"A Visit From Santa" Altered Tin

Tim Holtz has a line of tins that are not only deeper than Altoids tins, they're holiday themed! Of course I had to get my hands on the Christmas set. The outside of the tin was so perfect and retro looking that I toyed with the idea of just leaving it "as is", but at the end of the day, I couldn't help but add just a few silver snowflakes.

On the inside, I used images from the "Christmas Trees" collage sheet (from Alpha Stamps) to create a sweet little scene. I used foam tape to give the scene dimension, and added a couple of tiny wrapped packages (tutorial here). Silver tinsel frames the scene nicely.

The images on the left of the tin came from separate collage sheets, which are included in the supply list below. Ho ho ho, little girl- better get back to bed if you want Santa to leave something under that tree!

For a complete list of supplies, click here.

A Matchless Christmas

What looks like it holds matches, but is even better? Christmas matchbook and matchboxes that contain art! I have definitely caught the Christmas crafting bug, and here are two fairly quick projects I just completed.

The first is a Peaked Roof Matchbox. This little house shape is so cute! I toyed with the idea of covering the outside with scrapbook paper, but the color of the cardboard was just the same shade as gingerbread, so I decided to make a gingerbread house using dimensional paint to mimic frosting, and some polymer clay canes that look like candy. I used the paint to hold the "candy" on, just as one would decorate with frosting.

Imagine how sweet this roof would be if this were a real gingerbread house!

Just for fun, there are a couple of gingerbread cookies on the back side.

When you slide out the matchbox drawer instead of matches, there's a little Christmas scene inside. I love that teeny vintage plastic Santa! The bottle brush tree is decorated with seed beads.

 

For a list of supplies to make the gingerbread matchbox, click here. 

The second project is a little matchbook.

Back:

Like the gingerbread matchbox, this matchbook does not contain matches. Instead, it houses a little folding book.

Wouldn't these be great stocking stuffers?

For a list of supplies to make the Santa matchbook, click here. For the gingerbread house, click here.

Special Delivery Christmas Matchbox with Tiny Package Tutorial

Here's another Christmas shadowbox, this one made with a 2" by 3" Chunky Matchbox with Window from Alpha Stamps. It's got a little of everything: kids with stars, a bottle brush tree, a sweet pink puppy, silver snowflakes, and Santa! There are also some teeny wrapped packages.

I used papers from the Jingle 6x6 Paper Pad to wrap the tiny boxes (tutorial below) and the chunky matchbox itself. I used red striped paper on the ends because it reminds me of a candy cane.

The chunky box allows for lots of items to be displayed inside. Isn't the tiny silver tree charm so cute?

I love the tiny pre-wrapped packages you can purchase, but they were a little too large for this matchbox, and I did want to feature packages wrapped with paper from the same pad I used in making the box. Here's how it was done:
First, you need a box to wrap. I happened to have a bit of gray linoleum (for carving stamps), so that's what I used. Other things you might use would be a rubber eraser or some foam core. Cut to size with an x-acto knife.

Cut some paper squares large enough to wrap around the top and sides of the box. No need to cover the bottom as it will be glued to the matchbox. Center your package on the square and glue down with a little white glue.

Cut the corners out of the paper as shown below, carefully fold the flaps around the side, and glue. You'll probably need to hold the sides down for a bit to let the glue take hold.

Cut a long length of embroidery floss for the ribbon. I separated and used two strands for my package. Put a tiny drop of glue on the top of the package and lay the center of the floss down. This helps keep that ribbon in place as it's wrapped up around the box.

Wrap the floss around the bottom of the box and tie it in a knot on the top of the box. See how long that floss is? You're going to need it long to tie a bow in it.

Tie your bow! Once you get it tied, pull on each end one at a time until you get the loops to the size you want. Alternate pulling the ends and then pulling out the loops a bit to keep the knot tight. 

Once you're happy with your bow, put a tiny drop of glue on it so it won't come untied. Trim the ends of the floss, and there you have it: a teeny tiny wrapped package.

Ho ho ho! For a list of supplies used, click here.

Kitschy Christmas

Be still my heart: PINK bottle brush Christmas trees! When I saw these trees I just had to do something with them! Using the new "3" by 5" Chunky Matchbox with Window" from Alpha Stamps, I made a little kitschy Christmas scene. The pink tree looks great with my favorite color combo of turquoise and red, and of course I had to line the box opening with some pink pom poms. A little turquoise deer I had got a new set of eyes (spot of black paint) and a shiny red nose (tiny red crystal). I tied a little bit of baker's twine around his neck to make him dapper, and used a few layers of foam tape to attach him to the back of the box. 

The box top is flat when purchased. I find it easiest to cover by gluing paper to just the part of the box with the opening first, making sure you have enough paper to wrap around the sides and the back. Then, cut out the opening with an x-acto knife before constructing the box top and then wrapping the paper around it. I chose a red and white striped paper for the top and bottom of the slide out box because they reminded me of a candy cane.

This box is nice and deep, so for a better fit, I used scissors to flatten out the back of the tree a bit. Here's one more shot of the inside.

Just for fun, I put a jolly little Santa on the back. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

You can find most of the supplies I used here. And please come back next week, when I'll feature a smaller chunky Christmas matchbox.