DIY Altoid Tin Art

Tiny Treasures…DIY Altoid Tin Art – these are a few of my favorite things! Hello, Graphics Fairy Friends… it’s Heather from Thicketworks. Today I’m sharing a fun project created with some of the gorgeous Bird Themed Images that Karen has made available to us!

I hope that you’ll pick up a useful technique or two along the way.

Let’s make this pretty  DIY Altoid Tin Art!

To begin, please help yourself to the Free Printable that has been created especially to fit Altoid-Type Tins.

Note: Toner based prints were used for this demonstration

Free Printable  DIY Altoid Tin Art

Click HERE to Download the Free Printable PDF for the Altoid Tin

Graphics Fairy Source Images:

• Citril Finch
• Fabulous Bird Cage
• French Ephemera Music Post Card
• French Sheet Music Printable
• Birdie Darling
• Vintage Birds
• Steampunk Binoculars
• Extraordinary White Dove

 DIY Altoid Tin Art Supplies:

• Blank Altoid Tin – 3-3/4″ x 2-1/4″ (x 7/8″ deep)
• A Black Sharpie Pen
• Aqua or Turquoise Acrylic Craft Paint
• Black Acrylic Craft Paint
• Dresden Trim: Scallop and Fleur Gold
• We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile 
• Paint brushes
• Scissors
• We-R-Memory-Keepers Corner Chomper
• Aleene’s Original “Tacky” Glue
• Glossy Accents Adhesive
• 2 Sheets Black Cardstock
• 1 Sheet White Cardstock (for Printables)
• Rustoleum 2X Primer: Black
• Distress Ink: Salty Ocean
• Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool
• Ruler
• Paper Trimmer or Craft Knife and Cutting Mat
• Pencil with an Eraser
• Glitter: Blue and Silver
• Paper Distressing Tool
• Bone Folder
• An old credit card, or similar (for smoothing)
• A Glue Stick
• Craft Wire, Ribbon and Beads (for necklace)
• Adhesive Gems
• Martha Stewart Scoring Board
• Assorted Bird Stamps
• Delicata Ink Pad: Silvery Shimmer
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Corked Vials
• Bird Seed

How to make an Altered Art Gift Tin:

If you would like to be able to dangle the completed tin, use a Sharpie to mark hole placements.

Make certain that the holes will extend beyond the edge of the lid when the tin is closed:

Use a Crop-A-Dile Hole Punch to easily cut clean holes in the metal.

Spray the exterior of the tin, (with the lid closed) with a good quality primer – make sure to have adequate ventilation when you spray!

Allow to dry.

Print out the graphics that you will be using.

Note: Ink jet prints can smear when Distress Ink is added – you know your printer best!

If in doubt, use a good quality sealer, or toner based copies.

Cut out the designs.

It’s simple to round the corners using the 1/2″ setting on a Corner Chomper, if you prefer.

Dry-fit the cut pieces, and adjust them if necessary.

Test fit each element:

Distress the edges of the Mini Book Cover.

Locate the fold lines, indicated by the broken lines:

Use a bone folder to crease firmly along the fold lines:

Use Distress Ink: Salty Ocean and a Blending Tool to add pigment to the collage elements:

Do this to each of the following pieces:

• Exterior Front
• Exterior Back
• Interior Front
• Interior Back

 

Tint the Mini Book Cover with Salty Ocean, both inside and out:

Adhere the Focal Elements to a Sheet of Black Cardstock with Aleene’s Tacky Glue.

Smooth them firmly in place.

Once dry, fussy cut around the edges, leaving a margin of about 1/8″:

To cover the interior ‘wall’ of the tin, cut a strip of black cardstock 3/4″ wide by 11″ long:

This should fit perfectly beneath the tiny rolled edge of the tin, completely concealing the shiny metal along the interior ‘wall’.

Dry fit, then remove the strip in order to embellish it!

Grab a pencil with an eraser, and stamp fun dots of paint along the strip of cardstock:

Once dry, add dots of adhesive and sprinkle with glitter:

This creates a nicely finished surface:

Use black paint to edge the seams of the interior Front and Back of the tin:

Use your finger to apply a tiny highlight of blue to the edge of the lid:

This looks lovely against the black:

When the paint is fully dry, add a thin but even layer of Aleene’s Tacky Glue to the Interior Front and Interior Back of the tin.

Press the cutouts in place, and smooth them firmly.

Repeat this procedure for the Exterior Front and Exterior Back, as well:

If you are adding a necklace, do so before you glue the strip of paper along the Interior Side Wall, so that the wire will be concealed beneath the paper:

This is how it appears when all the cutouts have been adhered:

Glue the Focal Element in place, atop the Exterior Front:

And on the Exterior Back:

I like to tint Dresden Trim to harmonize with the project. Two coats of Craft Paint and this trim is ready to adhere to the outside edge of the tin:

Once glued in place, the trim adds dimension, form and color:

Add Glittery Dots and Adhesive Gems to the cover, if you desire:

Add a pool of Glossy Accents to the Blue Bird Focal Element to create a lovely depth and sheen:

How to Create the Mini Book:

Cut strips of black cardstock 2″ wide by 11″ long.

4 Strips were used in the example.

Crease each strip in increments of  1 3/4″, along the entire length:

You’ll end up with squiggly pieces like the one pictured below.

Don’t snip off the little ‘tail’ – you’ll use that to glue the strips together into one long accordion.

Once you’ve created the accordion, add stamped bird imagery to one side in a pleasing pattern.

Apply adhesive to the back of the strip, and fold the strip into ‘pages’.

Note: you may have to trim off an end ‘panel’ or two from the completed set in order to glue into the cover correctly.

These will fit nicely within the ‘Birdwatching’ Book Cover:

Adhere to both the front and the back cover, leaving the ‘spine’ free.

The result will be a charming Mini Book, perfect for tucking into the Altered Art Tin!

I adore tiny books. So cute!

Add a tiny vial filled with birdseed, (because you never know!) and you have the perfect little keepsake for a bird loving friend!

The cover has a lovely blend of color and shimmer.

This will bring a smile to the face of the lucky recipient!

And the little treasures inside? Bonus!

Even the back gets a bit of bling:

Ready to share a snack with some lucky Birdie…

Detail – Front:

Detail – Back:

Interior Front:

Interior Back:

Add a layer of high quality Spray Sealer to protect the delicate pigments…

Thank you so much for visiting The Graphics Fairy today! It’s been a pleasure to share this fun DIY Altoid Tin Art project with you. I hope you are inspired to create your very own version!

You may also like another Altoid Tin Tutorial HERE. 

For quirky, crafty goodness, visit me at Thicketworks – I’d love to see you there!

Until next time,

Heather

If you’ve always wanted to try the art of Mixed Media, be sure and check out this amazing course by Heather Tracy! Click HERE to learn more about it.