Tin Pail Transformations: Two Tutorials

Tin pails can show up anywhere. They used to be quite popular. Now you can find them in thrift stores, at yard sales, at Goodwill and maybe even in your garage or attic.

Tin pails can be decorated in so many ways. It’s all up to your imagination and style. I decorated these two with wedding in mind but I am trying to find a couple more to redo with Christmas colors and accents.

I think little pails make clever and cute reusable gift containers. Forget about bags and boxes, hand painted pails will make any gift seem extra special.

Supplies Needed:

• An old tin/metal pail with a handle
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Spray paint in your color of choice
• Clear coat spray to protect your design
• Paper
• Decoupage glue
• Ribbon
• Lace
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Scissors
• Sponge
• Sponge paint brush
• Flat container of water
• Clothespins (optional) for holding lace or ribbon in place while the glue is drying

Green Options:

• You are breathing new life into an old pail, that’s super green.
• Consider using low VOC spray paint like Krylon’s H2O line
• Natural or biodegradable ribbon
• Vintage or organic lace
• Recycled or tree free paper

Directions for Decoupage Pail:

• Start by selecting a pail that is in decent shape. You don’t want to deal with rust or dents unless you absolutely have to
• If your pail has any labels or stickers remove them
• Gently sand the pail so paint will stick to it
• Spray paint it in your color choice
• Let the paint dry
• Select the papers you want to use, test a corner by getting it wet to make sure the ink doesn’t run. For this pail I used vintage wedding images that were printed on photo paper with an ink jet printer. It’s best not to use real photographs or actual vintage ephemera. Make copies of everything and print on new paper. This way you don’t damage the originals and if you make a mistake you can make more.
• Cut out your design and start placing it on your pail. Play with around with the placement.
• If you have pieces of lace or ribbon to add, play with the placement of those as well.
• For the pail pictured, I used a metallic gold spray paint, a piece of vintage lace, and copies of vintage postcards. I glued the lace on with decoupage glue and water and held it in place with clothespins while it dried. I placed the images around the bucket after gluing on the lace.
• To decoupage paper, dip the paper in a flat container of water, pull it out and shake off excess water, use a sponge paint brush to cover the back of the paper with decoupage glue
• Place the paper where you want it and smooth out excess glue and water with a slightly damp sponge. Hold on tight to the paper to keep it in place while gently yet firmly smoothing the sponge over it.
• Repeat this for every piece of paper you want to add to it.
• Let it dry over night and see how it turns out. If everything is good, let it settle for a few days before clear coating it.
• If something is wrinkled or just messed up, you can peel and sand everything off and start over then try a different type of paper that doesn’t wrinkle or tear as easily.

Directions for Pink Bucket:

• Select paint and ribbon in your choice of colors
• Sand pail gently
• Spray paint in a well ventilated area. It may need two or three coats to get good coverage
• Let paint dry overnight
• Cut out your ribbon at least an inch or two longer than you’ll actually need that way you have some play to work with when attaching it
• Grab your glue gun and glue sticks and start attaching your ribbon just a little bit at a time or the glue will dry before you get there
• Start by one handle and work all the way around to the other handle. This way you never end up with a seam right in the front of your pail
• When you get to the end, match up your seams and cut off the excess before gluing the final strip down

A Few Innovative Ideas to Make Your Wedding Friendly to Mother Earth by Bethany Ramos

More and more couples these days are becoming eco-conscious in their everyday decisions, which becomes even more important and relevant when planning a wedding. If you dream of a beautiful wedding to your Prince Charming that also benefits Mother Earth, here are a few ideas for inspiration:

• Invitations: It helps to look for recycled paper as material for your wedding invitations since we all know that a full-blown wedding invitation package can generate quite a lot of wasted paper, such as the save-the-date cards, invitations, RSVP cards, registry cards, envelopes, and more. Luckily, there are quite a few choices in recycled invitations that also have a beautiful and earthy look to them if you are going for a natural theme for your wedding.

• Flowers: Aren’t flowers natural already? That may not necessarily be the case since many beautiful wedding flowers are actually imported, causing them to have a serious carbon footprint. Unless the flowers are organic, they are also grown with chemical pesticides that pollute the environment. Your best choice in securing beautiful floral arrangements for your wedding is to choose organic flowers that are locally grown, or you can even pick some from your own garden for your bouquet or centerpieces!

• Rings: What’s the big deal with buying a beautiful engagement ring and wedding band? The truth is that the mining of gold and silver can actually destroy the land and surrounding ecosystems, but there are quite a few choices in environmentally friendly wedding bands. You can search specifically for eco-friendly gold and silver jewelry, which will give you a better idea of the ecological footprint made by your beautiful diamond ring.

• Honeymoon: The honeymoon is normally the one area where couples go crazy and spend quite a bit of money, but you can be the one to do it differently. There are numerous choices in eco-tourism getaways, where you can hike and enjoy areas of North America, which will also give you a great opportunity to stay fit through biking, hiking, and walking. Make sure to research honeymoons that are off of the beaten path so that you can minimize your carbon emissions by choosing a natural vacation over a cruise or huge resort.

• Food: The last thing that you can do to wrap up your complete environmentally friendly wedding package is to donate your extra food to a soup kitchen. This is a fantastic way to share the love by giving the decadent treats from your reception to those who are not as fortunate as you. This is a fun way to turn your wedding reception into a “feel good” event, and you can also take optional donations for the homeless shelter if you would like!


Bethany Ramos is a professional wedding makeup artist and also works full-time at her website, The Coffee Bump.

For a great selection of the Bodum french press coffee maker, check out Bethany Ramos' website today!

Planning Eco-Weddings with Brides.com

Getting married isn’t just about champagne toasts and getting showered with gifts - you can do a little good at the same time. Brides.com shares eco-friendly tips – from choosing local vendors to purchasing conflict-free jewelry – that help make the world a better place while celebrating the Big Day.

How To Plan An Eco-Friendly Wedding: http://www.brides.com/wedding-answers-tools/basic-how-tos/2010/10/how-to-plan-an-eco-friendly-wedding

A few tips include:

Celebrate on the Gulf Coast: Hosting your celebration in an area that’s been impacted by the recent Gulf oil spill will give a needed boost to the local economy. Many of these coastal towns are home to modern resorts, charming hotels, and still pristine beaches.

Ask where your wedding gown is made: Many dresses are made in factories in China and Korea, where labor is cheap and human rights are easily compromised. Shopping local ensures the workers are protected – and, you won’t have to deal with the long process of shipping from abroad.

Give back through your registry: Today, couples can authorize contributions to charity through their registry. Organizations like the I Do Foundation ensure as much as 10 percent of the cost of registry items will be donated to a selected charity.

Use recycled paper: The dull gray look of recycled paper is a thing of the past. Plus, swapping 150 conventional invitations for those printed on 100-percent, post-consumer recycled paper saves 22 pounds of wood and 32 gallons of water.