I enjoy making a Wedding Gift-in-a-Can as much as I enjoy giving it! It's amazing how much you can pack into one, and how pretty it looks, all dressed up for the Special Day! – which could be the wedding day or the day of the bridal shower. I've made them for both!
The color scheme is simple but elegant: “white + bling”! The white can be pure white or cream, and the bling can be pearls, gems, or anything that sparkles, shimmers, or shines – be it the paper, ribbon, cording, or glitter. So pretty and glowy!
I’ve made many
Gifts-in-a-Can, but in
this article I’ll show you
what's unique to making
one for a wedding
or a bride!
CAN CONTENTS:
You can include whatever you want in a Wedding Gift-in-a-Can; everything just needs to be able to fit into your can. Here's what I put in mine:
INDIVIDUAL ITEMS:
Lemongrass Bath Salts - for the couple to take a bath in. 🛀 Here’s my blog post on how to make them. (HINT: super easy!)
Votive Candle Holder + Tea Light + Matches - A smaller votive candle holder than what I used would have worked just as well and left a bit more room to cram in another little gift or two plus a whole pack of mints rather than just two, or a belly button brush. (Not kidding! These are SO cute and fun!)
Rose Soap - Believe it or not, this beautiful rose is made entirely of SOAP! It needs to be (carefully) scrunched up in a mini zip-top bag – 2 inches by 3 inches – to both take up the least amount of space in the can and to keep it from getting damaged by the other tightly-packed-in items in the can...
I made a small label to tuck inside the little bag with the rose because the recipient the recipient would have no way of knowing this beautiful rose is actually real, usable soap! Here it is opened up in my hand so you can see how pretty and real-looking it actually is!
The roses that I got (on Amazon) came in three colors, all in the same box.
I use them one at a time for gifts like this (and other gifts-in-cans), which is why the left column of three is missing from my box! (The gift box is really pretty! Too bad I don’t give the whole box of them as a gift. At least I enjoy using it every time I take out a rose to give away!)
Breath Mints - These mint packets are different from the ones in the picture above because I wanted to make a topper/label for you that was more generic – so you can use it with any type of mint you have. The topper and label are included in the free printable! (You’re welcome!) The middle one is the same 2" X 3" mini zip-top bag as above; the other two are 1.5 inches by 2 inch mini zip-top bags. (I just keep a few sizes on hand and use them all!)
Smarties - I used narrow silver cording to attach a little tag – also included in the free printable. I punched out the printed tag with a small oval punch – or you could use a circle punch or cut it in a square – and then punched a tiny hole to attach the tag to the candy with the cord. (Or you could use narrow ribbon or twine.)
Belly Button Brush - I decided later on to add this, so that's why it's not pictured with all the other can contents in the photo above. These are just plain cute and bring a smile every time! Click here for instructions on how to make this super-quick-n-easy little gift, plus all the toppers!
Cash or Check - This will probably be the main part of the gift, unless you’re giving something small and more expensive, like jewelry. You can fold up a check, as I did in the photo above, but when I give cash, I prefer to roll or fold it up and tie it with a ribbon, and/or put it in a little zip-lock bag:
Other options for just a bride gift-in-a-can:
pretty panties
necklace and/or earrings
pearlescent nail polish
favorite chocolate
(I'd love to hear your additional ideas in a comment!)
DECORATING THE CAN
Next up is how to dress up the outside of the can! What I'm listing here are actually the basics for any can I make, plus specifics about how I geared this one for a wedding.
I am also including links to my blog pages where I give more specific instructions and tips on how to do each of these steps.
COVERING THE OUTSIDE OF CAN - Apply a specialty [aka designer or scrapbook] paper around the outside of the can. The can’s label itself, if carefully removed, can be your pattern. [Click here for more detailed instructions and tips.] I’d go with something white and classily subtle, but you might also want to do it in the colors of the wedding! Or do the base in white and accent with the colors of the wedding.
CAN TOP - As I always do with the can tops, I punched a circle that’s almost as wide as the indented top of the can, and then a smaller scalloped circle.
Then I cut several pieces of ribbon – each one about 5 inches long – in various styles of white and silver, (or they could all be the same) and tied them with a single knot onto the pull-ring on top. Then I gave the ribbons a “haircut” to make them all about the same size.
I attached the tag with a silver cord that goes around and under the outside of the cluster of ribbons. But whatever works to get it on there is fine! [Click here for more detailed instructions.]
BELLY BAND - This is optional; I just happen to like including these on all of my cans! [Go about 2/3 of the way down this page for more detailed instructions. Look for "ADDING A BELLY BAND".]
Here are three cans without the belly band (or a tag) so that you can see that it could be left off and still be lovely: (The one on the right just has a ribbon tied in a bow; not an actual belly band.)
TAG - Just three gems and one little sparkly flower added plenty of bling to the tag. I have included two tag options for you in the Wedding Gift-in-a-Can Free Printable! The tags have only the words; you add the embellishments, although they can be used just plain. You could add washy tape, designer paper, glitter, gems, or pearls. I have a tag topper punch that I like to use, but you could also cut straight-angle sides and punch a hole in the top by which you can attach it to the can. [Click here for more detailed tips in the free printable.]
HOW-TO-OPEN-CAN NOTE - I glue a note to the back of the tag explaining how to open it! (Also included in the Free Printable!) I created this for the times that I would not be right there when they opened the can to explain how to do it. They’ll (probably) eventually figure it out, but I want this to be non-confusing and stress-free! Several times people have just kind of looked at the can, turning it around, with a confused “OK-what-do-I-do-with-it?” look on their face. This note is included on the very last page of the Free Printable.
(The event that spurred me into creating this tag: I was at baby shower once where the room was packed with chatting gals, hard to be heard over, so I had to get up and go over to the mom and show her how to open it. Since the pull-top ring is buried in ribbons, how to open it is not obvious, and even if they could see the ring on the top, they're surprised that it’s still intact and even can be pulled to open the can. So that was the moment I decided it would be much easier to just say “Read the note on the back of the tag!”)
FREE PRINTABLE
for
Wedding
Gift-in-a-Can
It contains all
the above items:
Label for the Smarties
Label & Topper
for Breath Mints:
Labels for the Rose Soap
Tag for the Can
How-to-open-it Note
(goes on the
back of the tag)
So there you have it!
I'd love to hear
what gifts you decide
to include in
yours!
