How to Make Punched Tin Art from Recycled Tin
Before discarding a used coffee can or tossing leftover flashing, consider the possibilities of creating art using the recycled tin. Make punched garden art with tin cans or punched wall art with metal flashing. Creating a punched metal design on the outside of the can or on a sheet of tin allows beginning craft artists to make decorative projects with a hammer and nails, or with a drill.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Metal flashing
- Tin snips
- Wall frame
- 1/2 inch thick wood board
- Nails
- Hammer
- Design template
- Tape
- Tin can
- Cleaning cloth
- Spray paint
- Rotary Drill
- 1/8 inch metal drill bit
- Tea light
- Fishing line
- Scissors
- Craft bells
- 4mm crystal beads
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Wall Art
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1
Use tin snips to cut a section of recycled metal flashing to fit inside a wall frame. Place the cut flashing on a wood board that is at least 1/2 inch thick and slightly larger than the piece of metal.
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2
Nail the metal's four corners to the wood. Tape a design template on top of the flashing. These templates can be coloring book pages, stencils or hand-drawn images.
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3
Hammer a nail every 1/4 to 3/4 inches along the design's outline. Pound the nails through the template and the tin flashing until it's stopped by the wood.
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4
Remove the flashing from the wood block. Insert it inside the frame. Don't put the glass front on the frame.
Garden Luminary
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1
Remove the paper label from a tin can. Rinse out the inside of the can thoroughly. Make sure it's dry.
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2
Spray paint the outside of the can to coordinate with your garden decor. Let the paint dry, then spray another coat. Let the second coat dry.
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3
Tape a design template onto the outside of the can. Drill 1/8 inch diameter holes through the can every 1/4 inch along the design's outline. Remove the template.
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4
Insert a tea light candle inside the can.
Wind Chimes
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1
Follow the steps for a garden luminary. Drill or nail punch one 1/8 inch diameter hole in the center of the bottom of the can. Drill or nail punch three to five evenly spaced holes through the bottom of the can around the edge.
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2
Cut three to five 24 inch strands of fishing line, one strand for every hole around the outside perimeter of the base of the can. Tie one craft bell to the end of each line.
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3
Thread 4mm crystal beads with the line to the top of the bell. String the beads, but leave a 12-inch gap between the last bead and the bottom of the can.
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4
Insert the end of the beaded line that does not have the bell attached through the can and then through one of the outside perimeter holes in the bottom of the can. Tie a knot in the line. Repeat for the remaining stringed bells.
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5
Cut a 5-inch strand of fishing line. Tie a knot in one end. Feed the line through the center hole in the can, so that the knot catches on the inside of the bottom of the can to hold the line in place. Tie the line to itself as it exits the can to make a hanging loop.
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