Have you been doing your part in recycling? Probably so. One thing you probably work to recycle is soda cans. They take up so much room, and you have to smash them before taking them to be recycled – it’s too much trouble. Instead, turn some of those aluminum soda or beer cans into cute coasters for your house. Whether you have a man cave, and you’ll be using beer cans, or you need coasters for a child’s room, and you’ll be using soda cans, you’ll find the coasters cheap and easy to make.
Rinse out the cans to prepare for making the coasters. When they’re dry, use a sharp knife to cut off the bottoms of the cans. Do the same to remove the tops of the cans. Then, cut up the side of each can to open it.
The beer or soda cans tend to curl and to counteract that you can use your iron. Fold a towel several times and lay one of the cut aluminum cans on it. Begin ironing the front of the can. As you do, lift one end of the towel, as you continue to iron. When you do that several times, then turn the can around to the other side and do it a few more times, the aluminum will flatten out into a useable sheet.
Draw a square box on a piece of paper, where each side is four and a half inches. Use this square as a pattern for cutting the cans. Lay the square on the front of the can then draw around it. Place the pattern over the logo area of the can. After cutting out the aluminum piece with scissors you can then decide on what to use to cover the raw edges.
One way to cover the edges of the aluminum sheet is to use colored tape. Just cut pieces of tape so that you have one to fit each side. Lay half of the tape on the edge, then wrap the other half around to the back. Do this on all four sides.
Another way you can cover the edges of the aluminum sheet is to glue on cloth binding. To clean these coasters just take a damp cloth and wipe off the aluminum itself.
There are lots of things which you could glue onto the very edges of the aluminum square, like straws, craft stick pieces, or even beads. Just glue the selected items on top of the aluminum, and go around the perimeter with them.
The soda or beer can coasters are very unusual and really cool. After you make some for yourself, and for all your friends, you’ll have a whole lot less cans to smash before recycling!