Inside: A tutorial on how to upcycle tin cans into a stylish DIY utensil caddy.

I originally made this as a handy upcycled caddy to carry all my craft pens and brushes around, as I don’t have a dedicated room to craft in.

But I was so pleased with how the caddy looked that even though it had been crafted from tin cans, I used it as a utensil and cutlery caddy for my dining room table.

How To Make an Upcycled Tin Can Caddy

I like to upcycle; I made the craft caddy out of stuff I already had. My sister had asked me for a copper pineapple for her birthday !; so I decided to use the copper spray paint leftover from that project.

Also, as I think copper and denim look great together, I used some denim.

What You Need

• Screwdriver used as a screwdriver.
• Six tin cans – average soup can size
• Strips of denim cut from and hems of old jeans
• Old screwdriver for a handle (or you could use an old wooden handled corkscrew)
• Piece of old wood such as pallet wood approximately 35cm x 6cm
• Copper spray paint
• Coloured Spray paints
• Acrylic varnish spray
• Eight eyelets and eyelet tool; if you don’t have one of these, then you can use eight small washers suitable for 3.5mm screws
• Eight wood 3.5mm 1/2″ wood screws

 
Optional

• Dark wood stain, olive oil and vinegar

DIY Utensil Caddy

Step 1: Spray paint the inside of every tin can (I sprayed each one a different colour). Then spray paint the outside of each can with copper paint.

Once the spray paint was dry, I sprayed the cans inside and out with a protective acrylic varnish.

Step 2: Make a wooden handle for the utensil caddy. First, round the corners of the wood with a chisel and then sand them smooth. Then stain the wood dark to match the handle of the screwdriver. At the same time, spray the shaft of the screwdriver copper.

Then use a 50/50 mixture of olive oil and vinegar and buff all the wood to a nice sheen. (Wax would also work well)

Step 3: Mark the centre of the pallet wood and stick your screwdriver into the top. To do this, I twisted the screwdriver while pushing down so that it slowly drilled into the wood.

This worked well; however, if you have problems, you can always drill a small hole in the top and then glue your screwdriver.

Attaching The Tin Cans

Step 4: I used denim straps to secure the tin cans to the handle. Cut the hem off old jeans as close to the seam stitching as possible, and you will want lengths approximate to the circumference of your tin cans.

Note this will depend on the stretchiness of your denim. To get a tight fit, you will need to shorten the length of the strips of denim to compensate for the stretch.

Step 5: Next, I put eyelets on each end of my denim strips using an eyelet tool. If you don’t have an eyelet tool, make a small hole in the hem for the screws, and use a washer on top of the denim.

Step 6: Next, screw one end of each of the six denim straps to the wood. Three on each side, where you want to place your tin cans. (I spray-painted my screws, copper, before starting so they’d match the tins)

Step 7: Finally, wrap each denim strap around a copper can and screw it in place. You want to ensure a tight fit.

Also, for the middle can, I shared the same screw for the straps of the cans on either side. This ensured that the copper cans sat closer together.

The Finished Caddy

That’s it; once all the cans are attached, your DIY utensil caddy is ready.

I love the stylish copper and denim look of this caddy but with the surprise splash of colour from the insides of the cans.

The caddy can be used for crafts, utensils, and picnic cutlery or as handy portable storage for all those bits and pieces you don’t know where to put but want on hand.

Yield: stylish craft caddy

How To Make A Copper & Denim Craft Caddy

Print

This handy storage caddy is not just for art supplies it could also be used as a picnic or cutlery caddy.

Prep Time 1 hour

Active Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $5

Materials

• Tin cans
• Denim hems
• Small piece of wood
• Old Screwdriver handle
• Spray paints and spray varnish
• Screws

Tools

• Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Sand and stain the wood
2. Attach the screwdriver handle to the center of the wood
3. Spray paint the tin cans copper on the outside and different colours on the inside
4. Apply acrylic varnish to the cans once the paint has dried
5. Punch holes into the denim straps and add eyelets or washers
6. Wrap the denim straps around the tin cans and attach them to the wooden handle using screws.

Check out these other unique pen holder ideas.

If you like my craft/cocktail cupboard in the background of some photos, you can see it here: Easy craft cupboard transformation.

If you liked this upcycled storage idea, you would probably like these others too.

• Tin can seed packet planters
• Denim DIY Storage Box
•  Great DenimPocket Organiser
• Faux Marble Effect Upcycle Tins
• DIY Leather Pen Pot