aluminum can flowers (tutorial)

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to recycle in my art. Here's a fun way to reuse aluminum cans to make "drought resistant flowers." You can't kill them, I promise!

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Here's how:

Start with a colorful can.

Cut off the top.

(this is surprisingly easy to do with your "good" pair of "crap designated" scissors - mine are old Fiskars)

Cut the sides of the can into 16 or so spokes.

(I start with 4ths, then 8ths, then 16ths)

Bend the spokes back as shown here.

This will be the FRONT:

Flip your can over and bend the spokes in half at a slight angle as shown here.

This will be the BACK:

Flip your can over again and fold the spokes in half at a slight angle as before.

This is the FRONT:

This is the BACK:

Now you need a large can lid and a bottle cap.

Into all three of these things you will need to punch a hole in the centers with an awl:

Now you need about 10 inches of wire.

Fold this in half, forming a loop at the midpoint, and twist a few times:

Wire the three parts together.

Bottle cap, flower, can lid:

Bend back your wire loop to hold the bottle cap in place and pull all three parts to snug them up:

On the back you can twist your wire over a bamboo skewer, or make a loop for hanging, or attach to some other creation. The choice is yours.

Here I'm attaching a bamboo skewer:

(I also add a bit of hot glue so it doesn't slip down the stake)

Experiment with your folding of the metal and come up with designs of your own. Have fun!