Carol Duvall opened the Shoebox today to find a letter and a terrific project idea from viewer Liz Fishold of Neiholt, Wash. The project was a holder made from Chunky Soup Cans to hold crafting supplies. Liz uses hers specifically for many of her rubber stamp needs . . . scissors, colored pens, a few stamps, heat gun, etc. The idea of attaching cans to each other is not new, but Fishold added a few touches that made it especially practical. After cleaning the cans and covering them with Contact, she lined up two of the cans, side by side, and attached them to a narrow strip of wood with small screws. She attached two more cans on the opposite side then placed a drawer handle on the top edge of the wood. Everything is compact and easy to carry from place to place.
Duvall then tried another version using one-pound coffee cans instead of soup cans as the containers. Rather than have the ridges of the can show through, she first cut a sheet of card stock to fit around each can then covered each on one side with Contact leaving a 1" overlap so the wraparound would stick to itself.
She followed the same plan that Fishold had, however, she placed the wooden piece (1" x 2" x 8") about 1/4" below the top edge of the cans so that the plastic tops can be placed on them. These would also make great containers for many of the small toys that the youngsters collect . . . their small cars, action figures, etc.
Tips:
- Drill the screw holes in the cans rather than trying to punch through the metal.
- Use a very short or very long screwdriver to attach the screws. The short one will fit inside, the long one can be used at an angle.
- Be certain that the drawer handle comes up high enough beyond the top of the can so it can be easily grasped and that it is not too wide for the piece of wood.
- To cut down on the noise and rattle you might want to put a felt circle in the bottom of each can.
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