Cut, Fold, and Roll: Duck Tape Rosettes for Recycled Cans

Blue-and-white floral Duck Tape gave these plain cans a tropical look. I used the same tape to make little rosettes, then grouped the cans with yellow flowers, a pink flamingo, and a flower lei for a summer table.

Fold a strip of tape

Cut a strip of Duck Tape about 12 inches long. Fold it lengthwise with the sticky sides together, as shown, to make a narrow strip with the pattern on the outside.

Cut a series of slits across the folded edge, leaving the opposite edge intact. Don’t cut too close to that edge: it’s easy to snip through the strip and have to start again.

Roll the fringe into a flower

Start at one end and roll the strip into a rosette. A small sliver of tape holds the end closed. This is the same folding-and-cutting approach I used for my felt flowers.

Wrap the cans and arrange the table

I wrapped the cans in the patterned tape and added the matching rosettes. The blue background and white flowers carried the same pattern across the different-sized cans.

Yellow flowers, the flamingo, and the lei finished the tropical arrangement. The cans gave me a way to repeat the color without buying matching containers.

For another finish on recycled cans, my painted can caddy uses red paint, twine, and molded embellishments.