Making a tuffet out of juice cans.

When my son was little, a friend of the family made a little stool for him. It was really cute. Then when my daughter came along I thought I’d make one for her as well. I dismantled my son’s footstool and found out how to make one on my own. Never fear, I put the first one back together. :D

First you’ll need 7 juice cans. They are harder to find now because most juice comes in plastic bottles. I found these at Walmart.



You’ll need to use an old fashioned bottle/can opener. You want to keep the top as “in tact” as you can. This will make a sturdier seat. Rinse them out and make sure they are completely dry.



Next you’ll need some fabric. You can pick some up in the remnant section of a material store or use an old blanket or some of your kids school t-shirts. Be creative. I went out and got a yard and a half of material and trim for $9 in the clearance section of JoAnn’s fabric store. It's a little more than I needed but it's nice to have just in case you make a mistake. Try to get something that isn’t too thin. The material I choose is flannel. If you’re going to use a thinner material like t-shirts you may want to wrap the cans in muslin or other base material first.



Next you’ll need to wrap 6 of the cans in the material. The seam will go on the inside of your stool so it won't show. The 7th one ends up in the center where no one will see it. You’ll want to open the 7th can like a can of beans but on both sides. Why? I think it’s because the center can moves and bends slightly as you bring the other can’s together around it. Other than that, the original was made that way so I’m making the new one that way as well.

Wrap 6 of the cans in the material you choose like you’re wrapping a round gift. It’s important to make sure that the can is wrapped so that there aren’t any wrinkles and if there is pattern that you have them straight. Otherwise the tops and bottoms will not show so you don’t have to worry about making them pretty. You can use school glue if you want for this part.
You’ll need a hot glue gun to glue the wrapped 6 cans to the center 7th can. You'll also need to run some glue along the side where the cans touch each other. This will make a sturdy flower shaped footstool.



I took an old cardboard box for the next step and traced around the flower shape stool twice. One for the bottom and one for the top. Wrap the one on the bottom in material. It’s just to protect the floor from any damage that can be done by scraping the seat along tile or wood. We all know that kids don’t stay still for very long. Now the bottom piece can be glued to the bottom of the cans.




The top one will be combined with a piece of foam and wrapped in material. I got some foam from the material section at Walmart. It’s easy to cut with a knife or scissor and will need to be cut to match that flower shape as well. Glue the foam to the cardboard before you wrap the material around it. I glued the edges of the material to the cardboard but did not put any glue over the top. You need the material nice and smooth and putting glue over the top will not make it smooth.



After the material is firmly in place on the top piece take your glue gun and glue the top to the top of the cans. Almost done. Just add some fringe around the top between the foam pad and the can base.


Now you've got the perfect little seat. The kids loved using theirs and I hope that your family enjoys this pretty little tuffet as well.

One last thing:
Don’t pretend, don’t preform and don’t play it safe. Just ask.
Rev. Bryan Dunagan