Valentine Paint Cans

I'm so excited to share these Valentine paint cans with you today because they are a result of an e-mail I sent out way back in August.

I absolutely adore the artist Kate Hadfield and her digital designs, so I asked her if I could create a Valentine paint can insert with her Love and Romance digital kit and then share the template with you on my blog.

Well, I feel so special because she doesn't normally allow this sort of thing, but she said yes! She must have been feeling the love in her heart.

Yay Us!

I made two sizes of the same template. One is for the quart sized paint cans and the other is for the itty bitty cans that are just three inches tall. 

First click on the templates to get the best resolution, then save them to your computer. From there, upload them to your favorite photo center that prints 11" x 14" enlargements. I use Sam's Club Photo Center for my enlargements. Each template will decorate two cans.

Once you get your templates, simply cut them out, roll them with the printed side facing out, and insert them inside the paint cans. Then gently flatten them against the paint can, starting at one end of the template and continuing to the other end. Don't bother adhering them to the cans. They stay pretty secure once you get them in.

I cutified my cans even more by adhering some pretty ribbon to the outside of the paint can using double-sided tape and adhering a circle of scrapbook paper to the lid. Peanut Head drilled a hole in the lid of the larger can so I could screw a small knob onto it. It makes opening the larger paint can easier, and it looks super duper cute, don't you think?

Oh yeah, don't forget to tie some pieces of ribbon to the handle. Like bacon, everything is better with ribbon.

These cans are perfect for filling with chocolate for your sweetheart, a teacher, or a BFF. Or perhaps someone that you loathe and you just want to creep out. That's what I'm doing with mine.

On second thought, I can't really think of anyone I loathe right now. 

Maybe next year.

Here are the templates. Enjoy! Oh yeah, and would you be a love and go visit Kate and send her some comment love for the super awesome digital kit? Thanks. You're the best!

Birthday Paint Can Inserts

As with everything else in my life since I went back to work, these little guys are laaaaate. I made them for two of my BFFs who had birthdays over the last month, Smashley and Girl Genius.

My negligence is so bad, you won't even believe this. I called Girl Genius up on her birthday to tell her that I needed her Girl Scout cookie money, and I didn't even say Happy Birthday. Doy.

I called her back a couple days later when I realized what a L-O-S-E-R I was, and I told her I was a bonehead and that she shouldn't even associate with me anymore. Then I took her to lunch and grovelled some more. She's so nice, she forgave me on the spot. I only wish I had one of these ready for her then. It took me three weeks, but finally I gave it to her. 

Smashley doesn't have hers yet, but she doesn't read my blog so I don't have to worry about her seeing this. Not that it matters as it's already three weeks late.

I know she won't see it though, because she's not super tech saavy. In fact, she was so excited to replace her five year old cell phone recently, that when she went into the Verizon store and bought a new one, the manager told her that now she's only three years behind on technology. She's doesn't care though. She's just excited that now she can text without having to use the number pad and scroll through the letters.

She's still kind of slow with her thumbs, so I've had to send a lot of pointless text messages to her to give her practice.

Whassup?

Why aren't you texting me back?

Are you mad?

What did I do?

I was dying, it was so funny. She was sitting right next to me, and still trying to respond to the first message, and I was sending her text after text. Not that I'm so fast or anything. Being a teacher I feel I should always text with complete sentences and proper punctuation. After all, I'm representing my people. The teacher people who live at school and don't have lives of their own.

This is all the more challenging when you are limited to 140 characters or whatever random number it is that we are limited to. It just ticks me off and I'll say Fine! PERIOD. Then I'll send another one to finish up what I was trying to say in 140 characters or less. Heaven forbid I should make a typo at the beginning, because then I'll backspace to eternity until I can fix it, then have to retype everything.

No matter, I still beat Gimp Thumb Smashley, and I got to watch her get all flustered. 

Then she sent me a not very nice message wherein she called me a B with an itch. And it was in all caps, so that meant that she YELLED it at me.

Smashley is so sweet, so that made it even funnier. She's like a bunny rabbit, she's so sweet.

Um, except that bunnies can be mean and they kick really hard. Not that Smashley would ever do that. She's too much of a Delicate Flower, and I could take her just by sitting on her. She probably weighs 105 pounds. Which I think I weighed in eighth grade.

Geezo, how do I get off on these tangents? I was talking about birthday paint cans.

I used Kate Hadfield's Bring on the Cake kit for these cans. I seriously love her doodles.

I made a little mistake on the templates, and one of them came out about an eighth of an inch too short at the top. That's why I put the ribbon around the tops of the cans with photo tape. It covers up the free edge of the template that didn't fit under the lip of the can.

This is an example of one of those mistakes which turns out well, because I really like the ribbon on the outside. 

I'm such a problem solver.

Holiday Paint Can Inserts . . . Finally

I'm sorry that these are so late in coming. I think I've mentioned that I'm learning a new digi scrapping software--the Creative Memories sbcStudio for macs. It's a lot different than StoryBook Creator Plus, and there are quite a few bugs still being worked out, which is causing a little crankiness on my part. And wasted time. Grrrr! It'll all work out in the end though.

At least that's what I keep telling myself in order to keep from jumping off a bridge. A bridge with icy cold water and ice beneath it. Actually, it's probably just the cold keeping me from taking the plunge. I dislike cold very much.

Check out these little knobber jobbers. Don't you just love them? I found them at Porter's, and it was all I could do not to slap my forehead.

Why didn't I think of this? These paint cans can be a pain to open, especially when you are in a hurry and there's chocolate inside. As an example.

Some genius at Porter's came up with this idea, and I can't even tell you how in love with it I am. I didn't buy them right away. I thought that maybe I could find some even cuter ones, maybe even cheaper at a hardware store. I looked though, at only one place because I loathe shopping around, and I'm happy to say that I feel good about paying $8.99 for three CEEEEE-UTE little knobs in all their knobbity cuteness.

Of course installation requires a small hole be drilled. No problemo.

Cute little screw poking through the bottom.

CEEEEE-UTE little knob. Try not to faint from the cuteness of it.

I know, weird things excite me.

So much that I can't even handle it.

I only wish it were my idea.

I'm a copy cat though. I guess I can live with that.

Without torturing you further, here are the templates. Get them printed as 11 x 14 inch enlargements. I did mine at Sam's Club.

Be sure to click on the image first, before saving it to your desktop. Otherwise the image will be blurry. Enjoy!

P.S. What do you think of my new design? Tonya at Lucky Girl Design Studio hooked me up. I love it.

Halloween Paint Can Inserts

I'm super excited about these clear plastic paint cans, because I finally figured out a way to decorate them that is fast and cheap. I'm so giddy that I just need to say that again . . . fast and cheap. It doesn't get any better than that.

I've been attracted to these paint cans (and not in a creepy way) ever since I first laid eyes on them. But when I get them home, I look at them and get Crafter's Block, and I can't decide how to decorate them. The lack of inspiration then makes me choke even more. The pressure is stifling.

Well those days are gone. Finally, I figured out how to decorate them just once using a digital format, and then I copy, copy, copy until I'm sick and tired of making them.

I happened upon the idea by accident while browsing the Sam's Club Online Photo Center and discovering the cheap, cheap price of printing an 11" x 14" print.  Just $2.87 if you can believe it, and that decorates two paint cans, so it's really $1.435 per paint can! Okay, round it to $1.44 if you want to be so picky. It's just that it's really not that much because that extra cent covers two paint cans.

Remember, I'm the freak who will spend hours reconciling my checkbook to make sure I can account for that eleven cents that I'm off. And I will have fun doing it! No lie.

Blogging is my therapy couch.

Anyway, back to the cans. Here are some of the details for tricking out your own paint cans.

First of all, I made templates for two different sizes of paint cans. The first is what I call the Itty Bitty Paint Can, because it measures approximately 3-1/4" tall and 9-1/2" around. They're super cute, but you may have a hard time finding them. I got mine at Porter's months ago, and when I went back a few days ago, they didn't have any left. That's good news for you though, because that made it necessary for me to make a second template for the quart-sized can. Porter's had about a million of that size, and I know Michael's sells them too.

Yay for you!

Anyway, the first step is to save the templates to your computer, then upload them to your favorite photo center that prints 11" x 14" photos at a reasonable price. When you get them back, they'll look something like the picture above. I've tweaked them a tinsy bit because these pictures were of my prototypes. They have some flaws that I've, hopefully, ironed out.

When you get your prints, you'll first want to cut them out along the marked cutting lines.

For the itty bitty cans, I had to punch out holes for the paint can handles. It was a ginormous pain in the rear for the particular cans I bought, because the handles poked right through the plastic and interfered with the inserts when I slipped them in. 

See what I mean?

That meant I had to measure the distance down from the top of the can to the handles, then the distance between the handles, then hope and pray that I did it right while punching the holes in my beautiful $1.435 templates.

And then I still ended up screwing it up in spite of all that. Jeez, what a dork. I ended up cutting some orange scraps and taping them over my boo boo holes. Or should I say BOO! holes?    Ha.     Ha.    Ha.

See, you can't even tell, can you? Actually, don't answer that. I am one with denial.

I don't think it's that bad. I can live with it. Okay, another lie. I'm going to give them away so I don't have to live with them. And relive and regret. And obsess. It's a vicious cycle for us OCDers.

The Quart size paint cans worked out much better because I had a little experience under my belt. About 24 hours worth. There was still a little tweaking to do, but not much.

One of the bummers about the larger template is that I wasn't able to use my paper trimmer to cut the inserts out because they were too long. I had to get all old school and use actual scissors. I felt like a cave man. I mean Cave Martha.

Once I cut out the insert, the rest was easy. I rolled it up slightly, so that it was skinnier than the can, and then I slipped it inside. The hardest part was pressing the insert up under the lip of the top of the can. It was hard to get it started, and it felt creepy having to bend the insert to get it up there, but it laid perfectly flat against the inside of the can and you couldn't even tell that I had to bend it a little along the top edges to get it in there.

For the quart sized can I didn't even cut out holes for the handle rivet thingie-ma-bobbers. The insert just laid up again that part too.

Filling the cans with treats was pretty easy too. I could have made some cookies or something, but I was too tired after having to use those scissors.

For the final touches, I tied some ribbon to the handles and cut out some circles of Halloween paper to cover the paint can lids.

Lastly, I printed out some Boo! poems and saddled a few of my favorite peeps with my prototype buckets. I bet they won't even notice that they're not perfect. And you won't tell, will you?

I know you want to make some cute paint cans too, so here are the insert templates. Have fun!

This is the template for the Quart-sized can. Be sure to click on the image first, then save it to your computer. That will ensure that you get the best resolution possible.

This is the template for the itty bitty can. Be sure to click on the image first, then save it to your computer. That will ensure that you get the best resolution possible.

And finally, the Boo Poem, in case you want to spread the love.