Recycle Those Tin Cans to Make a Succulent Christmas Tree
Do you have a whole bunch of empty tin cans lying around? We do. I think we may just have enough to build a mini version of the Great Wall of China 😉 So with Christmas coming up we thought it would be a good idea to use some of those cans and incorporate them into our Christmas decor. We’ve got four purr babies and we have to be really careful what we put up at Christmas time. We’ve learnt the hard way that tinsel and fake trees are a purr baby magnets in this house. You do not want to wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning when that tree comes crashing down. Trust me, I know. Armageddon is a whisper in comparison.
I recently saw the most amazing succulent Christmas tree on Craft Invaders that was just WOW!!! So with that bit of inspiration floating around we decided to make our own succulent version using tin cans instead of a willow cone.
Succulent Christmas Tree
How to Make a Succulent Christmas Tree Using Tin Cans
Our tin cans were a bit big so we made them a shorter using tin snips and the rough edges were filed away to prevent serious injury. Smaller tuna tins would have been ideal but sadly we didn’t have any in our stash. Using a drill we made some drainage holes in the bottom of all the cans.
Cutting the empty tins
The frame for the Christmas tree is an old lamp base that we dismantled (thank you my beautiful friend Katrin for the idea). We ended up using three of those tube things and the round silver bottom bit for our tree.
Bits of a broken lamp
The cans and the lamp base weren’t the same color, but as they say in the classics – there’s nothing that a bit of spray paint won’t cure 😉
Matching things up
Once the paint was dry, we glued 5 cans together to form the bottom layer of the tree and 3 cans together to form the middle layer.
Gluing the tiers
The first time we glued the cans together we tried using Gorilla glue, but they just wouldn’t stick nicely and it felt all wobbly. So we pulled them apart and re-glued them with steel epoxy glue. Now those babies are stuck for life. For a bit of bling we added some beads to the bottom and then planted the succulents. Lucky for us, our vertical garden produced lots of new off shoots so we had more than enough plants to go around. BTW, if you want some awesome tips on how to grow and care for succulents then you need to see this post. We left the single can that goes on top of the tree empty so we could attached it properly once everything else had been put together.
Add some beads and plants
To assemble the Christmas Tree, we inserted a thread bar into the bottom of the lamp base and then added one of the tubes and a lid. The bottom “5 can layer” was glued on to the lid before adding another tube, a lid and then gluing on the “3 can layer”.
A lid to stabilize each tier
Finishing Everything Off
For the final layer at the very top we drilled a hole into the bottom of the remaining can, pushed the thread bar though and tightened everything up using a nut, before adding the succulent.
Attaching the last can
To complete the picture we added a silver star.
Shining star
And our little succulent tree is stable enough to withstand anything the purr babies throw at it. Well I hope so any way 😀
Recycled tin cans make a beautiful Christmas Tree
I think the beads add such a lovely touch, they almost look like rain drops.
It looks like rain drops
I’m really keen to hear what you think about our recycled succulent Christmas tree. Is it something you’d add to your Christmas decor or do you prefer a more traditional Christmas tree?
Don’t forget to pin it for later.
Oh before I forget, if you’d like to make something similar or prefer to buy rather than DIY, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more crafty ideas to share with you
Sending you and your family much love and blessings as always.
Very original Christmas tree idea. Would I expect anything different from you, the uber creative and talented Michelle! Hence the reason you’ve been nominated again for the Amara Blog Awards (to which I eagerly voted).
😀 you’re the best Marie. Thank you so much
Know what I’ll be doing with those empty tin cans that’s been collecting all this time during this lockdown winter that seems to be never ending . Perfect timing with spring on the way
Yes!!!! And I’m so happy Spring is almost here too. These old bones of mine don’t do Winter very well 😉
This is such a cool idea! I have a few tin cans myself. It would be great to use them like this and it would look gorgeous in my living room. 🙂 Thanks for showing me how!
My pleasure Gina, I’m glad you like the little recycled tree 😀
OMG!!! It looks fantastic!!! Briliant idea!!! Bravo!!!
Thank you Christina 😀
So modern and innovative! Love how this turned out. 🙂 So cool!
Yay Sarah, glad you like it 😉
Michelle, this is seriously so creative! Who knew that tin cans could be the basis of an elegant display like this one? Love this project – such a nice balance between rustic, natural and glam, too.
We have so many tin cans due to my lack of cooking skills 😉 so I really needed to make a plan. Thank you Jelica
Michelle, this tin can Christmas tree is so so so so beautiful and unique, how do you get such amazing ideas?! I love the galvanized look on it and those succulents are so fresh and pretty, perfect for your soon to be summer in SA! And thank you so much for the sweet mention, I appreciate it! <3
My pleasure Katrin, after I saw what you did with you lamp base it just seemed to fit. Thank you for the inspiration my friend
What a wonderful idea!♥
Thank you so much Maarit 😀
It is amazing Michelle!! I have lots of tins and my head is spinning rigth now with ideas from yours! That table lamp seem to be perfect for this project, what a vision.
Thank you Pili but I can’t take any credit for the table lamp idea. That goes to Katrin after I saw the beautiful jewelry organizer she made for the IBC
I could have used one of these when the kids were small. They were worst than your purr babies. It looks beautiful of course, and the bling really takes it to another level and makes it look almost like a water fountain. I have an old fake tree that I’ve been reusing for the past 10 years. And I’m fine with that I don’t need a fancy tree. But I really like yours and I have even more tin cans than you do! 😉
😉 Maybe we should do a tin can challenge round up one day 😉
Gorgeous!
Thank you Shanny 😉
Oh I love your tree! Michelle you are so creative. I have a box full of empty cans, and furr babies so I understand perfectly. We have a small tree we put up on the breakfast bar so that it’s away from them. I can see this idea being used other ways as well. Love the star, and I’m wondering how in the world did you get the light to twinkle?
Oh those cats, they are so cute but wreak havoc when it comes to Christmas decorations. As for adding the twinkle to the star. I finally figured out how to make a gif, whoop, whoop (insert dancing emoticon here…) It’s the closest I’ll ever get to posting a video 😉
Mal oor dit
Ag Maris, baie, baie dankie maaikie <3
So so so lovely, Michelle! I expecially love the rain drop pearls. Beautiful touch!
Thank you Ana. Hvala ti 😀
😀
Michelle, this is such a fantastic idea!! Love the repurposed cans and those beads give it a glamorous look. I love this succulent Christmas tree!
Thank you so much Keri. I still can’t believe all the amazing things you’ve made for the 30 day challenge. I would be a nervous wreck by now.
Oh it’s gorgeous Michelle, I love it and since I also have a stash of empty cans (and succulents) will definitely be trying something similar! Thanks for the shout out xxx
Oh Sarah, I’m still totally besotted with your gorgeous tree. What a beautiful inspiration, thank you my friend