These giant tins of Christmas popcorn must go back decades, I can remember munching from them when I was just a tot! The best part is that after all these years, they’ve remained unchanged, and there aren’t many things we can say that about! After about two weeks, Brett and I polished off our giant tin of popcorn and were left with this super cute snow man tin =) I hate throwing out the tins because they are just so practical, although they can’t really be used outside of the Christmas season…So this year, I decided to repurpose my popcorn tin into a chalk finished trash can!
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 2 popcorn tin trashcan](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trashcan.jpg)
DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can
GATHER UP:
- one empty popcorn tin (enjoy the contents thoroughly ;))
- two colors of Deco Art Chalky finish paint (I choose Relic & Refreshing)
- Deco Art Ultra Matte Varnish
- paint brush
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 3 popcorn tin trash can diy7](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy7.jpg)
METHOD:
Enter, the giant Christmas popcorn tin…
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 4 popcorn tin trash can diy2](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy2.jpg)
I used the natural line on the popcorn tin to tape off the separation between my two colors. I decided to paint the top of the trash can in Relic and the base in Refreshing.
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 5 popcorn tin trash can diy6](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy6.jpg)
First, I painted above the tape in Deco Art’s Relic…
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 6 popcorn tin trash can diy5](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy5.jpg)
Then I painted the base in Refreshing…
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 7 popcorn tin trash can diy4](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy4.jpg)
I removed the tape, that’s when it occurred to me that I had made a little mistake in taping off the trash can too soon! I had an open space where the tape was, which I filled in with the Relic. However, I should have painted the top first, let it dry, then tape over the paint and painted the bottom. Oh well, happens all the time in crafting!
I achieved the same result by filling in the open area with a little more paint. Once the trash can was painted, I let it dry for about an hour then gave it a light coat of the Deco Art’s Matte Varnish… check out the finished product!
Of course, since this is chalky finish paint, you can write on it with chalk!
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 8 popcorn tin trash can diy](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy.jpg)
My DIY trash can will fit perfectly in our home office next to our chalk painted filing cabinet!
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 9 popcorn tin trash can diy3](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can-diy3.jpg)
The DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can is part of our 10 Minute Transformation Series!
![DIY Popcorn Tin Trash Can [DIY Project] 10 popcorn tin trash can](https://www.picklee.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/popcorn-tin-trash-can.jpg)

Thanks for posting how you did this. I’m helping my mom out and she has a mouse issue. As we work to control them I will be using old popcorn tins with lids to seal up trash bits until I take them out at night. Want them to look good and not christmasy. 🙂