Flying Birds Altoids Tin

Happy New Year! Let's get the year started off with an altered tin. Here's a little something I whipped up for Alpha Stamps; it's my first project for 2014.

I love the new Bird Cages collage sheet: so many lovely wire cages! And because they're all black and white, you can use them as is, or color them with Copic markers to match your background paper.  I chose a tall cage that had a sad little bird in it, and then used wires to have three colorful birds fly around the cage. I'm quite sure they're working on an escape plan for their incarcerated friend.

 

The trick to getting those birds to fly is to make a tight little curl on each end of a thin, but sturdy wire. This will give your glue something to grab on to. I like to use E6000 glue for a really good hold.  

Here's the inside of the tin. I used the same collage sheet as the colorful birds (Lady in Blue) for the image of the lady. She's layered on a doily and surrounded by little pearls. In this shot you can see the ribbon that goes around the lid of the tin as well as the way I attached the wire to the birds, which I painted black before cutting them out. This gives the paper a little more body and a more finished than a stark white background.

Here's a link to the Alpha Stamps blog post, where you'll find all the supplies I used for this project, including a blank tin. (No embossed lid!) For more tips on altering tins, I posted a full-length tutorial here.

Here's wishing you a happy (and crafty) 2014!