I’ve had an old milk can laying around for years.  I’ve ripped it out of my hubby’s clutches on more than one occasion where he wanted to toss it, always saying that I’d do something nice with it one day.  A little black paint here, a vinyl decal there, and voila, I transformed the dingy thing into an instant classic to welcome guests to the porch. The custom quote hanging above it makes it even more welcoming, especially once you see our wine cellar, behind the hidden bookcase… but that is a blog post for another time.

Easy steps:

1.       Obtain a vinyl decal… I may know where to find one or two ;) Here's the one I started with, in the 10 x 5" size.   

2.       Obtain a milk can—this may be the toughest part of the challenge!

3.       Paint the milk can any color you’d like, but you’ll likely want some paint that handles rust; wait at least 24 hours after painting to let the paint cure.

4.       Place vinyl decal on the milk can (instructions are on the website).

5.       Optional step: seal by brushing or rolling on water based polyurethane. I didn’t bother because mine is on a covered porch, but you may want to seal it if it is going to see a lot of unforgiving weather.

You don’t have to stick with “welcome” either. Consider adding a house number, a family name design, a monogram, or a few birds to the can. I’m still trying to decide what to do with the other side, perhaps a ‘happy holidays’ or something… stay tuned for the B side transformation coming to a blog near you!