Fiddlette
07-07-2006, 02:37 PM
As seen in the July issue of The Scrap Artist Muse Newsletter, here are the directions:
Altered Anniversary Tin By Christine Honsinger a.k.a. Fiddlette
I have wanted to do something with my (literally) hundreds of Altoids tins I’ve consumed mints from for years. I hated throwing them away, especially as a bead artist; I felt they were perfect storage solutions for small misc. items such as jewelry findings and chains. But I hated how they looked stacked up in my craft studio in their original form.
So, after much investigation into the art of altering these little would-be gems, I came up with this plan for success!! My first project would be a wedding anniversary tin containing a small accordion scrapbook for my best on-line friend Robyn England, a.k.a. happyrobyn. After doing this, however, I can promise you I will be an obsessed tin altering fanatic for a while…it was soooooo much fun!!!
The first step is to burn off the paint on the tin. Yes, you heard me right, with a small propane torch, just burn off the paint on the outside of the tin. I did this on my concrete patio bent over, and let me tell you, it was a blast! Watching the paint catch fire and shrivel away, leaving nothing but some ash and whatnot to wash and sand away afterward was really therapeutic!! But a word of caution: do not attempt to touch the metal canister with your hands until you have used your water hose to thoroughly cool off the temperature of the tin!! Keep the hose or a bucket of water close by as you work. Metal gets scorching hot, and you could injure yourself terribly if you forgot and touched it without it cooling first! Also, keep the torch moving to and fro over the surface of the tin. Do not let the box get red hot, or it will warp. After, I washed the tin with soap and water, and sanded it on a spinning wire brush/grinder…although, you could do it with just a little elbow grease by hand, as well.
The result already was simply beautiful! It looked interesting and aged. I almost didn’t want to touch it further!! But I had to make it into a thing of beauty since it was to be a gift, so I pressed on with lots of ideas swirling in my head.
Decoupage is a favorite all time craft of mine and the oldest of all I still do from my childhood. Although I wouldn’t necessarily classify what I did to the lid and inside of the tin into the decoupage category, per se, (because I did not use multiple coats of Mod Podge and/or varnish to seal it) it is close to that age old craft without all the fuss. I used the gorgeous Wicked Garden Paper Pack by Iron Orchid Designs to cover the top, and inside lid, gluing the papers to the tin and to each other with Matte Mod Podge. Then, once I was finished, I sealed the papers with acrylic sealer spray…just a light coat. A note about using printable digital papers: they turn out beautifully!! They are gorgeous in real life!! But, if you are using an ink jet printer as opposed to a toner based printer (color laser printer or copier) then you should probably coat the paper with a thin coat of acrylic sealer before you begin cutting, gluing, or handling the paper at all…ink jet inks will run if they get wet, and you wouldn’t want to get them all glued in place and then sneeze on it!!
Now for the step that is the most fun of all!! Embellishing! I used lots of homemade embellishments, but you don’t have to, if you are not very crafty by nature…just pick up some odds and ends at the LSS, or local craft store to go along with your theme, and you will have equally as much fun assembling your tin. I used scrabble tiles, a key charm, homemade polymer clay heart and elements, a pewter metal embossed heart (Anna Griffin stencil) rubbed with 2 colors of Staz On inks, jewelry finding wings, making memories pewter letters, and hemp. As you can see, sky’s the limit when it comes to all you can do to make your tin as pretty as can be!!
The dimensions of my accordion album are 3 ¼ inches wide, and 2 inches to the fold lines….it is perfect if you use just one sheet of 12x12 cardstock to cut from as your base for the digital printables decorative backgrounds you choose. Use a bone folder to mark your 2 inch fold lines, folding in opposite directions as you go, creating an accordion of paper, hence, its namesake. I also used a medium corner rounder to round the edges of the book to give it a finished designer look, matching the corners of the tin.
I had a lot of fun with this project, and am hoping it will be a gift my friend enjoys receiving, very much. She will be able to fill the pages of her little mini album with whatever she wants to save as memories from this years anniversary, quotes, small photos, journaling, love notes…whatever!! I hope you will be willing to give this project a try as well…you won’t be disappointed in how easy and fun it is! Now, what should I alter next??
Scrap Artist products used: Wicked Garden Papers by Iron Orchid Designs
Tools and embellishments :
Pewter sheet by ArtEmboss (medium thickness), Anna Griffin stencil, embossing tools, Staz On Inks, Cardstock, Mod Podge (Matte), E6000, (for gluing polymer clay items), glue dots (both dimensional and mini), pewter alpha minis by Making Memories, hemp, key charm and jump ring, scrabble tiles by EK Success, Medium corner rounder by EK Success, paper cutter, bone folder, mold for polymer clay elements by Amaco, propane torch, sand paper.
Altered Anniversary Tin By Christine Honsinger a.k.a. Fiddlette
I have wanted to do something with my (literally) hundreds of Altoids tins I’ve consumed mints from for years. I hated throwing them away, especially as a bead artist; I felt they were perfect storage solutions for small misc. items such as jewelry findings and chains. But I hated how they looked stacked up in my craft studio in their original form.
So, after much investigation into the art of altering these little would-be gems, I came up with this plan for success!! My first project would be a wedding anniversary tin containing a small accordion scrapbook for my best on-line friend Robyn England, a.k.a. happyrobyn. After doing this, however, I can promise you I will be an obsessed tin altering fanatic for a while…it was soooooo much fun!!!
The first step is to burn off the paint on the tin. Yes, you heard me right, with a small propane torch, just burn off the paint on the outside of the tin. I did this on my concrete patio bent over, and let me tell you, it was a blast! Watching the paint catch fire and shrivel away, leaving nothing but some ash and whatnot to wash and sand away afterward was really therapeutic!! But a word of caution: do not attempt to touch the metal canister with your hands until you have used your water hose to thoroughly cool off the temperature of the tin!! Keep the hose or a bucket of water close by as you work. Metal gets scorching hot, and you could injure yourself terribly if you forgot and touched it without it cooling first! Also, keep the torch moving to and fro over the surface of the tin. Do not let the box get red hot, or it will warp. After, I washed the tin with soap and water, and sanded it on a spinning wire brush/grinder…although, you could do it with just a little elbow grease by hand, as well.
The result already was simply beautiful! It looked interesting and aged. I almost didn’t want to touch it further!! But I had to make it into a thing of beauty since it was to be a gift, so I pressed on with lots of ideas swirling in my head.
Decoupage is a favorite all time craft of mine and the oldest of all I still do from my childhood. Although I wouldn’t necessarily classify what I did to the lid and inside of the tin into the decoupage category, per se, (because I did not use multiple coats of Mod Podge and/or varnish to seal it) it is close to that age old craft without all the fuss. I used the gorgeous Wicked Garden Paper Pack by Iron Orchid Designs to cover the top, and inside lid, gluing the papers to the tin and to each other with Matte Mod Podge. Then, once I was finished, I sealed the papers with acrylic sealer spray…just a light coat. A note about using printable digital papers: they turn out beautifully!! They are gorgeous in real life!! But, if you are using an ink jet printer as opposed to a toner based printer (color laser printer or copier) then you should probably coat the paper with a thin coat of acrylic sealer before you begin cutting, gluing, or handling the paper at all…ink jet inks will run if they get wet, and you wouldn’t want to get them all glued in place and then sneeze on it!!
Now for the step that is the most fun of all!! Embellishing! I used lots of homemade embellishments, but you don’t have to, if you are not very crafty by nature…just pick up some odds and ends at the LSS, or local craft store to go along with your theme, and you will have equally as much fun assembling your tin. I used scrabble tiles, a key charm, homemade polymer clay heart and elements, a pewter metal embossed heart (Anna Griffin stencil) rubbed with 2 colors of Staz On inks, jewelry finding wings, making memories pewter letters, and hemp. As you can see, sky’s the limit when it comes to all you can do to make your tin as pretty as can be!!
The dimensions of my accordion album are 3 ¼ inches wide, and 2 inches to the fold lines….it is perfect if you use just one sheet of 12x12 cardstock to cut from as your base for the digital printables decorative backgrounds you choose. Use a bone folder to mark your 2 inch fold lines, folding in opposite directions as you go, creating an accordion of paper, hence, its namesake. I also used a medium corner rounder to round the edges of the book to give it a finished designer look, matching the corners of the tin.
I had a lot of fun with this project, and am hoping it will be a gift my friend enjoys receiving, very much. She will be able to fill the pages of her little mini album with whatever she wants to save as memories from this years anniversary, quotes, small photos, journaling, love notes…whatever!! I hope you will be willing to give this project a try as well…you won’t be disappointed in how easy and fun it is! Now, what should I alter next??
Scrap Artist products used: Wicked Garden Papers by Iron Orchid Designs
Tools and embellishments :
Pewter sheet by ArtEmboss (medium thickness), Anna Griffin stencil, embossing tools, Staz On Inks, Cardstock, Mod Podge (Matte), E6000, (for gluing polymer clay items), glue dots (both dimensional and mini), pewter alpha minis by Making Memories, hemp, key charm and jump ring, scrabble tiles by EK Success, Medium corner rounder by EK Success, paper cutter, bone folder, mold for polymer clay elements by Amaco, propane torch, sand paper.