DIY Valentine Pop Top Cans

I have been making these DIY Valentine Pop Top cans for years. They will work for any holiday or occasion (birthday, graduation) when you want to give a unique gift. You can fill them with candy, gift cards, money, etc. I promise that it will amaze your recipient.

I posted this as a Christmas craft on my old blog, Uncommon Artistic Endeavors and you can find the post here.

The most important tool for making this craft is a safety can opener. Amazon has a similar one to mine here. You can probably find one at Target or Walmart, too.

I usually use fruit cans because I know they work well, and any size is fine. Campbells Soup cans don’t work, by the way.

Here is a list of supplies you’ll need:

Cut around the bottom of the can, using the safety can opener.

This opener cuts around the outside, leaving a clean edge that you will glue back on later. Empty the contents and use for something else. Wash the can and the top with hot soapy water and dry thoroughly. Remove the label. You can use the can label as a template for your custom label.

I used Canva to design the labels for my grandsons. I like to add nicknames and I also added their screen names.

If you’ve never used Canva, I highly recommend it. It is a graphic design platform you can use to make invitations, business cards, flyers, etc. I have the free version and it has everything I’ve needed for all my design projects. If you want to check it out, go to canva.com.

Glue the new labels on the cans with white or clear glue. It helps to lightly paint the glue on the can with a paintbrush. It can get a little tricky, so take your time, I tried hot glue and it was a disaster.

Flip the cans over and fill with candy. I had to fold down all the candy wrappers to make sure the bottoms would fit back onto the cans. I did regret not getting larger cans for them because I had so much candy. Use tacky glue to attach the bottoms onto the cans. I placed 3 heavy books on the cans for 30 minutes to hold it together as the glue dried. You definitely don’t want the bottoms to fall off.

Another option is to cover the top of the can. I didn’t cover the ones I did for my grandsons, but I did for my daughter and son in law. This is the lovely and professional looking template I made years ago.

I tried something new for these cans. I had a roll of self-adhesive cork and decided to cover them with that. It turned out to be very cool! And no glue needed. I didn’t remove the adhesive backing to cover the tops here, though, and it took a bit of finagling to cover them.

I found these tiny wooden valentines at Hobby Lobby and knew they would be perfect for this project.

I love how they turned out! I used a hot glue gun to attach the hearts.

To finish it off, I like to put the cans in cello bags and tie them with ribbon, twine, or rope, whatever works.

I hope you will try this project. Just know that to takes a little bit of time and patience, but it’s really worth it.

Here is another Valentine DIY idea: Bright Idea for a Quirky Container