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How To Make A Craft Caddy With Copper and Denim

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Handy Upcycled Tin Can Craft Caddy

I made this craft caddy as not having my own studio and having to craft on the dining room table can be a real pain sometimes.

Basically, because I have to tidy it up and can’t just shut the door on it. I find it a real faff having to get my stuff in and out of cupboards.

I thought if I made a good looking craft caddy for my brushes, scissors, pencils & pens not only would it be handy but I wouldn’t have to hide them away.

I’m really pleased how this craft caddy has turned out and will now be making a cutlery one for when my dining room is a dining room and not a craft room.

Copper Denim Craft caddy

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What You Need to Make An Upcycled Tin Can Caddy

I like to upcycle, I made the craft caddy out of stuff I already had.

My sister had asked me for a copper pineapple for her birthday !; so I decided to use the copper spray paint leftover from that project.

Also as I think copper and denim look great together so decided to use some denim as well.

Materials for Denim and Copper Craft caddy
  • Six tin cans – normal soup can size
  • Strips of denim cut from and hems of old jeans
  • Old screwdriver for a handle (or you could use an old wooden handled corkscrew)
  • Piece of old wood such as pallet wood approximately 35cm x 6cm
  • Copper spray paint
  • Coloured Spray paints
  • Acrylic varnish spray
  • 8 eyelets and eyelet tool, if you don’t have one of these then you can just use 8 small washers suitable for 3.5mm screws
  • 8 wood 3.5mm 1/2″ wood screws
  • Screwdriver using as a screwdriver

 
Optional

  • Dark wood stain, olive oil and vinegar

How to make a craft caddy

1. Firstly, prepare your 6 tin cans. Even though I had decided that I was going to have a copper and denim craft caddy I couldn’t resist a splash of colour.

I just love colourful tin cans. To achieve this I spray painted the inside of every tin can a different colour. I then spray painted the outside of all six cans copper.

Once the spray paint was dry I then sprayed the cans inside and out with a protective acrylic varnish.

Tin Can Caddy - Pillarboxblue
Craft caddy pillarboxblue

2. For the next stage, I prepared the wooden handle of my craft caddy. The edges of the pallet wood were rounded with a chisel and then sanded.

I thought dark wood would contrast nicely with the shiny copper colour of the tins, so I stained the wood. I also stained the handle of the screw driver to match and sprayed the metal shaft copper.

Finally, I used a 50/50 mixture of olive oil and vinegar to buff all the wood to a nice sheen. (Wax would also work well)

Craft caddy handle

3. Then mark the center of the pallet wood and stick your screwdriver into the top. To do this I twisted the screwdriver while pushing down so that it slowly drilled into the wood.

This worked really well, however, if you are having problems with this you can always drill a small hole in the top and then glue your screwdriver in the hole.

4. Next, to secure the tin cans to the handle I used denim straps. Cut the hem off old jeans as close to the seam stitching as possible, you will want lengths approximate to the circumference of your tin cans.

Note, this will depend on the stretchiness of your denim, to get a tight fit you will need to shorten the length of the strips of denim to compensate for the stretch.

5. Next, using an eyelet tool, I put eyelets each end of my denim strips. If you don’t have an eyelet tool, you can just make a small hole in the hem for the screws, and use a washer on top of the denim.

Denim straps for craft caddy

6. Next, screw one end of each of the six denim straps to the wood. Three on each side, where you want to place your tin cans. (I spray painted my screws copper before starting so they’d match the tins)

denim strap

7. Finally, wrap each denim strap in turn around a copper can and screw in place. You want to ensure a tight fit.

Also for the middle can, I shared the same screw for the straps of the cans either side. This ensured that the copper cans sat closer together.

copper craft caddy

That’s it once all the cans are attached your caddy is ready to go.

I love the stylish copper and denim look of this craft caddy but with the surprise splash of colour from the insides of the cans.

Copper Denim Craft Caddy
Copper Denim Craft Caddy
Denim Copper Craft Caddy

You can also use the craft caddy as a picnic caddy, or just as handy portable storage for all those bits and pieces you don’t know where to put but want on hand.

Easy diy copper and denim caddy made from old tin cans and scraps of denim
Yield: stylish craft caddy

How To Make A Copper & Denim Craft Caddy

How To Make A Copper & Denim Craft Caddy

This handy storage caddy is not just for art supplies it could also be used as a picnic or cutlery caddy.

Prep Time 1 hour
Active Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $5

Materials

  • Tin cans
  • Denim hems
  • Small piece of wood
  • Old Screwdriver handle
  • Spray paints and spray varnish
  • Screws

Tools

  • Screwdriver

Instructions

  1. Sand and stain the wood
  2. Attach the screwdriver handle to the center of the wood
  3. Spray paint the tin cans copper on the outside and different colours on the inside
  4. Apply acrylic varnish to the cans once the paint has dried
  5. Punch holes into the denim straps and add eyelets or washers
  6. Wrap the denim straps around the tin cans and attach them to the wooden handle using screws.
© Pillarboxblue
Project Type: Upcycle / Category: DIY Upcycling

If you like my craft/cocktail cupboard in the background of some of the photos you can see it here: Easy craft cupboard transformation.

If you liked this upcycled storage idea then you will probably like these others too.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Julie

    As a fellow ‘crafter at the dinning table’ I think this is both lovely and brilliant. It’ll be one of the features at Handmade Monday later on today 🙂

    Reply

  4. Beverly

    What a fun upcyle project. I’m crazy about all things copper and I think I’ve spray painted everything I can over the last year. Your caddy is a great idea and it looks great. Thanks for partying at Snickerdoodle. Pinning.

    Reply

  9. Cathey Jo (CJ)

    Dear Girls: I’ve just recently discovered this “Wonderful and Creative” site. I’m so inspired by all of your Imaginative and Creative ideas. I’ve been living in “slow-motion” since becoming a Widow but now feel I have found “kindred-spirits”. So happy to have found your site(s) – I am looking forward to having some DIY of my own. Thanks for sharing your super ideas, and I hope to have some to share with you. (I can’t wait to get started – smile). Feel free to correspond if you’d like. Cathey Jo

    Reply

    • Claire Armstrong

      Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m happy to hear that you have found stuff on my site that you enjoy. I do think that craft and upcycling can be healing and therapeutic, there is something special about creating things.

      Reply

  11. lorraine williamson

    love the caddy so cool. I can relate live in a small apartment with two teens and a bossy siamese. No studio just the dining room table dreaming of a studio when I can get a house. Pinning love all upcycles getting ready to start on a wipes box and turn it into a little anything box have a great week

    Reply

  12. Lindi

    I love this project!! So handy for any area of the home! I’m asking people to share their tin can projects on my blog this month at a monthly Create With Me party and I would LOVE if you stopped by and shared 🙂 Lindi @ Love Create Celebrate

    Reply

  19. Denise/DIY Crush

    This is such a cool project! Love that you re-used the tins and the denim pieces! So clever! I would like to invite you to my DIY Crush Craft Party which starts at 7pm EST. and is new every Thursday. I’ll pin every post!! 😉

    Reply

  22. creativejewishmom/sara

    Really fabulous, need some too! and i have to confess, even though I do have an office/craft room, it doesn’t have a large table (and is currently too disorganized, sigh) so i usually work on the dining room table, which should be incentive enough to get my craft room in order! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!

    Reply

    • Claire Armstrong

      Thanks ! I’d love a craft room, but I’m sure it just be an excuse for me to leave everything out and soon it would get really messy.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  12. […] This cool caddy is perfect for any desk or craft room. Prepare six tin cans, strips of denim cut from and hems of old jeans, an old screwdriver for handle, a piece of old wood such as pallet wood aproximately 35cm x 6cm, copper spray paint, coloured spray paints, acrylic varnish spray, 8 eyelets and eyelet tool, 8 wood 3.5mm 1/2″ wood screws, a screwdriver. Firstly prepare your 6 tin cans. Spray paint the inside of every tin can a different colour. Then spray paint the outside of all six cans copper. Once the spray paint is dry, then spray the cans inside and out with a protective acrylic varnish. continue reading the tutorial in the source. […]

    Reply

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