Altered art Tins

I am a hoarder. Greg calls me "his little Weka " cos I love to save stuff...bits of pretty paper, trims, tiny treasures etc . It is hard to find something to do with them but I cant bear to thrown them away. Lately I have been playing with the idea of altered art tins.Inspired by the beautiful work I have seen from other artists online - altered tins have provided me with hours of quiet pleasure as I sit and sift though paper and lace and create. I got these beautiful little tins from the US - Altoid tins are just the right size for altered art -art shrines some folk call them. These tiny mint tins are hinged and perfect for creating little dioramas or a collage of stuff that inspires.

My supplies as I work

Some artists paint and then distress their tins , blowtorch off the paintwork or sandpaper it off. I wanted to keep it simple - so I simply added a layer of paper or card to cover the tin tops and bottom . I used a lovely trim that my friend Belinda from the US sent me. I have used old birthday cars and Christmas cards for some if the images. layering them to give a 3D effect. This was done with thick double sided tape. I also used little charms and stickers when necessary.

These are two of my first attempts...and one I am still working on...

Lid of the tin with vintage gift wrap paper in old roses , layered with card and stick on velvet sticker and charm. The lovely oval was a plastic gift  in a cereal box with local rugby players. I saved it - covered it with my sticker and added a lace trim

Revealing the inside of the tin...My favourite things...dolls and bears...included a tiny minature teddy beat

Old Christmas card I love , cut and layered with images from a old teddy bear calendar again  in layers

Inside lid of tin with layer images from stickker with vintage doll, father from my chicken Ethel

Cover of the tin with a NZ artist work on a mini gift tag as the covere

Inside of my little Fairy tin

inside lid of tin with lace and layers images.

Added a little brass dragon fly charm

Another close up of tin with fairy and flowers..all taken from old greeting cards.

Work in progress - my little tin with vintage images.

Still working on the altered tin - two vintage pictures. The one on the left is an original picture.I tend to form stories in my head as I work on these. 

Using an old 1949 newspaper to collect pictures and images to add to a mini album in the tin

I hope you have enjoyed my creations- they were great fun to make and a wonderful way to use up saved treasures....these are the first I have made and I am looking forward to making more. Leave a comment and let me know what you think....