Easy Aluminum Can Crafts

Using aluminum can crafts is a great way to recycle items that may otherwise be destined for landfills, and allow a crafter great diversity in the types of items that can be created. The thinness of the aluminum used in cans and the ability to mold shapes make the use of aluminum cans the perfect medium for many craft projects, as does their ability to resist rust and the possible scope of uses for both indoor and outdoor crafts. Added to these positive features of making easy aluminum can crafts is the fact that the cans are a very good surface on which to paint and the finished crafts are very sturdy and extremely light in weight.

One of the most basic easy aluminum can crafts is to make a simple wind chime which can be created in a number of ways. Aluminum cans can be used whole, painted with a decorative design and then connected together and hung using a piece of fishing line. The volume of the sound the wind chimes make in this manner can be adjusted by simply placing an item such as a penny or small pebble inside of a can, or the sound produced can be muffled by placing a small bit of cloth in each can.

Another easy aluminum can craft is to make small decorative planters, which can be made in minutes by cutting away the can top and lining the interior of the can with peat moss before adding soil and a small plant. The exterior of the can is then decorated by painting or by gluing a heavy fabric into position. This same process can be used to make pencil cans for children with a exterior decorative theme in the style of something a child would find attractive.

Even a can that has been crushed flat can still be used to create an easy aluminum can craft with the infusion of a small amount of imagination. The rounded concave surface of the bottom of a crushed aluminum can is the perfect shape and medium on which to paint the face of an animal such as a dog, cat, cow or pig. A small piece of cloth can then be painted in the form of the animal's body, and the cloth can be attached to the aluminum can with either glue of a piece of string tightly wound around the fabric and the can lip. These are very interesting decorations when hung from a window or Christmas tree, and are great craft ideas for getting the children involved in crafting.