“Finley” Happy Birthday Crafting with Aluminum Cans
One of my favorite crafting techniques is to cut shapes out of aluminum cans and add them to my card creations.
You can view my aluminum can creations HERE
I’m always on the lookout for interesting designs and colors on aluminum cans.
Fortunately, my husband is a craft beer drinker and is always bringing home new beers to try. Often, these beers have interesting labels on the cans. My husband drinks the beer, then I confiscate the cans to create!
This was certainly the case with cans of Creedence Pilsner made by Crazy Mountain Brewing Company. They have two breweries. One in Denver, and the other one outside of Vail.
Their labels always have a character, an interesting hybrid of animals.
The character on the Creedence Pilsner can is “Finley” a mix of wolf, bighorn sheep and rabbit.
Here’s Finley’s story: “Take a hike with Finley, Crazy Mountain’s seasoned grain farmer. Having traveled the world, Finley is as cultivated as the fields he tends. He’s agile and energetic, but easy to keep up with. Since Finley loves company, feel free to drop by any time for a long walk on the slopes.”
I fell in love with Finley, especially his piercing eyes!
This card was easy to create.
Here’s how:
1. After washing it out thoroughly, I removed the top and bottom of the can (see video for instructions), and flattened it out. As always, be careful with the cutting step as the can will be sharp. After it has been run through the Big Shot or punched with a punch, the edges are no longer sharp.
2. Trim the piece down a little so a 2 1/2″ circle punch or die will fit around the design and cut.
3. Cut matting using a slightly larger punch or die. For this card, I used Early Espresso card stock cut with my Big Shot and Circles Framelit die. Attach the circle to the mat using Dimensionals to pop it up.
4. Stamp tree trunks from Wild Woods onto Crumb Cake card front using Early Espresso ink. I used my Stamparatus to get even images.
5. Stamp greeting onto card base. For this card, I used the happy birthday greeting from Wish Big stamped onto Pineapple Punch card base using Early Espresso ink. Attach card front to the card base.
6. Attach circle to the card front. Add enamel dots to complete.
Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets: Winter Woods, Wish Big
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Pineapple Punch, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories: aluminum can, tin snips, 2 1/2″ circle punch, Big Shot, Circles Framelits, Stamparatus, Dimensionals, enamel dots
“Finley” Happy Birthday Crafting with Aluminum Cans
