Boxes - I have an idea or two

First I like to say thank you so much for all the great ideas! There is no doubt that you can do great things with boxes. A lot of you suggested altered art in some form so when summer comes, and school is out I'll give it a try!

The winners
1st: Vicki Robison and I'll take her up on her suggestion and make a small medicine cabinet/box, she will also receive 1 box of embodier floss,1 box of blue pearls, 2 box of precut Norwegian vintage paper from 1925 and 1943!

2 consolation prizes LaY hOoN and Brenda. They will get 3 boxes each, 2 boxes whit the same vintage paper as the first prise and the last box I'll fill with scrap, mostly Christmas theme or you can have the same small medicine cabinet/box as Vicki, your choise. (I'll send you a mail for details.)

Stacy and Kristine asked where I got these boxes, well I have a wonderful spouse that rescued them form going in the recycle bin at his work. So now I get to recycle them! They are original for having hard candy in.

Rena Sawatski mentioned ATC sadly the boxes are to small.

Have you read the comments? There are just plenty of good ideas!

I have edit some of the text to sum up the ideas, if you publish it in some form please give credit where credit is do……

ArtSnark said...
Sand the tin. Then soak in vinegar (or vinegar & bleach) with a piece of rusty metal. When the tin box rusts you dry & spray with sealer & then decorate as you wish.

Kathy said...
Make assemblage's (mixed media) from these types of tins. My secret (not any more) is to throw them in the fire and let the paint burn off, then I leave them outside to rust to perfection. I have also spray painted them to use as well.

whyte said...
Spray paint the outsides, collage the top of the lid and melt some nice candlewax from a pooped out scented candle or wax melt, pour into the tin, add a new wick, ta-dah, new candle tin.

Brenda said...
Sand them lightly, coat with gesso and then other coats of acrylic and I have melted UTEE onto them, of course images as well, you could use one as a canvas for a mini piece of art - oh the possibilities, drool. How about using one for a mini photo album that concertinas out?

Rose said...
I'd collage them and then make little sewing kits from them or put a little trinket in them and use as a gift or table favor.

Rena Sawatski said...
Collage, paint, distress, do assemblage. You could make them into an art doll. Decorate the inside, add a little book or possibly use them for ATC's.

Oh, How about making a shrine with them?

thismuseofmine said...
As several of the ladies said you can alter them and make assemblages, I have done that. I noticed that no one mentioned Alcohol inks. They work well for metal, so you might try that. Here is a link that I love to go to for a little inspiration:
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/alttins.html

This is something I have done with my girl scouts before. They LOVED it. They are middle school age, so they have all kinds of things like gum and lip gloss, etc that they can put in them. Again here is a link: http://www.craftbits.com/viewProject.do?projectID=2032

My very favourite thing that I have done with little tins was when my little niece was born a premie, and she was quarantined, so no one could come and visit. EVERYONE wanted to see pictures- it is so hard to carry them around in your purse without them getting ruined, so I made a little accordian book that went inside the tin. When the lid opened you just pulled on the end of the card, and you could see 6 pictures of her, and then you turn it the other direction and you can see 5 more. Then you just fold it back up and it goes right back in. Of course I decorated it, inside and out, but I made sure the decorations were things that would stay on really tight, so that when it was rattling around in my purse it would still be really pretty.

These make GREAT baby gifts- or gifts for the grandma's- all they have to do is attach the pictures and they have a great brag tin. You actually could make these for any holiday, or for any age kids. If you wanted to just have one to show off your kids. You could even do one with those photo corners, so you could change the pictures out when your kids get new ones every school year like ours do.

Katla said...
The downside of boxes is that they get messy themselves, hard to keep track of the right boxes. So if you had a tiny shelf where they fit it would be great. Or if you add fronts to them , and make them into tiny drawers, a lot of work but I think it will be very nice. -and organized.

Can also be used to make our wedding-invitations!

LaY hOoN said...
I think I'll turn the metal box into altered art piece, will put in my daughters picture in it.

Poetic Dreams said...
I think I would make them into a sweet love note for someone special. Take paper and fold it accordian style. Glue the last sheet in the tin and add a lil ribbon to the front sheet to use as a pully. That is after ya've written ya special message on it.

These would be nice to leave hidden as a treasure to find. I used to leave notes in my children's lunch boxes or hubbys pant pockets for them to find.

angeltreats said...

Similar tin boxes that have been covered with polymer clay (Fimo, Sculpey etc). Like here: http://www.desiredcreations.com/howTo_PJCoverAltoid.htm

A Christmas idea.

Ya know those advent calenders? Why not make one with the tins? All ya have to do is take 25 of them, Put a special picture on the inside (use up those Christmas cards ya received) then add a lil Knob on the front of it to open the tin. Then when Christmas comes ya can add a Lil Treat inside each box before ya put it out. Ya can either add a nice lil trinket toy or a small candy. I think that would be an awesome thing to make with the tins.

They're all the same size and it'll look so cute! All ya have to do is decide if ya want to hang it or have it as a free form stand. If ya make it to hang I would glue the tins to some kind of board. Like a small Cork Board.Or ya can even recycle an old Cookie sheet and add the maganetic sheet to the back of each tin and then it'll hang on the cookie sheet.

If ya make it free form then ya can get one of those large Plexic glass free standing Picture frames and glue them on it. Ya can then slide a piece of Christmas wrap inside the frame. OH! and ya could even use this same idea for a countdown for the other hoilidays. Valentines,Easter, Etc.. Then all ya do is change the background by just sliding the piece out of the frame! How cool is that? lol


Camille said...
Take the tins and use, sand paper or a file, and scuff them up really well, leaving the edges around the opening bits nice and smooth. You don't want to mess up the open/close part of the box, or the hinges.

Take a min and look at the box and see how you would like it to hang on the wall. Being careful, take a nail and hammer, prop the portion of the tin to be punched on a piece of wood and make a tiny hole for ribbon later. You can use your hammer to make the sharp bits of the opening lay flat with one good wack.

Now get some clay. I use sculpty, but try any you have on hand, even Air dry should work just fine.

Go around the bottom and sides of the tin, leaving the hinges and closing lip of the box plain (no clay). When you have covered the bottom, texture and decorate however your heart desires.

Now to do the top of the box. Get some Tin Foil, Clay, a pce of clear plastic (I save them off everything, even shrink wrap would work), and that nail and hammer again (or if you have a drill tool it will make life easy).

Draw with a permanent marker an outline of a frame. Make sure to leave enough around the edges to give some interest, and accept the clay. After you have cut out the center portion of the lid, use the file or hammer to knock down the sharp bits.

Go around the top of the lid just as you did the bottom of the box, but now get funky. Make a Frame around the top of your box!. Use the Tin Foil to prop up the clay and make it larger than the box. Now bake or let air dry.

When it is dry or cools off trim with a fingernail file any parts you think need to go. Dust it off.Get ready to make it your own.

Paint it, stain it, make it the way you want it to look. I usually think about what is going inside and go with that theme.

When its dry. Open it up and insert your ribbon hanger. Once that is in, cut felt or fabric or scrapbook paper for the sides and background and insert little things you want inside. Make sure to use glue to keep it all standing!.

Lay the lid open and take the shrink wrap or plastic cut it to just a little wider than the window you made, glue the edges and pull it tight.

Now you have a pretty tiny little shadow box, ready to hang on your wall for all to see!.

Ruth D said...
Here's an idea - that I just bought a dozen tin boxes to do - I think I first planned this when I heard about Oprah's Christmas box - with a template to print little cards. I want to personalize one for each member of my family(7 here in CA) and then print out blank cards and give 7 blanks to each person to write a note to a family member and slip it into their box - The boxes will be in a central location in the house and cards can be secret if so chosen. Hopefully these little gifts can go into the Easter
baskets. Wondering if I should title the cards with...something like " The nicest thing about you is...

I love the tins to store stuff in too so I have some left over.

Kaine said...
Decorate the outside in the various ways already outline in other comments and turn them into paint palettes by glueing whole pans and half pans in the inside. It makes a great little travel palette for a fraction of the cost of buying a travel palette from the art supply companies.

Lindart said...
Sand them well, then make a little shrine from them, for a person who has passed, or an idol of some sort.

OR take a hint from your GM and decorate them, and put journaling prompts inside, or technique prompts, then put them all in a bowl and choose one every time you need an idea!

candy said...
Line it with felt and make an mp3 player holder.

jaybean said...

Sand them but I do think I will have to try the fire bit now! Mine are made for captured fairies and saved fairy babies that need tiny places to sleep and be safe until they get there full wings. Like a cocoon only a found tin.

Collage some, paper butterflies are great for decorating them and now there are so many nice brads and grommets that you can insert through the cover!

Link for altered tins: http://www.artchixstudio.com/create/classroom/class_alteredtins.htm

Little Joys said...
Alter them with papers and collage, then create fold-out books that attach and fit inside. I usually choose a theme for the whole piece and carry it throughout. I also love to use tins as personal shrines - great gifts!


Kristin Long said...
Decorating them (like collaging them) and then giving them to a loved one as pill boxes or have little notes inside for that person.

Vicki Robison said...
They could be hundreds of things. But maybe look around and see what you need or what could make life exsier? Storage, shrine, small med kit, drawing kit, painting kit, medicine cabinet.

Stacy Alexander said...
I would utilize some of the earlier suggestions and distress/paint them and use them as bodies for dolls. Add a head or face on top, limbs and you've got a great little art doll!

jasmoon-butterfly said...
Create a lost aged looking tin made by the fae with lots of little notes made by them of recipes / garden fae flora even some notes on humans!....either mini scrolls or mini booklets aged with tea and burnt edges!

pinkflamingo61 said...
Bar Mitzvah idea. For a present I am making him a Mezuzah. It's a small prayer box that hangs at the door of the rooms in the house. Inside the box is a prayer. The outside is decorated in many different ways. I sanded an Altoids box, the thin one not the square-ish one. I covered it in vintage text. On the top of the box, which really is the side as I am using the box on end so it opens like a book, I put a vintage small plastic toy shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders. On the front of the box I put a really tiny, one inch high Frozen Charlotte doll, bisque from the 1800's Germany. I dipped her feet in super tiny beads and glue before attaching. I used a large fox head charm over the doll. Then I layered gold, verde and touches of black paint to make it look like old metal with the text showing through in places.I used polymer clay as putty around all of the additions so they were seamless, actually coming out of the box like a sculpture rather than an assemblage. When it was finished I put 5 or 6 coats of high gloss varnish on the entire box. When I gave it to my friend she got the prayer and put it in the box for her son to hang outside of his bedroom door. If I were to do it again I wouldn't make a prayer box, I'm not Jewish, but I would love to do it again as a shrine.

Kristine said...
Semi translated from Kristine who think people prefer to read short blogposts and not thesis... (I must say I think it is so nice to get comments is the joyful languish of NyNorsk (New-Norwegian)!)
Here goes:
A box to keep the coughing pills or is it anti-coughing pills in, having a cold.

Memory-boxes, you put all kinds of small things in the box, mostly like things like papers and pictures and then you forget about it! When you open it in years to come you will find a wonderful surprise, ain’t that neat?

Buttons, buttons and more buttons… addicted to buttons so it would be great putting some buttons in the tin.