As I mentioned previously, I’ve begun Operation Urban Garden. After much Pinterest-ing & blog reading I’ve stumbled upon something simplistically beautiful. Check out Stuff Steph Does and her post and step by step instructions to make your own DIY Hanging Flower Tins!
So one beautiful afternoon after school this week my kids & I followed her instructions and voila! It was simple enough for them to understand and be a part of and easy enough for me to not get frustrated (I’m not much of a DIY’er!) but this I could handle!
Aside from spray paint drying time (15 minutes to dry says the can – more like 60) it was a quick project – definitely doable in one evening. And the finished result is exactly what our dingy, townhouse so-called backyard needed!
A FEW TIPS:
- It was difficult hammering the nails in the tins without the can trying to crumble & cave in. I used a large stone as support, place the tin upside down on the stone(should have snapped a pic!), then hammered my hole.
- Maybe obvious to most but don’t make the drainage holes too big! I let my 6 year old do this task herself only to have her upset that her dirt was falling out as she filled it
- My “tin” coffee cans (not photo’ed but equally as cute) weren’t actually tin. Maxwell house cheaps out with a silver-ish, tough lined, cardboard type product for their coffee container. But it still works – we’ll see how it holds up in the rain but if it’s a fail I’m not out anything!
Good luck and share your story if you make them! Remember – if I can do it you can too!
Don’t just have a great night, make it a great night 🙂
justmypeanuts 
If you can do it and make it sound reasonably doable I am going to try it too. The biggest challenge will be finding the right size cans.
That’s true. I wassn’t sure if it was going to work out so our first ones were simply spaghetti sauce cans! Small but easy to work with. Now we’ve begun searching for larger tins! Good luck & let me know how they turn out 🙂
They are cute…I love your choice of colors.
Thanks – my kid’s choose! Purple for her & green for him!
That’s a great idea! I think we may try this, and I’ll install hooks on the porch so we can take them down if they die and replace them with something else! 😀
If your anything like me, they WILL die. But life & death is a great lesson for kids to learn and we’ll replace them!
Hahaha! Time for some decorative cacti, I’m good with those!
They would look great in the spray painted tins! And if they don’t work either (because yes, I’ve killed several in my past) go for plastic plants!
Have you any ideas for a craft project suitable for a five year old girl and 7 year old boy?
If you swicthed the spray paint to simple brush on pait it would be easier. I did let my munchkins help with the spray painting but it might not be a good idea for everyone!
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