) with a 1" mesh. It's a bit trickier to keep the somewhat loose moss held in place with a wider mesh, but it still works.

Wrap the mesh around the can and secure with loose ends of the cut mesh along the seam. (This is what I did.) Or, you can reinforce the mesh seam with small wire loops or twine.




It's a charming, earthy look that complements informal, cut floral arrangements. I dropped in a potted plant so that I can change out the flowers for various occasions or with the change of seasons.