Patriotic Tin Can Planter Craft

Our hands are stained red and blue from all the painting crafts we’ve enjoyed lately! The kids love all the paper and glue and cutting, but my favorite has been our Patriotic Tin Can Planter craft, because I get to put flowers in it!

DIY Patriotic Tin Can Planter Craft

Creating a tin can planter with a five-year-old and three-year-old got a bit messy, but in the end, worked out well!

How to create a Patriotic Tin Can Planter!

Materials:

• Four empty tin cans, with labels removed and a hole poked in the bottom of each one for water to drain.
• Paint: red, white, and blue
• Brushes
• Glitter glue
• Dirt
• Plants – four small plants with red, white, and blue flowers

Directions:

• Paint each can halfway with one color and halfway with another. The pattern should be:
• Two cans white on bottom, red on top.
• Two cans red on bottom, blue on top.
  • I showed my son how to stick his hand inside the can and turn it to paint smoothly around the can.
  • NOTE: I used the cans that have peel off tops so there were NO sharp edges. Don’t let little kids paint on tin cans unless you’re sure the cans have no sharp edges.
• Allow paint to dry between sections. My three year old just happily painted his own larger can with colors he liked. That was perfect for him!

• After all paint is dry, you can apply glitter glue to the blue section, or apply glue and sprinkle dry glitter over the glue. Allow to dry.
• Fill each can halfway with dirt. Add plants and fill in with dirt. Water plants.
• Tie cans together with a wide ribbon and place in center of table.

Perfect Fourth of July picnic decor! We love the bright and festive look this patriotic tin can planter gives our outdoor space!

I have two more flag craft ideas over on the Melissa and Doug blog today: Collage Flag Craft and Patriotic Windsock Craft! My boys loved doing these crafts too! 

Craft Notes: Because we used kid-friendly non-toxic paint, the water in the paint base did eventually cause some rust spots to form on the cans. However, this just makes them look rustic! Or, if you’re an adult doing this on your own, try spray paint or another paint that is made to paint metals.

This post is written in connection with my partnership as a Melissa & Doug Guest Blogger and I was sent products to facilitate this project.