Transform An Empty Tea Tin Into A Charming DIY Vase

A beautiful, delicate vase full of fresh flowers is an easy way to add elegance and charm to any room. Unfortunately, sometimes they're a little too delicate. If you have pets, are prone to bumping into things, or live somewhere with regular earthquakes, then a dainty glass or ceramic vase may seem like an accident waiting to happen. Luckily, there's a charming, rustic alternative that's a lot sturdier than glass. You can turn a tea tin into a vase simply by adding some water and your favorite flowers.

Tea tins are often painted with lovely designs, including simple florals, bright geometric patterns, and full scenes. Modern tea tins work beautifully, but don't forget about vintage ones. Vintage or vintage-style tins often have the name or slogan of the tea company on them, which can add a sense of history. There are also tea tins that are one solid color if you prefer something simple or if you'd rather decorate one yourself. Depending on the size and shape of the tin, the flowers may sit a little oddly. These flower arranging hacks can help you keep the flowers exactly where you want them.  As long as the tin is in one solid piece, it should hold water just fine, so feel free to try it out if you spot one while thrifting. Shorter tea tins may be harder to work with, but you can trim the stems to fit. Additionally, not all tea tins are water-tight, so you may need to add a liner.

If you're buying a tea tin specifically to use as a vase, make sure the colors and patterning match your existing décor fairly well. Tea tins are small enough that it likely won't stand out too much if it isn't the perfect fit, but if your room has a notable theme or color scheme you'll likely want to stick to it. You can also repaint your tins or decorate them with decoupage or ribbons. When repurposing a used tea tin, give the inside a quick rinse and wipe down. A small amount of dust or a few leftover tea leaves won't harm your cut flowers, but they may look less attractive with grit floating in the water.

You may want to do a bit more cleaning if you're using a vintage tea tin, as they may be extra dusty or tarnished with age. When cleaning tarnished tin at home, you'll want to avoid using abrasive cleaners. Rough scrubbing brushes or abrasive cleaning solutions could damage any decorative, painted elements on the tin. Vintage tea tins may also contain lead. In addition to being harmful to humans, lead leaching into the water can cause cut flowers to break down faster. You may need to add a liner, replace your flowers more frequently, or opt for imitation flowers instead. Don't feel down if you need to switch to imitation flowers, you can still craft beautiful displays with them.