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Upcycle: Frida inspired cactus pots

I am a plant lover - especially cacti and succulents. My window sill is getting pretty full up now and I had seen some colourful upcycled tins on Instagram that had been painted with a cute Frida Kahlo design. I saved two medium sized sweetcorn tins, washed and stripped the paper off of them and then went to town with them.

Frida Kahlo inspired upcycled cactus pots from tin cans

The base of the tin was painted with a white mineral paint as it gives a good base to paint onto, white emulsion would work well too.


Once the first layer was dry - I used a black marker pen to draw my design onto the tin.


Next I used a mixture of bright coloured acrylic paints and mixed them on a palette until I had all of the colours that I needed. Each section was then painted on and left to dry.

Frida Kahlo inspired upcycled cactus pots from tin cans

Once all of the paint was dry, I then outlined the design in black marker pen.

Frida Kahlo inspired upcycled cactus pots from tin cans

I also added some flowers and swirls in similar colours with Posca paint pens to the background. Paint pens are another great option.


I then finished it off with a rubbing of finishing wax but you could also use a clear varnish to seal it.

Frida Kahlo inspired upcycled cactus pots from tin cans

These two cacti were then added with a little gravel at the bottom of the tin and topped up with soil. Kitchen tongs are a good way to hold a cactus as I have been spiked through gardening gloves before.


There you have it, some cheap, upcycled Frida inspired cactus pots!

Frida Kahlo inspired upcycled cactus pots from tin cans

I am currently waiting to finish a huge tin of beans - this large tin I will be attempting to decoupage with some napkins.

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