| If you drink a lot of coffee, you probably have quite | | | | pretty artwork or cut pictures from magazines and |
| a few metal coffee cans on hand. With just a little | | | | decoupage them to the can in an attractive pattern. |
| effort, you can make a useful and pretty handmade | | | | Once your can is decorated, apply a coat of sealer |
| gift for your friends and family. | | | | to the finished product. If you will use the can |
| First, wash out your can and peel off any labels. | | | | outside, you may want to let this coat dry and apply |
| Next, apply a coat of metal primer to your can. Let | | | | a second coat of sealer. |
| the primer dry thoroughly. Then, apply a coat of | | | | Now, you are ready to prepare your can for planting. |
| bright acrylic paint to the can. | | | | Turn the can upside down. Use a 3 inch nail and a |
| Once your can is painted, you can decorate it. I like | | | | hammer to poke drainage holes in the bottom of the |
| to apply crackle medium and then add a top coat of | | | | can. Turn your can over and fill it to just an inch |
| color. This effect is beautiful if you paint a deep blue | | | | below the rim with good potting soil. |
| undercoat and a rich red overcoat on your can. | | | | Next it is time for you to decide which herbs you will |
| You may want to rubberstamp bugs or garden tools | | | | be planting in your can. Chives, basil, oregano, thyme |
| onto the can instead. To do this, use stamps that are | | | | and parsley all are great choices. Of course, you can |
| flexible so that you can stamp onto the curved | | | | also put a lovely scented geranium in the can, instead. |
| surface of the can. You can apply a light coat of | | | | As a finishing touch, add a tag with information about |
| acrylic paint to the stamp and then press the stamp | | | | caring for the herb and a few great recipes. It is |
| onto the can, carefully rolling the stamp so that the | | | | easy to attach the tag with a simple florist pick. |
| whole image is stamped onto the can. If you mess | | | | Finally, consider other ideas for your coffee can. For |
| up, don't worry. You can wipe the stamped image | | | | instance, instead of adding potting soil and an herb, |
| off the can and start over. | | | | add a garden trowel, gardening gloves, a packet of |
| Another great decorative technique for decorating | | | | seeds, a box of tea and a package of tea biscuits |
| cans is decoupage. Use empty seed packets with | | | | for do it yourselfers. |