Autumn Dragonfly Altered Tin with Accordion Folded Tag

Hello everyone, and Happy November!  I am so glad you stopped by today.  I hope everyone had a creepy fun kinda Halloween, and while I could make Halloween projects forever, all good things must come to an end, so on to Fall projects.

I have really been looking forward to getting my new stamp set, Fall Collection, from the ever-so-talented Ms. Pam Bray, and now I cannot wait to use it.  This is just one set of several that she has designed, and I want them all.

I recently missed out on participating in an Altoid tin swap due to other commitments, so that has been on my mind lately.  I used this Velamints tin to begin my altered transformation of a Fall tin to hold an accordion folded tag.  The poor tin was beat up a bit, but I managed to cover up some of the flaws.

Supplies used:

Sin City Stamps:  Pam Bray's Fall Collection, 

Velamints tin

Studio sticky-back canvas (Ranger)

Black India Ink (Stewart Superior)

Chestnut Roan Chalk ink pad (Colorbox)

Distress Markers: (Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick)

Distress Inks:  (Dried Marigold, Crushed Olive, Black Soot, Vintage Photo, Ripe Persimmon)

Distress Stains: (Wild Honey, Scattered Straw)

Dylusions ink sprays (Cherry Pie, Squeezed Orange)

Adobe and Olive Glimmer Glaze (Tattered Angels)

#8 Shipping tag (6-1/4" x 3-1/8")(office supply)

Botanique 6"x6" paper pad (Donna Salazar)

Directions:

Start by removing the lid.  This makes it easier to decorate the tin.  Trace and cut out lid from canvas.  

Stamp brush image in black onto canvas; let dry.  

Spritz canvas with cherry and orange ink sprays; let dry.

Cover shipping tag with a piece of the Botanique paper.  Align the paper at the top of the tag. There will be about 1/4" uncovered at the bottom, but this will be trimmed off.

Stamp sunflower onto tag with brown chalk ink; color with markers.  As you can see, this paper is rather grey blue, but this can be altered to match my needs.

Ink edges of tag with marigold, olive, vintage photo, persimmon, and black distress inks.  Stamp AUTUMN onto tag with brown chalk ink.  Quite a transformation, wouldn't you say?

Edge back side of shipping tag with brown chalk ink.

Trim second half of print paper down to fit onto back of tag.  Ink edges as for the front.  Stamp three leaves onto tag with brown chalk ink.  Color with markers.  

Adhere print paper to center of tag.

Score tag at 2" and 4" and accordion fold.  Trim off excess at bottom to make a 6" long tag. Because this particular tin is smaller than an Altoid tin, I had to trim a sliver off each long side of the tag to make it fit into the tin.  You probably will not need to do this with an Altoid tin, however.

Stamp "Harvest your gifts and give them freely" onto another scrap of print paper with brown chalk ink.  Cut out each part of the phrase and adhere to tag, as shown.  (NOTE:  It is important to score the tag first before adhering the words so that you don't adhere some of the words over a fold.)

reverse side of tag with words adhered

Front of tag with German Scrap border adhered along bottom

I like to color my ribbon to match, so I used off white seam binding and added marigold and brick distress stains to it, crumpled it up and let it dry like that.  

Be sure to re-punch the holes in the tag top so that you can add your ribbon.

Adhere Botanique print papers to inside lid and bottom, as shown.  Sponge distress inks over paper to give it more of that Autumn color.

Stamp sunflower top only onto smooth vanilla card stock.  Color and cut out flower; adhere to inside lid with pop dot and small floral berry twig.

Strips of German paper scrap borders were adhered along bottom sides and lid sides.

German scrap border around bottom and lid

Below is what the inside tin looks like with the folded tag inserted.  I added a Tim Holtz philosophy charm "Genuine" with a small safety pin to the ribbon.

To make the dragonfly on the lid, first stamp onto reverse (silver) side of a piece of blue metal foil with black ink.

Emboss outside lines of image, and parts of the wings and body.

Turn foil over to blue side. You can now see where to cut out the image.

Turn foil back over to the reverse side and finish embossing with the embossing tool.

Gently sand off some of the blue foil along the high (embossed) spots.

Apply green metallic cream over the high spots that you just sanded.

The foil was too blue for my liking, so I pulled out my Glimmer Glazes in Adobe and Olive and gave the entire dragonfly a coat of each color, allowing to dry between coats.  Here it is again for a quick look.  You can see where the glazes landed in the nooks and crannies for a deeper color while still providing that shine I was going after.  

I hope you enjoyed my Fall project today and that you will be inspired to create a tiny tin for yourself or to give as a gift.  Remember, gift cards fit very nicely into these tins.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you can visit the Sin City Stamps blog to see what the rest of the team has for you this month, and don't forget to check out all the new stamps and awesome products that Sin City Stamps has for you in their online store.  

Have a wonderful weekend, and a great Fall!

Barbara

Altered Christmas Gift Card Tin

Hello everyone.  Welcome back to my blog, and my new design team project for The Robin's Nest.  Today, I have a fairly easy project for you, in light of the busy holiday season and the "need for speed".     We all know someone whom we just do not have the slightest idea what to give them, so what better way to present a gift card than to give them a beautifully hand-decorated tin made by you, especially for them.

Supplies used:

Family-Glitter Getaway cardstock double sided
Getaway Glitter Leaves on linen cardstock
Coffee Glitter Swirl on Creme cardstock
Brown Glitter Cardstock
Red Glitter on Red Cardstock
Cherry Chocolate Dew Drops
Fall Ribbon

ON THE COVER:

I first removed the lid from the bottom, then cut pieces of Coffee Glitter Swirl on Creme cardstock to size (2-1/4" x 3-3/8") to cover the top and bottom of the tin,  rounded the corners, and colored with red and brown distress inks.  I cut a 1/2" wide long strip of  Coffee Glitter Swirl on Creme cardstock, colored with brown distress ink, and adhered around the bottom of the tin.

I punched small trees from scraps of Family-Glitter Getaway cardstock double sided and painted with a gold glimmer glaze.  I punched the holly leaves from scraps of green card stock and also painted with a gold glimmer glaze, then dry embossed veins into the leaves to help sculpt them.  The tiny reindeer was punched with Brown Glitter Cardstock.  I used Cherry Chocolate Dew Drops for the holly berries.

INSIDE THE TIN:

I covered the inside using the Red Glitter on Red Cardstock.  NOTE:  You can spread a thin line of matching color acrylic paint around the circumference of the tin top and bottom before adhering your cardstock.  This will disguise any paper layer not cut to exact measurements.  See photo below.

Thin line of red acrylic paint around inside edge

To make the stand-up for the gift card, simply cut a piece of Getaway Glitter Leaves on linen cardstock to 3-3/8" x 5-1/2", then score at 5/8", 2-3/8", and 5".  You may need to round the corners to allow it to fit properly inside the tin.  See photo below.

Gift card insert

Place a piece of double sided adhesive at the 5" score line area and attach.  You will have an angled piece to showcase your gift card.  See photo below.

Reverse side of gift card insert showing where to place adhesive

Finished gift card insert

I punched small branches from Brown Glitter Cardstock and mini ornaments from Getaway Glitter Leaves on linen cardstock, added some red distress ink and glimmer glaze to each, and used the bottom of my foam brush to sculpt them.  See photo below.

I glued the branches to the inside of the lid, then attached the ornaments with foam dots for dimension, draping the Fall Ribbon through the ornaments.  I also used a gold pen to color the topper on each ornament.

Inside tin with gift card insert

Inside tin with gift card presentation

I hope you like my project for a pretty way to present your gift cards this Christmas, or change up the papers and embellishments to use for any time of year.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and please be sure to visit The Robin's Nest online store to see all of their new and wonderful products.  I would also encourage you to stop by the Chattering Robins blog  for more creative inspiration from the rest of the design team.  They always have something wonderful to share.

Happy holly days!

Barbara