I have by no means left the Seed Catalog trail, I’ve just been trying to multiart 😛 But today I’m FINALLY making a turn back to the Seed Catalogs, sharing how I used my large cans for the deck:
I turned them into fun and unique planters 🙂 And I will of course share the graphics I used for this craft with you, my Dear Readers! The first one is the 1907 Lippincott Seed Catalog, I used the front and back pages for either side of the can:
How did I whip up this one? Easy-peasy:
INSTRUCTIONS
- One rough coat of white chalk paint (yes, I finally came up with a frugal alternative to Annie Sloan, I will tell you all about it in another post from the deck-the-deck series, coming soooon)
- A handful superlight strokes with sand paper to reveal a peak of metal here and there
- Print the Lippincott Seed Catalog with a Laser printer (which heat sets the color, prevents it from running when moist) on plain 80g paper
- Apply a generous coat of matte mod podge (decoupage glue) to the back of the graphics and stick them onto the can
- Let dry for a while
- Apply a coat of mod podge to the front of the graphics
- Repeat a couple of times, to build up water resistance if you will be using these outside like me!
- TADAH: unique planters for decorating your favorite spot outside 😀
Even with several coats of mod podge, I think the planters should not be left in direct rain, but they’ll be great somewhere with a roof/ under a little bit of shelter, and they should be able to withstand the morning dew and an occasional sprinkle.
My Seed Catalog Cans are also great for using indoors, for your counter top herbs, or why not in your office or study for supplies? If you are not going to use them as planters, and there is no need to worry about them getting wet, one top coat of mod podge would be enough, making this craft even quicker 😉
Here is what I started out with:
Made my selection:
Painted a few:
And glued on the Seed Catalogs graphics:
I’m sure you creative crafters can also find other uses for this printable 😉
Find your high quality copy in the download folder, free for your personal use and enjoyment 🙂 
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I have used elements from the following source for this desing:
1907 Lippincott Seed Catalog – Biodiversity Heritage Library
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Wings of Whimsy 
What a wonderful idea! And they are all so beautiful!!!!
Thank you Darling 🙂 I have adored those Lippincott graphics for a long time, I’m so happy I was able to utilize them for this project 😀 xoxoxo
Thank you so much, I love antique seed catalogs. Might try putting these on one of my can lanterns Your stools are wonderful, I have some similar on my wish list. Thinking the can planters will look great on my patio shelf.
Thank you Darling 🙂 I think your idea of putting them on can lanterns would be wonderful too, then they’d be both pretty during daylight and glowing at night 😀 I might have to try that too for some of my smaller cans 🙂 xoxoxo
Yours are so beautiful. I am so inspired to do some. i knew I had been saving my coffee cans for something. thank you thank you!
Thank you Sybil! So many vintage graphics can be applied for this easy-peasy craft, I just thought the seed catalogs were perfect for planters…lol! Just remember my cans are large (the “industrial” size used by cafeterias and restaurants) so if you use smaller cans you might need to print the graphics at a smaller size…;-) xoxoxo
Aaaaaaah what a shame, I actually just thew a dozen og cans out here just a week ago, as I had been saving them for soo long and not got them used, so when I was sorting out my craftroom, I decided to let them go, as I hadn´t got them used for soo long. But isn´t that typical? ha ha ha. Well not a problem, I´ll just have to save some more then ha ha ha. I absolutely LOVE, what you´ve done with these, and I can just see them on my tersse with lots of beautiful summerflowers planted in them. Yours looks absolut stunning sweetie, soo beautiful and such a great idea, and it would be an awesome hostessgift too, if you needed one here during the summer. Well I´ll on to saving these again now, I can see from this he he.
Have a wonderful day and hopefully you´re as lucky as us here today and have a nice and sunny day for the first time in a very long time.
Luckily these are easy to come by. If you have a cafeteria or restaurant near by you can ask them to save up for a week, and they’ll be handing you a full garbage bag before you know it…lol! Just remember they will not be entirely waterproof with this treatment, just water resistant. let me know if you can’t find the big cans, and I’ll see about bringing you some 😉 xoxoxo
This is awesome!!!!
Thank you Sue, I’m very happy you like it 🙂 And I’ll be sharing more of these printables, so check back again in the next few days 🙂 xoxoxo