One of my goals for 2017 is for us to cook more at home so that we can (hopefully) be healthier in the new year. And when I say “for us to cook more” I clearly mean my boyfriend. He’s the executive chef at a local restaurant, and I’ve been known to google how to boil water. However, running to the grocery store any time we need fresh herbs isn’t efficient, so I wanted to create something that will hopefully encourage us to be a little more creative in the kitchen. Living in a town home, we don’t have the luxury of a yard and our front porch gets so much sun that most of our plants tend to meet their demise sooner than I’d like. That being said, an indoor herb garden is the perfect solution to our problem, and it couldn’t have been easier (or more fun!) to make.

MATERIALS

– Krylon® Chalky Finish Paint in Classic White
– Krylon® Chalky Finish Paint in Misty Gray
– Krylon® ColorMaster™Paint + Primer Metallic in Rose Gold
– Tin Cans (3)
– Painter’s Tape
– Polymer Clay
– Acrylic Roller
– Knife
– Alphabet Stamps
– Adhesive

INSTRUCTIONS

I started first by making the labels. For those, I rolled out some polymer clay to about 1/4″ thickness. With my alphabet stamps, I stamped in the name of each herb, and then cut the clay into a rectangle. To ensure that the labels fit to the curve of the cans when they were done, I laid them across a can while they baked so that they’d take its shape. I baked them in a 275° oven for 15 minutes and then let them cool. Once they were cool enough to handle, I sprayed them with a coat of Krylon Chalky Finish Paint in Classic White following the safety and application instructions on the can.

I decided to use tin cans for my container because, well, I had some in the pantry! I washed them out, pulled the labels off, and they were good to go. I first painted the cans with two coats of Krylon Chalky Finish Paint in Classic White, waiting an hour or so in between coats. After the second coat, I let them dry for a full 24 hours–just to make sure paint wouldn’t pull off during the next steps.

The next day, once they were completely dry, I created three different patterns using my trusty blue painter’s tape. The second color I used was Krylon ColorMaster™ Paint + Primer Metallic in Rose Gold. The ColorMaster™ Paint + Primer has amazing coverage, so one quick coat was enough to achieve the look I wanted. I let the cans dry for a couple of hours outside, and then removed the painter’s tape. I wanted one of the cans to have a tri-color look, so I applied a little more painter’s tape on it to complete my design, and finished it off with Krylon Chalky Finish Paint in Misty Gray.

After all of the cans were dry, I simply glued the polymer clay labels on using an adhesive that works with a variety of materials (i.e. clay and metal), and voila!