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Painted tube cocktail art- a tutorial

My favorite touch of the day from Kim and Mikes wedding was this gorgeous handcrafted sculpture, stuffed with flowers and wine corks that dangled over their cocktail table.

The piece was crafted by ebony one of the bride’s dear friends who has been so gracious to share her tutorial today for the stunning display. It would also be a fun project to stuff with baby items for a shower, an amazing piece to showcase treasures in a wee ones room, or perhaps a gorgeous place to hang special mementos over a big comfy bed.

Painted tube cocktail sculpture

Materials:
You will need… Cans with different circumferences and heights, a can opener, nuts (short, slotted) and bolts, drill and drill bit that matches the size of the nuts (also something to puncture the can. I used a screw), flat-head screwdriver and a wrench that matches the size of the bolts.

You will also need… Spray paint (outside color), craft acrylic paint (inside color plus white) & varying things to fill the cans with.

How to:

  • Cut the bottom of the cans out with a can opener.
  • Arrange the cans in the arrangement you like.
  • Starting with the corner can, drill a hole in the middle of the can (we estimated). Match the hole to the middle of an adjacent can and mark the second can, drill a hole where you marked the second can.
  • Screw the 2 cans together with a nut and bolt (so that the cans are touching, but do not tighten the bolt because you may need to take the cans apart later.
  • Add the cans together one by one. Depending on the height of the cans, you may need to join some of the cans together with two bolts to make the attachment secure. This step takes a lot of time because each can will be connected with multiple other cans.
  • Tighten all the screws with the screwdriver and wrench.
  • Spray paint the outside of the structure. Pay attention to the crevices, and don’t worry about getting paint on the inside of the cans (If I were to make this again, I think I would paint the cans before bolting them into together). Let the spray paint dry according to instruction on can.
  • Paint the inside of the cans white (so that the inside color will be more vibrant).
  • Paint the inside of the cans the desired colors to match your event.
  • Fill the cans with event related items- we used flowers corks and even rolled up magazines.

A gorgeous project that would make a stunning addition to any celebration.

3 Comments

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  1. Gahhhhh!!! This is FABULOUS. I remember seeing a similar concept for a wall organizer, but this is so much snazzier! Would love this technique to line a doorway in my house. Lovely!

  2. Thank you so much for getting this tutorial! After I first spotted this wedding and this GORgeous piece – I immediately started looking for one. Yours popped up in my reader and I cheered out loud. I’m blogging about this AND finding a reason to make one!

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