Where'd You Even FIND a Coffee Can?

My Pal Al called to chat the other day.  She filled me in on her exploits with Axel and the Trips (I sense a boy band in the making!!).  I returned the favor by telling her about how I made some "new" lights out of coffee cans while Val Stel gave me the stink eye.  I'm not sure I impressed her much, because the first thing she asked when I finished telling my riviting tale was, "Where'd you even FIND a coffee can?  Doesn't coffee come in plastic things now?" and I answered with, "Not if you get the generic America's Choice Brand from A&P."  I kinda, sorta think if she could have, she would have just stared at me (ala my sweetie), but whatev...I like 'em. 

Here's how I made 'em...

I scrounged through my pile of scrap wood and found a 1x3 that I had long ago cut down the middle...giving me two 1x1(ish) pieces.  I dug out the Skil saw and quick cut some pieces (two at 10 inches, two at 12 inches) to form the L shapes of my brackets.

Next, I attached the shorter (10 in.) piece to the longer (12 in.) piece (about an inch down) with some wood glue and a drywall screw.

After that, I used a pencil to mark about an inch at each end of the "L", put the left over 1x1(ish) piece on the floor, put my L bracket on top of it, lined it up the 1x1 with the pencil marks on the bracket, marked the angle to cut on the 1x1, and used the Skil saw to cut the angled piece.

Then, I again used some wood glue and a drywall screw to attach the angled piece to each end of my L bracket.  I started sanding after that (no picture...sorry).  This is what I ended up with:

I used my hand sander with medium grit sand paper because I didn't really care if it was super smooth (just wanted to get rid of all the jagged bits).

I decided to stain them and try and match the frames in my gallery wall...it kinda, sorta worked.  I used Minwax Early American stain and let it soak in for a while instead of wiping it off right away.  It really doesn't match AT ALL, but it's similar enough...I guess.

While I was wating for those to dry, I pulled out my coffee cans.

I decided I would use my extra Ikea Hemma light cords to hang my lights, so I found the middle of the can (from the looks of this picture I did NOT find the middle, but they hang straight, so...good enough) and traced the socket with a marker.  Then I used my drill to punch a couple of holes in the can so I could...

use my wire cutter to "cut" out a socket hole.  I would suggest maybe using an actual tin snips.  The wire cutter didn't really "cut", so much as it "ripped" the tin (it did get the job done though, so...good enough).

I was left with a bit of a dangerous jagged mess, so used some electrical tape to cover the sharp edges while Val Stella supervised. 

I wasn't really into the electrical tape look (AT ALL), but I knew I would slice my arm open if it wasn't there, so I used a box cutter to trim the extra tape off.

Luckily, when I spray painted the coffee cans oil rubbed bronze, I got to lurk on the fire escape again.  I sprayed 3 thin coats on them and that seemed to do the trick.  While I waited for them to dry, I screwed the brackets into the wall and "artfully" tied the electrical snakes cords to them.

After all that the paint was dry, so I squeezed the light sockets into the socket holes on the cans, used the twist caps (again, like here, I don't know the name of this--it's the thing that twists off the end of the Hemma light cord) to hold everything in place, stuck a light bulb in each one and...

look at that...a light made out of JUNK.  And I LIKE it...A LOT.

Here's the overall view (again) for you:

Not bad at all.


Linking this post to:

• The Shabby Nest--Frugal Friday