Random Reuse: Tomato Can Stilts

As I've said on this blog before, I am HUGE fan of easy crafts. I guess that seems like a sort of obvious statement -- who doesn't like easy crafts?  In any case, I appreciate simple ideas that create simple fun.  This Random Reuse does just that.

A while back, I got an email from Ellen, one of the lovely readers of this blog, who told me about a simple craft of turning empty cans into kid-sized stilts. (By the way, if you ever have any great ideas you want to send my way, email me! My address is over in the sidebar.). This past week, I made some pasta sauce from a couple 28-oz. cans of tomatoes and just as I was about to toss them into the recycle bin, I remembered Ellen's idea.  So I washed them out and saved them.

The first step, of course, is to paint the cans. Granted, this isn't completely necessary, but it makes them more interesting (and it keeps kids busy for a little while).

Once the paint has dried, put a hole in each side of the can. At first, I was using a nail and a hammer to make the hole, but when that was taking longer than I wanted, I thought of using the end of a can opener (like when you poke holes in cans of evaporated or condensed milk) to make the holes. Super easy -- it only took a few seconds!

{In case you're wondering, belts on overalls isn't a new fashion trend.

The belt was purely out of necessity: it's kind of tricky to keep a lightsaber at the ready  without a belt to hold it!}

Thread some thick yarn, string, or twine through the holes and you're good to go! Max has gotten pretty good at (in his words) "walking like a Frankenstein" on them. A cheap and easy way to mix things up on a sunny afternoon!

{This post is linked to Your Green Resource -- check it out!}