The ultimate uses of jolly-tins
How many times were you bitterly disappointed when you opened a jolly-tin expecting good old butter cookies only to find your mum's sewing kit bundled up in a giant knot?
Other than for safekeeping old-fashioned sewing threads, needles and buttons, up the ante with a few unorthodox ideas and get more out of the humble tins!
Preserving food
Sure, jolly-tins are our go-to boxes when a button loosens from its shirt, but another obvious use for them is to store snacks and preserved food – biscuits, dry fruits, vegetable seeds, nuts, coffee beans, and puffed rice. Another frontrunner in the stored food department is 'bakorkhani' the Old Dhaka originated flatbread renowned for its flakiness. Throw these and many others like them in jolly-tins, store them and have it whenever you want to!
Tin can holders/storages
At the risk of stating the obvious, jolly-tins and cans act as perfect holders for paintbrushes, pencils or stationery or to store accessories, hair bands or whatever you find lying around the house. The safe method to use as holders is to carefully take a pair of scissors and cut off the top lid of the can.
You can even paint it with your favourite colour, add sequins or laces and give it an artistic flare with the perfect silk ribbon tied in a bow. Additionally, you can repurpose old tins as storage boxes and use them as they are, or turn them into unique 'arts and crafts' projects too!
Drums
If jolly-tins are anything, they are versatile. For the musicians out there, a cylindrical tin and two balloons are all it takes to miraculously transform the humble jolly-tin into an instrument. Fill up the tin with a handful of lentils or rice for weight, however, this is optional. Next, stretch one of the two balloons around the can and fit over the top. Follow that up with putting a second balloon against a hard surface first to make small holes in shapes of stars or circles for decoration.
Place the second balloon over the first one around the tin and secure them in place with scotch-tape around the edges. You can even make drum sticks out of old pencils and beat along to your favourite song!
Vertical garden
For the inner nature lovers in all of us, a vertical garden is the perfect way to up-cycle old tins and to add a rustic touch to your décor. Line up some used tins (different sizes in varying colours and designs will amplify the rustic charm). Fill them halfway with soft soil, easily bought from nurseries, and plant seeds, herbs or fragrant flowers. Put them on tables as is or go the extra mile and hook the tins with a metal chain. Hang them up from balconies, kitchen or bedroom windows and walls and you have yourself a vertical garden!
Tin-can wind chime
Wind chimes are a favourite in any household and now you can make your very own by recycling a few old jolly-tins. Decide on a range of cans, varying in size, and paint them in different colours. Borrow a hammer and a nail and tap a small hole through the centre of the can bottom; through this, insert a 3- inch long thread and tie a knot on the inside of the can.
Repeat with all cans and hang them from an embroidery hoop, using simple knots. Mix things up by hanging each can from a different height but make sure they are close enough to collide with one another when the wind blows. To finish it up, tie two more pieces of thread to the hoop at an equal distance and tie another knot at the top.
Make sure the hoop hangs at a level and you will end up with the perfect DIY tin-can wind chime that is sure to amaze!
Jolly-tins are the definitions of multi-purpose. Go the DIY route and debate on whether to cut, paint, hang or simply, use them as they are. Embrace unorthodox ideas and an array of homemade jolly-tin products will wait!
By Ramisa Haque
Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed
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