I saw this cute little craft on the internet and decided to try it for myself. I found it to be very easy and fun to do. You really only need a few things - like toilet paper, school glue, a sharp knife or razor, scrap paper or cloth. If you drink coffee as we do, what do you do with the container it comes in? I save ALL of mine! This Christmas, I covered them with holiday wrapping paper, put a personalized name tag on it (a Scrabble tile) and filled it with cookies and fudge. Although this tutorial centers on the smaller cans (which includes metal and cardboard), you can also use the whole toilet paper roll for the project if you are using the large coffee cans and of course it will last a lot longer ;-)
So let's get started, what you'll need:
CRAFT RAZOR (or a sharp knife for cutting the hole in the plastic cover)
SCHOOL GLUE - any brand
BRUSH - for spreading the glue
SCRAP PAPER OR MATERIAL - to cover the can
RULER AND SCISSORS
I also save most all cardboard boxes that cereal and such comes in because I'm going to make an exact pattern of the size I need to cut out. It's a lot easier to do it this way, rather than to guess the size!
Make sure your cans and cover are clean and dry. Brush some glue over half the can, center your material over the glue - push out any air bubbles and continue on to the other half the same way you did the first half. When your can is all covered and pretty and drying a bit, cut a centered hole (does not have to be perfect in shape) in the cover about one inch round. Now go over the can AGAIN with a layer of the glue, brushing over the whole outside. This will stabilize and secure your material.
When your roll of toilet paper is down to about 1/4 to 1/3 left on the roll, take out the inside cardboard roll - careful not to rip it as you can use this for other projects. What kind of sticks to the roll on the INSIDE of it is what you will pull up and through the cover. Voila! Put the roll in the can, pull up the paper from the center, pull it through the hole in the cover and you're done.
Here are some pictures of things you can use to cover the can:
Holiday wrapping paper
Pretty flowered cloth material
Scratch lottery ticket losers