One Man’s Trash Is Another’s Treasure: Look How I Upcycled Spam Cans!

Hey, Spam fans out there! The Hormel product surviving the war-time stigma does mean it has become more popular than ever.

Spam is trending on TikTok these days. The star of your pantry is more than a "miracle meat," though. 

Spam-Tastic Transformation: Crafting Stunning Planters From Unexpected Cans

How about reinventing the cool brand from your kitchen to your garden? Yes, right! Even your favorite air-purifying plants can benefit from Spam, too. 

Got some empty Spam cans hanging around? If so, get ready to give new life to those cans by repurposing them into beautiful and functional planters for your aloe or snake plant pups!

Beyond The Ordinary Planter

Take off the Spam labels and ensure the cans are clean before adding drain holes. Once you have drainage holes on grease-free cans, you may imagine endless possibilities for designing your planters.

1. Use The Cans As They Are

Spam cans are made of aluminum, making them durable and rust-resistant materials for planters. The ones I have here are still intact—their light golden color complements the crisp green aloe vera—no corrosion despite being located on our south-facing porch for 2 to 3 months now.

Close up plants on a trash can container

2. Let Them Speak With Your Favorite Quote Or Verse

Design them with a memory verse or quote card, as you see below. Or you can use cut-outs from old planners, calendars, magazines, and voila! You'll get planters that deserve a second look. You'll also get to read gentle reminders after sticking the verses on your Spam cans.

Close up of indoor plant on a trash can

 

Indoor plants on a trash can container

3. Decoupage And Paint The Cans

Brush small pieces of plain brown paper from recycled paper bags with mod podge and stick them on your Spam planters. Brush the surface of the glued paper again for a smooth seal.

Old newspapers or leaves from old books are also great variations if you find brown paper boring. Now, if you're not yet familiar with the art of making decoupage, watch this video to learn the technique:

Since I'm using plain paper and not floral design napkins, as shown in the video above, the next best thing to do is to paint the cans with acrylic paint in the color of your choice. Doing so will make the finish weather-resistant and more durable.

4. Accessorize Painted Cans

Who likes painted cans that look too plain? Sansevieria bacularis will stand out more when the planters are decorated a bit. Well, it may be time to take out that old bead necklace and bracelet from your collection and tie them around your painted Spam cans.

Who wouldn't love these attractive snake plants in shabby chic planters?

Close up plants on a trash can container with shells on the table

5. Decoupage With Vintage Design

Conventional floral or patterned decoupage may not be your best bet. If you choose instead to go abstract or vintage, then this crumpled paper decoupage is worth a try.

Close up of an indoor plant on a trash can container

While most artists work hard to smooth their craft perfectly, let's do it the other way around. Use bag or shoe box tissue paper—or buy multi-colored parchment paper if you don't feel like unwrapping any of your shoes and bags.

Orange and pink fancy gift box opened with striped tissue paper

Click here to see this parchment paper on Amazon.

You may apply almost the same procedure in No. 3 for this decoupage, except that you have to crumple pieces of a different type of paper to come up with our desired vintage-looking planters.

Attaching a scallop and braided paper rope handle to the can will create a boho basket planter. You might want to add glitter, dried leaves, shells, and some more cut-out verses to make a statement while complementing the bright green color of your snake plants.

Close up of plants on a trash can containers

Trash Into Treasure

Who would think of throwing away Spam cans ever again after discovering they are such a unique and sustainable gardening solution? 

Innovative Spam planters are not only able to save the day for Mother Earth! Even without spending a penny on pots and planters, you can multiply your snake plants and aloes, so you'll enjoy clean air at home while promoting eco-friendly habits for a greener environment.

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