Make an Aluminum Can Ashtray

How to turn beer or pop cans into a small, decorative ashtrays or candy dishes. Great for parties because you can make them quickly, with no tools except a pair of scissors, and recycle them later.

Steps

  1. Drink a can of beer or soda.
  2. Make sure the can is empty, then wash it out completely.
  3. Find a pair of strong scissors and cut off the top of the can (start from the drinking hole and then follow the bottom edge of the can's lip).
  4. Cut the sides of the can into 1/2" wide vertical strips, leaving them attached at the can's base.
  5. Push all the strips down and out, so that the interior of the can's base becomes the center of many horizontal spokes.
  6. Fold any strip back onto itself in such a way that the unfinished aluminum side peeks out only slightly from the diagonal line of the colored side. The edge of the colored strip's free end should touch, but not intrude into, the can's base. The strip will look like a lopsided triangle.
  7. Fold the rest of the strips the same way, tucking the end of each under the short side of the triangle formed by the strip before.
  8. Finish the ashtray by pushing the free end of the last strip under the short side of whatever strip it will fit into (usually a strip one or two places ahead). The ashtray should now be a 1/2" deep circle surrounded by peaky, uniformly sized "petals."

Tips

  • Variations on this design can be created by varying the width of the vertical strips.

Warnings

  • Be careful when making the first cut toward the lip of the can. This top surface is the thickest area of many aluminum cans, and you can either hurt yourself or accidentally cut too far down the side of the can, ruining the ashtray.

Things You'll Need

  • Beer or pop can, scissors

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