DIY Pringles Can SECRET SAFE | Fun Way to Hide Valuables

This was a fun storage idea I had a while back and it led me down an unexpected path...did you know a Pringles crisp is a 'Hyperbolic Paraboloid' shape? Well, I know that very well now and you'll see why shortly :)

I hope you like this DIY!

• Piece of Paper
• Aluminium Foil
• Tape
• Polymer Clay: I used yellow and white Fimo.
• Clay Roller
• Clay Cutter/Craft Knife
• Oven
• Ceramic Tile: or something else to bake the clay on.
• Soft Pastels (optional): to colour the crisp for realism.
• Sandpaper
• Scissors
• Pringle Can
• Jar or Other Container to just fit inside the Pringles can.
• Strong All-Purpose Glue
• Mirror Card
• Pen/Pencil
• Something to Texture the Clay: the best option is an old toothbrush destined for the bin. I also used some screwed-up foil, and some coarse sandpaper to vary the texture.
• Fine Paintbrush

So, what I thought was a simple curved piece of clay turned out to be a little bit more complicated.

Could I have just curved the clay around a simple tube? Sure. But instead I thought I would make a hyperbolic paraboloid out of paper and use that to form the clay mould, because I have a horrible habit of having to do things 'properly', even for a clay crisp.

So I followed these instructions (click 'detailed folding instructions' at the bottom of the article) to turn a piece of paper into a shape with funky curves.

If you do this too, you'll need to add tape to this shape to keep it in the form you want, and then you'll need to add a layer of aluminium foil on top and tape this in place too. The first strip will rip because of the shape, so you'll need to add another strip of foil on top of the rip.

Try and make the tape/foil layer as smooth as you can. Obviously without this layer the clay would follow the shape of the paper folds.

Take a chunk of white polymer clay and condition it. To do this, warm it in your hands and continuously roll it into different shapes to make it more supple. You'll know it has worked when the clay isn't cracking when you bend it.

Condition a small piece of yellow clay and then take a tiny amount from this piece and add it to the white. Best to use too little than too much.

Squish and roll and fold this mix of clays until it becomes a solid colour.

Then roll it out.

You want it to be thin but not so thin that it'll break easily when baked. Around 2-3 mm.

I ended up thinning the clay out the final time with my fingers so I could feel when the right thickness was achieved.

In order to know how large I needed this circle to be, I had drawn around the base of the Pringles can onto paper. You want the crisp to be a little smaller than the inside of the tube.

Place the clay sheet onto the centre of the paper mould. Use a blade/craft knife to cut the shape you want and remove the excess clay. I also pressed down at the edges to thin & smooth them out a little.

For texturing, you can use coarse sandpaper which roughs up the surface a bit, you can use scrunched-up foil which creates 'pitting', or you can use an old toothbrush (that you won't be using anymore!) which creates a fine stippling.

When applying the texture, just dab the sandpaper/foil/brush on the surface - don't drag it.

I think the toothbrush creates the best effect here.

I used my cutting blade to scrape off some yellow-orange soft pastel as well as a tiny bit of white and brown.

Use a brush to mix the powder and sparingly apply the pastel to the surface of the clay. I just worked inwards from the edges and avoided the centre to create some dimension.

Bake this clay in the oven following instructions on your packet of clay.

Please note that because this contains paper, make sure it goes nowhere near a heating element and that you don't exceed the recommended temperature. Also make sure anything you use for clay is not used for food purposes as well, and don't cook food at the same time as the clay. Air out your oven after use to get rid of the fumes.

Once the clay crisp is completely cool, use some fine sandpaper to smooth the edge. Make sure you are using a breathing mask & ventilation.

Take your storage jar/container and draw around the lid onto the back of some mirror card. Cut out the circle and glue it onto your jar lid.

Because only the edges of the clay contact the jar lid, it's a good idea to use the scrap clay to make a 'stand' for the crisp so it can connect to the lid much more strongly.

Shape the clay into a block, press the crisp down onto the block to shape it, then bake the block in the oven.

Once that block is cool, glue it to the lid and then glue the crisp to the block. Make sure the crisp is centred within the lid.

Leave the glue to dry.

To use, just put your valuables into the jar, screw on the lid, and then carefully slide the jar to the bottom of the can.

I thought the crisp came out quite well...you could think it's real from a distance! :p (please don't eat it)

I hope you enjoyed this DIY :)