Creating something fun and useful from recycled materials has always been a favorite craft of mine. I was inspired to create these ornaments when my friend was complaining about her growing stash of cardboard boxes. I offered to take some very large ones off her hands and immediately started thinking about ways to use them. That's when I decided to create these recycled tin ornaments.
Materials for Recycled Tin Ornaments
- Recycled Cardboard
- Recycled Tins (I used Altoids Tins)
- Misc Wood Shapes
- Adtech Adhesives Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- DecoArt Americana Acrylics- Tuscan Red, Baby Pink, Pumpkin Orange, Lamp Black, Snow White
- Rubber stamped sentiments and pigment ink
- Assorted embellishments
- Ribbon scraps
- Cardstock scrap
Instructions for Recycled Tin Ornaments
I started by removing the lid of the mint tin.
I cut the cardboard box into smaller pieces- each measuring about 12" square. Then I peeled one layer of the smooth cardboard off to expose the corrugated center. I used the tin as a template to trace a shape on the back of the corrugated cardboard.
Then I cut the shape out with scissors and glued it to the inside bottom of the tin.
Then I cut some 1" strips from the cardboard and glued them to the insides and outsides of the tins.
If you have a chance to try and make these, the real fun begins when it's time to add the elements to the inside. I opted for a heart theme on one. I painted the heart red, then added a pieced of stamped cardstock with glue. I added gemstone rows and a couple more bits of sparkle.
For the other tin, I decided on a snowman theme. I assembled the snowman from three wood beads hot glued together and painted them white.
Extra tips for making Recycled Tin Ornaments:
1. The hot glue gun and glue sticks makes creating these ornaments fun and super easy.
2. Dig through your stash to see what trinkets you can use to create your own fun little themes. Some other suggested themes include winter birds and Christmas trees.
3. Use the hot glue gun to adhere the ribbon hanger directly to the top of the ornaments. Since the cardboard is extremely pourous and sturdy, there is no need to drill or punch holes in the tin.
Life Life Creatively,
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