Upcycled Soda Can Cup

Whether you're out of clean glasses, or are just getting bored of drinking out of the same old plastic cup, it's super easy to upcycle that trash bag of empty cans sitting in your garage into these classy drinking vessels.

Step 1: What You'll Need

✘ An empty soda can (or in my case, a seltzer can)

✘ A can opener (a manual butterfly opener will work best)

Yup, that's it.

Step 2: Remove Can Top

Remove the top of the can by running the can opener around the inside lip, just like you would to open a normal can, making as clean of an edge as possible.

Step 3: Inspect the Rim

The can opener can sometimes catch on imperfections in the aluminum, causing tears or jagged edges. If this happens, it's usually just worth tossing the can and using a new one. If you have a strong personal connection with that particular can and want to go above and beyond to salvage it, a pair of needle nose pliers can be used to smooth out the rough spots.

Step 4: Remove the Top From the Can

If the top fell in, then......um......take it out.

Step 5: Rinse the Can

Rinse the inside of the can with clean water. If your can had soda in it, you may want to use a drop of dish soap, too.

Step 6: Enjoy!

And you're done! Fill 'er up with your favorite drink, sit back, and enjoy.

. . .

*Don't pour hot beverages in your cup. Aluminum gets hot real fast and it WILL BURN you.

*If you're paranoid about getting metal slivers in your lip from the can's rim, just use a drinking straw - problem solved.

. . .

(If you liked this Instructable, go ahead and show some love by leaving a comment below or voting for me in the Trash to Treasure contest over on the "Contests" page. Thanks!)

Comments

[Disasterific]

Now just insulate it.

[rurik_au]

Just Google Stubbie Holder

[m_shannon]

That would be pretty cool. I haven't been able to figure out a way to do it yet. Any ideas?

[Disasterific]

Some kind of paint, tape, glue. Of course they would have to be food safe. Or maybe you could fit some more cans over it.

[m_shannon]

The problem with aluminum is that it conducts heat really well. You need something pretty strong to reflect that heat back into the can. Paint wouldn't do much to stop the heat from passing through the walls of the can, plus it would cover the design on the can. You would have to use a lot of tape to amount to anything, and it would probably be pretty bulky and ugly. Some kind of glue or varnish might help slow down the transfer of heat, but not enough to keep from burning your hands on the outside. So, not to say none of those would work, but I don't think any of them would be real effective.

I was thinking about this some more, and here's what I came up with:
There might be a way to suspend a smaller container on the inside of the can and fill the space between it and the can with some sort of insulation. That way, the physical appearance of the can would remain unchanged, but it would keep the heat inside the container.

Let me know if you end up trying anything out - I'd love to know if you find something that works :)

[merideth]

hahah ... omg i love this.

[m_shannon]

Thanks! :)