A beautiful way to recycle cans

If someone tells you to make something decorative out of soda cans, will you believe them?

I will tell you how it can be done.

STEP 1

Rinse the can with water, dry it and cut it out to get a metal sheet. Be careful with the sharp edges.

Cut out 15 pieces measuring 3cm x 4cm and 12 pieces with the dimensions 4cm x 7cm. (You can plot the dimensions on a carton and cut the metal pieces accordingly).

STEP 2

Cut out leaves out of the metal sheet. Get three tissues and fold them twice together to make a pad.

Put the leaves on this pad and draw veins on them with a ballpoint pen. Small leaves need only a central line.

STEP 3

Wrap crepe paper strips around pieces of galvanised wire and stick them to the back of the leaves. Colour the leaves red on both sides. You can use a Styrofoam plate to dry them.

STEP 4

Get another galvanised wire measuring 3cm. Using all-purpose glue, fix some sago seeds on it to form a cluster of buds.

Spray-paint this in golden colour. Tie the red leaves one by one to a wire with crepe paper to make flowers. Cut off wire in excess of 2cm.

STEP 5

Cut an aluminium foil measuring 40cm x 30cm. Turn it up along the edges to make a trough. Take cement and plaster powder in equal parts, add water and mix well.

Pour this mixture into the trough. You may use a plastic plate for the trough. Don't forget to put some galvanised wire as a hanger and cover this with masking tape.

STEP 6

Immediately after pouring the mixture, place the leaves and the flowers in a nice arrangement and leave to dry.

Stick some of the sago seeds — you can use beads too — in the centre of the flowers with all-purpose glue.

STEP 7

When the mixture dries after one day, put green glass paint all around (avoid the flowers). After two hours, lightly spray some golden colour to create a balance.

You can see some other shapes and decorations on the left.

Copper coloured flowers are placed in a small tumbler, and some in violet are placed in a yoghurt cup with its cover on.

— Gulsen Dikturk is a UAE-based art enthusiast