Tin Can Lid Ornaments

Wondering what to do with those tin can lids after you take them off of the cans?  I wondered the same thing as well and came up with these Christmas ornaments.  I would suggest running out and buying a smooth edge can opener, so you or someone handling the ornaments doesn't get cut.

First, I primed each lid with Gesso, which you can find in any Craft or Art store.  I let this dry and then broke out my acrylic paints.  I chose a paint that would compliment the colors in the die-cuts that I used for the main piece of each ornament.  I gave each lid a good coating and then let that dry over night.

Next, I broke out my Cricut machine and cut some circles out of scrapbook paper that fit just inside each lid.  Since my Cricut only cuts out certain sizes I went ahead and cut out larger circles and then trimmed them until they fit.  I then glued each circle onto the colored side of the lid that it went with and let the dry for about an hour.

Finally, I took the Christmas die-cuts and put clear glue dots around the centers and then centered them on each lid.  Some of the die-cuts were bigger than the circle, but I like that.  I didn't want to cut the edges, but that is your preference.

Here are the finished ornaments:

  Have fun making your own and Happy Holidays!

Waste is Wonderful?

I'm reading my newest Colored Stone GemMail Newsletter and the very last article is called "INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS ARE FINDING A SECOND LIFE IN JEWELRY AS FACTORY WASTES ARE TRANSFORMED INTO ORNAMENTAL WONDERS." Wow, who would have thunk that years from long ago we'd actually be using the waste that the factories we complain about produce! We recycle and upcycle so much; is this really the message we should be sending to the next generation? Oh, don't worry about the waste our factory is producing; it will eventually be used to make something beautiful.

As soon as I read this article I thought about the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome where they use pig waste to produce energy in a post-apocalyptic society. Is there what we have to look forward to? He who has the most waste that can be used for something ornamental wins!

Anyways, this led me to do a search on the subject and this is just some of what I found:

Turning Garbage Into Art & Music

Making Art of Industrial Scars.

Industrial Waste Teapot

It seems as though maybe this is something new. I know there are artists that scour the junk yard for items to include in their artwork, however, this is different. This is using the actual industrial waste from a factory to create art. While this sounds interesting, it also leads me to the following question:

"How safe is this using of industrial waste for art and/or jewelry?"