Life as a LEO Wife

A few days ago I showed you one way to get extra storage places that might not be obvious at first. I have another idea to help you save space and organize your craft room. This would also be good in a kid’s room.

An amazing thing about this project is you can do it for FREE! Yep, you heard right, free. If you want to pretty up your organization, you will need only a few bucks. You may already have all you need if you’re a crafter. The main items that you’ll need is empty cans and and wall space.

Supplies you need:

• empty tin cans in various sizes if you want- Wash them after you’ve put the food into pots. How cheap is that?!
• Mod Podge- I used glossy. Here is a link to purchase a 16oz Mod Podge gloss bottle.
• cardstock paper- If you’d like to make you walls pretty, I recommend putting covering the cans with colored, or patterned cardstock pack. This is a pretty pack that will liven up your craft room.
• pipe cleaners- Here’s a pack of 300 for $3.49.
• foam paint brushes- 25 pack
• scissors- orange handle Fiskar’s
• hot glue gun and glue- This kit includes a glue gun, glue sticks, and a carrying case, and is budget-friendly.
• tiny nails or mounting squares

Prep your cans.

When you empty the food from your cans, you need to remove the label. It’s ok if you can’t get all of the glue off. If you are putting cardstock over it, having a little glue won’t matter. If you aren’t, you can put that side of the can against the wall.

Make sure that there aren’t any sharp edges from the lid that stick up from the can. The can itself will have sharp edges on the inside and top, but there isn’t anything you can do about that. If you have any left from the lid, use a handheld can opener to remove it.

Now wash the cans, inside and out. Use soap and hot water, but make sure your really careful when you put the rag into the can to wash it. I have cuts on the backs of a few fingers that I got while shoving the rag around to wash the bottom of the insides. Take my advice, if you have to, use a spoon to move the rag or sponge around in the can.

Measure the cans and cardstock paper.

Choose the paper that you want to use on your can, and lay the can on top of the paper with one end lined up exactly with the edge of the paper. Make a mark with a pencil along the edge of the can.

With the can still aligned with the edge of the paper, wrap the paper all the way around the can. When the paper covers the whole can, make a mark at that point on the paper. Then cut the paper at the marks, and you’ll have a piece of cardstock that perfectly fits the can.

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Time for Mod Podge.

Use your foam brush and apply the Mod Podge all over the back of the paper you’ve cut. Next brush some on the can, especially along the top and bottom of the can.

Align the edges of the paper with the top of the can. Making sure the paper and the can stay lined up, wrap the paper around the can. You may need to add more Mod Podge as you go. Brush it on the paper’s edge, and the edge will overlap where you started a little.

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Once the paper is on the can, you’ll need to add a coat of Mod Podge to it. Use the foam brush again, and apply it over the entire cardstock covered can. Depending on your paper, you may have to add a second coat. I used a thicker cardstock, and I only had to do one coat. Allow it to dry for about an hour.

Add a hanger

Once the can is dry, you need to add something to hang it on the wall with. You could use permanent mounting squares or command strips. I wanted to do this in a budget-friendly way, so I used tiny nails and pipe cleaners (also called chenille stems).

Cut about a 2″ piece of a pipe cleaner to use as a hanger. Bend the pipe cleaner in half and twist the two sides together starting at the bottoms. Keep twisting until you have a small circle left. Squeeze a strip of hot glue along the can where the two edges of the cardstock meet. Put the pipe cleaner on the glue with the circle of the pipe cleaner even with the top of the can.

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Hanging your cans

Repeat the above steps on all of the cans you want to use for storage. I used the regular 15.25 oz cans, 10.5 oz cans, and 5 oz cans. I used nineteen cans in total.

I decided not to hang my cans using level and a tape measure, but instead by hanging them the way they looked best as I went. I hung them in front of my table/desk, on either sides of my window.

To hang yours, start with the largest cans first. Hammer a small nail in the wall, and hook the pipe cleaner around the nail. Spread them out, just going with the flow. Once you have the largest on the wall, go back and fill in spaces with your medium and small cans.

I added a sign on each side of the window. I had one sign up prior to hanging my cans. I made the second sign to fill in an empty space that I didn’t like. This made my wall more like wall art than storage.

I love the way this project turned out. It looks beautiful and it’s functional storage. If you are like me, you can use a ton of storage in your craft room! This would also be great in your kids’ rooms for things like art supplies, toy cars, Barbies’ and their clothes, etc.

Finished Product

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I hope this post has gotten your creative streak going. Please like and share this post on all of your social media pages. When you finish your gallery wall storage, please show us a pic in the comment section below! I have another craft room organization post to share with you in the following days.

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