Coke Can Votive Tutorial

Here’s a fun and free craft decoration for you to try when you have nothing better to do!  All you need are aluminum cans, an X-acto  knife, sharp scissors and your imagination.  I made these for votive containers for a fundraiser, but there are so many ways to use them…and, if you’re a nerd like me, they are fun to make!

Start with a rinsed out can and use your X-acto knife to puncture a horizontal slit in the middle of the can about an inch long.  Then cut the can in half with your scissors into two equal parts.  Be careful with sharp edges.  And yes, I am in my car waiting for the afternoon carpool…a particularly productive part of my day!

Using your scissors, start experimenting with cuts…this is a simple crown cut using diagonal cuts.

It may not look like much now, but once you drop a tea light candle in here and group a few of these together, they are unique and unexpected.

Here’s another look…cut 1 1/2” slits vertically down around the perimeter of the can…these are about 3/4” wide.  Using a pen, curl the cut edges away from the can by applying pressure to the aluminum…you can make these curls loose or tight.

Be sure that you push down the tab opening so that the surface is flush and the candle will rest on a flat surface.

Make sure to flatten the concave bottoms of the can by using a flat bottomed cup, glass or whatever you have on hand.

It doesn’t have to look pretty, but the tea light candle needs to lay flat when burning.

Let your imagination run wild by cutting strips thin, very thin, on an angle, etc. 

These look so pretty when the candlelight reflects off of the many cuts.

Here’s a side shot for more detail.  These are going to be perfect for the “recycled” or “green” look of our fundraiser.  You could paint the sides of the cans before cutting to cover up the graphics.  Have fun with this! 

Flickr Tags: aluminum can votives,Coke can votives,inexpensive candle votives,recycling crafts,green crafts