How to Make a Gift Box Using a Plastic Coffee Can

An Easy Gift Box to Make

We love to drink coffee – especially a certain brand in a plastic container. I also have a habit of hoarding those containers. I thought they would make great canisters for the kitchen, and then thought they would be even greater as boxes for gifts, especially food gifts! This is such an easy craft and I think they came out so beautifully! Let me show you how to make a gift box using a plastic coffee can…

Supplies:

• 1 plastic coffee can
• Sandpaper
• Stencil
• Stencil paste or joint compound (<– affiliate link!)
• Putty knife
• Spray paint
• Regular paint – chalk paint, latex paint, or craft paint
• Dark Glaze (<– affiliate link!)
• Cream Wax
• Scrapbooking paper
• Mod Podge
• Drill with a 1/8″ bit
• Drawer Pull with a screw and washer

Start with a clean can… You don’t want the gift inside to smell like coffee, right? Use a piece of sandpaper to rough up the front of the can. This will help the stencil paste or the joint compound adhere to the plastic a little better.

Position the stencil on the front of the can. Apply the stencil paste or joint compound to the stencil with a putty knife and carefully lift the stencil away. Let the paste or compound dry.

Spray paint the entire can, including the raised stenciled decoration, avoiding the inside of the can. Spray paint the outside of the lid, as well.

Once the spray paint is dry, dry brush the chalk paint, latex paint, or craft paint over the entire can. I used white chalk paint. Again, avoid getting paint on the inside of the can!

Use the glaze to add an antiqued look to the can, then seal with a coat of cream wax.

Use the drill and the drill bit to drill a hole in the center of the lid. There may be a small indent at the very center and this makes it very easy! (I forgot to photograph this step!)

Cut a circle from the scrap booking paper – this particular lid measured 5-5/8″ inside the raised lip on the edge. Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the top of the lid, then position the scrapbooking paper on top. Let it dry, then apply a coat of Mod Podge on top.

I used a simple wood drawer pull that I spray painted with gold metallic paint. Any sort of drawer pull can be used. Insert the screw into the washer, then insert the screw through the hole in the lid from the underside. Secure the drawer pull.

These containers are perfect for food gifts – especially since they are designed to seal the air to keep coffee fresh – but they can also be used for regular gifts. A fancy, hand decorated mug will fit in the box, cushioned with tissue or shredded paper. The can could be used to create a “party-in-a-box” since the cans are so roomy! It would be the perfect gift container for a college student (or really, anyone) since the cans are reusable! So, what do you think? What would you put in the can?

Have any questions about how to make a gift box using a plastic coffee can? Leave a comment below!

Sharing with Fluster’s Creative Muster, My Repurposed Life

Originally posted 2014-10-08 08:00:24.