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paint can inspired trick-or-treatin'

Well in anticipation of the holiday this week, I thought I'd add a seasonal project I worked on for school back in the spring of 2012. 

The official project was to "reinvent time" . . . and I tend to describe it as creating “abstract time.” We were asked to select an event with a clear start and end time and then illustrate what happens during that event without using actual measurements of time. Instead, we had to use objects as measurements of time ( . . . abstract, right?? I think our whole class had a hard time getting our heads around this one at first!) Oh, and this all had to be illustrated on an actual object that would naturally connect to the event.

SO, between the costumes, colors, and candy, I love Halloween. And after pitching a few ideas in the idea iteration stage, my professor steered me in this direction, and it was such a fun project to execute! I decided to show time passing by creating a little ghost trick-or-treater with an ever-growing candy bag, multiple houses visited, and all her little footsteps tracking through the neighborhood. 

My finished product? A one-of-a-kind trick-or-treat bucket:


putting it together

I bought a new paint can from Lowe's and regular black (matte finish) spray paint to color the inside, outside, and handle, before attaching the label. 

I printed it at a local Kinko's FedEx and trimmed it there too. To adhere it to the can, I think (it's been a while, so I'm not certain), but I think I used a standard spray adhesive.  

After searching for a round punch so it would fit over the handle, but not finding the size I needed, I landed on a Martha Stewart star punch . . . which really is so much more fun than a plain ol' circle, don't you think? :) 


feeling crafty?

Because I've had some friends express interest in having one of these for their kids, I thought I'd attach it here for anyone to use. So if you're feeling crafty and would like to put one of these together for next year, feel free to download now (below), or pin it to a favorite board to re-visit later.

If you do make one, I'd love to hear how it goes, as well as any tips you might have to help anyone else making one. And I'd imagine if you actually use it, you may want to cover it with some sort of acrylic so the ink won't run if it gets wet. 

Happy Halloween! 

halloween paint can cover (PDF, 21.58" x 7.96")