Aluminium Can covered Steampunk Mannequin

Not too long ago, I decorated a mannequin in a steampunk theme using metallic wax pastes.  When I posted the project, many people were convinced that it was metal.  This gave me the idea to try and cover a mannequin using aluminium cans to get a genuine metallic look.

Steampunk home decor

My first thought was to cut up aluminium cans and just glue them to the base of the mannequin.  But being a sucker for punishment and wanting to create something unique, so that idea was not good enough.  My idea was to try to emboss the cans with some sort of design.  I had seen on Pinterest where people were using foil tape and embossing a design into the surface using a pen. But I can’t draw to save my life so that was out too.

Steampunk home decor

When I was cleaning my craft room drawers recently I found an embossing folder I bought years ago.  I bought it with the intention of using it to emboss cards made with my Cricut. At the time I did not realise that I needed an embossing machine to use the folder. So it went back in the drawer until now. My idea was to emboss the cans using the folder to give the surface a nice textured look.  I must warn you that this is not a quick project, it took many hours of work over a 3 week period.

Aluminium Can Steampunk Mannequin

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Cutting the cans

You will need at least 30 plus Aluminium cans to make this project. To cut the cans you will need a Stanley knife and a pair of scissors and gloves to prevent injury.  Using the knife you cut into the top of the can at the start of the flat section. You only use the knife to make a hole to get the scissors inside and then cut off the top section. You can now rinse out the can.

Steampunk home decor

Next, using the straight line of the text as a guide cut down the middle.  This will save time later because these edges will already be straight.

Steampunk home decor

You can now cut off the bottom using scissors.

Steampunk home decor

I wanted all the aluminium cans to be symmetrical in shape where possible. I used a cutting mat and ruler and cut all the sides of the cans straight.

Steampunk home decor

Embossing the aluminium cans

I will explain first how I embossed the cans without an embossing machine. If you have an embossing machine you can just use that. I have since bought one for future projects.   I put the aluminium can in the embossing folder and tried to line up the design in the centre of the can.

Steampunk home decor

My first attempt was to try and push down really hard using a rolling pin.  This sort of worked but I was not strong enough to get the full impression and I was pooped after the first few.

Steampunk home decor

I then used a very primitive method, I put it on the floor and stood on it. This definitely worked but the pattern was not always consistent due to a difference in pressure. You can see in some areas where I pushed too hard and it cut through the can. So this method does work if you really wanted to do a similar project without an embossing machine. The folders are only a few dollars to buy.

Steampunk home decor

I also made a mistake with the embossing.  I could only see the silver side clearly, the other side was hard to see due to all the colour printing on the can. Due to this issue, I chose the wrong side and my embossing was reversed. You can see from the image below the difference between hand (above) and machine embossing (below). As you can see it is worth buying an embossing machine, and they are not very expensive. I used the excess embossed cans to create this wall hanging. 

Steampunk home decor

Folding the Aluminium cans

When I first started adding the aluminium cans to the mannequin, the edges of the cans kept stabbing my hands. I thought this could be a hazard after a while, so I decided to fold over the edges of the cans.

Steampunk home decor

I used a ruler and a butter knife to fold all the sides over. The butter knife bent enough to make it easy to fold the sides over the ruler, and then I used the knife to flatten the fold.

Steampunk home decor

I wanted the fold I had just added to look like it was a sewn hem. I used a tracing wheel and ran it around all 4 sides of each piece.  This will give the appearance that the cans have been stitched.

Steampunk home decor

Adding the aluminium cans to the mannequin

This step was the most time-consuming step of this project. You will need a drill and a pop rivet gun and rivets for this step.  I found this step really difficult because I was not strong enough to keep using the rivet gun after a while. My poor hands were so sore from holding the drill and using the rivet gun after the first day. I could not justify buying a battery-operated rivet gun, but I have ordered one of these drill attachments for my next project.   There were approximately 400 rivets added to the mannequin.

Steampunk home decor

Start by placing the aluminium can at the bottom and work your way up. Drill a hole in the first corner and add a pop rivet and repeat this for all the corners.  And then repeat this step for the next few hundred times.

I started by covering as much of the mannequin with large pieces, then used the smaller pieces to fill in any gaps. I did add some random pieces just for the layered effect. The cans will need to be pushed around the curves of her groin and breasts.  You will get folds and creases but once painted these will add to the effect.

Steampunk home decor

Once I got to her boobs, the curves make it harder to attach without all the creases. So I had to add smaller patches, so I had plenty of overlapping on her breasts.

Steampunk home decor

Once the body was completely covered I added a red metal flower and she was done. She sat in my craft room for a while and I hated it more every time I looked at it.

Steampunk home decor

Painting the Mannequin

I do mixed media art projects and know if you add black gesso and coloured wax pastes to textures they will pop. So I went ahead and painted the cans with black gesso.

Steampunk home decor

Once the paint was dry I dipped my finger into some silver wax paste and rubbed it over all the raised surfaces. After 12 hours I sprayed the mannequin with 2 coats of clear spray polyurethane. This will protect the surface and prevent the silver wax from going dull over time.  I have found recently that using black acrylic paint has a better finish with no need to seal the surface.

Steampunk home decor

She was more appealing now, but she was still missing something.  So she sat again for a while until inspiration hit.

Steampunk home decor

Adding some leather accessories

I have a bag of scrap leather and faux leather and decided to try and make her some leather accessories. If you are looking for free or cheap scrap leather, your local upholster is the best place to go. I have one that keeps all the offcuts he was leftover after covering furniture.  They just throw it away, so it is a good place to ask.

Steampunk home decor

The leather scraps I get are never the same colour, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I was going to paint them anyway. All the accessories I made up as I went along.  I cut some shapes similar to the shape of the mannequin’s shoulder.  The first one I cut was too small so I used it as a template to cut a bigger one. When I saw the two on top of each other I liked the look, so kept them both.

Steampunk home decor

Adding the studs and eyelets

Next, I punched so holes around the edges and added some spiked studs.

Steampunk home decor

And added some eyelets for leather laces for the second layer.

Steampunk home decor

The leather around her neck and body was made from faux leather stripes, folded in half and glued. I kept adding more strips until I was happy with the look. They were glued together using hot glue. I added some holes and screwed the studs into the leather.

Steampunk home decor

Painting the leather

I messed up here again by adding the metal studs before I had painted the leather. So they had to be removed before I could paint the leather with black gesso. To add some character to the collar you can add some 6mm half pearls. The belt was one of my husband’s broken ones that I recycled.

Steampunk home decor

I must have become too involved and missed taking the next photo of all the leather painted black. To add some colour to the black leather I used some ruby coloured wax.  You can apply the wax in the same way as I did for the aluminium cans.  The ruby colour is metallic wax so the colour is stunning.

Steampunk home decor

The silver studs were screwed back onto the leather. I used the silver wax that I used on the mannequin and went over the laces.  This made them stand out more. Finally, I glued some steampunk charms and added the repainted metal flowers from earlier. To get all the charms to match the base of the mannequin, they were painted black and highlighted using silver wax. All the charms were painted black and highlighted with silver wax. The apothecary pouch that I made in the photo below, was just that little bit too much so I did not add it in the end.

Steampunk home decor

You can glue all the leather accessories onto the mannequin using a hot glue gun and black hot glue. The black hot glue will blend in with the colours more than the clear.  I used some cheap junk chain I found in a charity shop to add some character to the front.  The image below is how the mannequin looks from the back.

Steampunk home decor

Steampunk home decor

Steampunk home decor

 

Introducing Mistress Metallica

Steampunk home decor

If you missed my first steampunk mannequin here is the tutorial

Steampunk Mannequin

Staying with the steampunk theme, this steampunk hat was made using a plastic bucket and cardboard.

Steampunk home decor

Pinterest pin

Tutorial to show you how to cover a steampunk mannequin with recycled aluminium cans.Upcycle and emboss old cans to create texture in an art project.

If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you. Please feel free to share or leave a comment we would love to hear your thoughts.

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13 Comments

  • Reply
    Julie
    August 17, 2022 at 10:44 am

    Fabulous project. Great job. You have explained the project very clearly. Thank you. I’m not sure I understand what an embossing folder is, but I will see if I can gather more information elsewhere. I used your links to pick up a couple of items on Amazon.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      August 17, 2022 at 11:06 am

      Thank you so much for the awesome comment. The embossing folder is a plastic folder that looks like a card. You put paper or cardboard or in this case the aluminium can inside and put the folder through a press or stand on it as I did. It will transfer the design from the folder onto the surface you put inside the folder.

      I hope this info helps.

  • Reply
    Ruth Weimer
    August 17, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    ANITA…HOW DO YOU CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON PERFECTION?…BUT YOU CONTINUE TO DO SO!!! LOVE YOUR STUFF~~~~~RUTH@97.11!!!!…

  • Reply
    Anita O
    August 17, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    Hi Anita!
    It is unusual to find someone with that name! I just had to say hi, and I love your creation!

  • Reply
    Marie B.
    August 18, 2022 at 12:38 am

    My gosh you do such amazing steampunk mannequins, Anita! Your creative eye for detail is impressive and you have the patience of Job. Cutting, embossing, folding all those cans – wow. Mistress Metallica is freak’n amazing!

  • Reply
    Michelle Leslie
    August 22, 2022 at 10:12 pm

    Every time I see one of your Steampunk creations, I think this is the best one yet and then you share another one that literally makes my jaw drop. I love her name too. So apt.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      August 23, 2022 at 8:17 am

      Thanks Michelle, I love making these types of projects I always have so many ideas swimming around in my head.

  • Reply
    AndrejaM
    August 25, 2022 at 10:11 pm

    I was left speechless!!!! Fantastic creation and very inspiring tutorial. Thanks for sharing

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      September 1, 2022 at 4:18 pm

      Thank you so much for your awesome comment.

  • Reply
    Kaz
    December 24, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    Gorgeous project.
    I’ve made one too and a heap of tin/ thick foil tiles for my kitchen back splash and wall. The rolling pin was hard work so I grabbed a old pasta rolling machine i had stashed, I removed the base so I could roll them longer and then cut them to length, I did this by passing the folder and foil thru to the end, then putting the folder on the other end of the length and passed it thru the pasta machine, hope that makes sense

    Sadly it does limit u to the width of the folder u can put thru it, it meant I had to make smaller tiles but the length wasn’t a problem. My arm ached like hell but very worth it, they were very ’embossed’
    haha. I have also stood on them and tried a vice with two bits of wood, that worked well but another set of hands would have been good 🤣
    Cheers and thanku, stunning mannequin make over
    Kaz from Oz

  • Reply
    Kaz
    December 24, 2022 at 4:11 pm

    Ps Kaz from Oz here Anita I’ve also steam punked my fridge..🥰🥰😍😁

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