Survival Kit in a Can

Way back before Owen could speak we called my mom “Grams”… a suitable grandmother name of her choosing.  But somewhere in the land between babbling and fully talking Owen started calling her “Biggs” and it pretty much stuck.  My mom is, what I call, “the petite flower” but what she lacks in largess she more than makes up for in personality.  Somehow Biggs is SO right.  

Unfortunately Biggs lives about a 2.5 hour drive (that’s without the pit stops and diaper changes…) from us and we all wish we lived closer.  So what do you get for the grandmother who has everything *except* the hugs and kisses she really wants?!

You make her a long distance survival kit in a can.  Duh.

Biggs-Can-Front

Biggs-Can-Top

Yeah, it’s pretty stinkin’ cute, right?  As predicted my mom did not want to open it.  But you HAVE to open it… you have to see your survival gear!

To make this all you have to do is eat some fruit.  Ok, a wee bit more but it pretty much is that simple. 

- Open a can of fruit or veggies *on the bottom*, leaving the pop top intact on the top.  If you have a can opener that opens cans from the side that is best because it leaves a very even edge.  But I just had the old fashioned kind and that works too!  Just make sure you leave a small edge of the can intact so you can bend it up and it doesn’t come off entirely.
- Clean and dry your can.
- Fill your can with the contents, making sure to leave a small amount of space.
- Crumple a small piece of tissue paper on top of the contents of the can.
- Bend the can bottom back down.  Use a hot glue gun to seal the bottom of the can.
- Decorate the outside of the can.

Biggs-Can-Bottom
So you want to see the insides?

Biggs-Can-Insides

I used the awesome Park Bench collection from Fancy Pants Designs on everything for this project.  The little envelope was the perfect size for a gas card (to come visit us), I had to include some “kisses”, and Owen also drew Biggs a picture (not shown) that I rolled and lay against the inside of the can.

Of course every long distance grandparent needs a brag book to carry around and show off the gorgeous kiddos…

Biggs-Can-Brag-Book

This brag book is accordion folded 2.5” squares with 2” photos.  It ties with a button and twine closure and it’s the perfect size to put in any purse.  Biggs was pretty excited. 

And there you have it! Thanks for visiting today!

12 comments:

Kathy Skou said...

Jess this is awesome such a fun idea!

Anonymous said...

Awesome gift Jess - I'll bet Biggs loved it!

ScrappyRae10 said...

ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love the colors you chose and the pics are too stinking cute!

pennykitz said...

How wonderful!! You are an awesome artist!! Thank you for sharing such great ideas!!

Wendy said...

What a great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!

PezKat said...

Awesome!

Izzy Anderson said...

You are WAY super creative. Love everything about this, Jess.

Victoria Freze said...

gorgeous project, Jess!

Tracee said...

Love this project, it's just so darned cute!!! Tx

~amy~ said...

absolutely genius and thank you thank you for the awesome inspiration. My girl will be leaving for college this fall and I'll be eating a ton of canned fruit to so that I can send her little survival cans of goodness:)

Christy said...

This is a seriously AWESOME project idea!

Unknown said...

This is really a cute idea! I have been in this mode of trying to find the best survival kit. I am glad I came across this blog it's such a fun and cute idea!