Popcorn cans get a makeover this week

The final installment of our post-holiday recycling miniseries offers suggestions on turning old popcorn cans into Valentine’s Day accessories, and we’re throwing in a recycled paper gift box – made into a doggy treat container – for good measure.

We’re a bit embarrassed to tell you how many of these popcorn cans we have stashed away, but we’ve collected at least one per Christmas season for the past decade or so.

They come in handy for storing such things as craft supplies and pet food, and when you tire of using them for storage, they can be recycled into a variety of items.

Popcorn can wastebasket

Let’s begin with a lidless can recycled into a frou-frou Valentine’s Day wastebasket (below).

To cover the can, choose a decorative Valentine print and cut a piece long and wide enough to wrap around the can with about an inch overlap to fold over the top edge of the can. It’s OK to leave a little bit of exposed can at the bottom edge, as you can cover it with trim.

Using a wide sponge brush, apply decoupage medium to the can’s surface and attach the fabric a few inches at a time, smoothing and pressing in place all the while.

You can find decoupage medium for all kinds of specific uses these days. We used the fabric medium on the outside and applied two coats.

For the can’s bottom , which had become a little rusty over the years, we cut a circle of fabric and decoupaged it in place using outdoor medium, just in case some of the discarded items tossed into the wastebasket are damp.

The inside of the can was rust-free so we left them uncovered.

When the decoupage medium is completely dry, add your trim of choice using a hot-glue gun.

Be sure to have fun with this, as it’s perfectly acceptable to go over the top and cast subtlety to the wind on Valentine’s Day.

We used a bright red ribbon and white lace, accented with white braid, for the outside embellishment, and we added a band of narrow white lace at the top inside edge of the can.

Popcorn can gift or picnic container

Make our pink container (right) following the same instructions as for the wastebasket for the main piece, but leave a band of bare can at the very top (the width of the lid side) so that the lid will be easy to get on and off.

Cut a circle of fabric to cover the top of the lid, getting it as close to the edge as possible, and a strip of fabric to go around the side of the lid. Decoupage both pieces in place and let dry.

We added a band of wide white-and-pink lace to the edge of the lid, which, in addition to being decorative, helps to hide the bare can strip at the top of the can.

Then we applied pink and gold trim around the lid’s top edge.

Around the bottom of the can, we applied a gold braid and a strip of pink hearts.

You might want to cover the inside of the can, depending on how you plan to use the container.

We considered making this container into a picnic caddy by punching a couple of holes on each side with a hammer and awl, running some thick cord through and braiding them together to form a handle. We then would fill the can with paper plates, plastic wine glasses, napkins, utensils and treats.

But we decided to go a different route and use it as an office gift container filled with candy and other treats for friends.

Paper box doggy-treat container

Finally, we transformed a paper gift box into a container (above right) for dog treats by covering the box with fabric – we found an adorable Valentine-and-dachshund print – and adding a row of little bones around the lid’s top edge.

Follow the same instructions as above for covering the box and adding the trim, being sure to leave a little band of the box uncovered at the top so the lid will be easy to get on and off.

The bones we used for embellishment are little breath mints, so we aren’t sure how well they’ll hold up for the long haul, but we gave them a couple of coats of sparkle decoupage, which should seal them for the near future.

Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.

What you’ll need