Project by Rosie Noyes from Scottsdale, Ariz.
Rosie comes from a family of creative people, so crafting came naturally to her. She doesn’t throw anything away, including her mint tins--she recycles them into inspirational shrines using polymer clay, paint, mica powder, photos and other trinkets. They're perfect for gift-giving and placing on a shelf for display.
Materials:
empty mint/candy tin
polymer clay
pasta machine
unmounted background rubber stamps
acrylic roller/brayer
tire protectant spray
oven or toaster oven
mica powders
strong adhesive
metal paints
waxed paper
liquid crystal glaze
sponge brush
craft knife
decorative paper
photos printed to size
cardboard
screwdriver
tacky tape
micro beads
decorative fabric
ribbon
Steps:
1. Unhinge your tin using a screwdriver. Create a template of the top of your lid by tracing around the lid onto a piece of paper and cutting out. Set aside to use for later.
2. Wipe lid with alcohol to remove any oils. Sand lid to give it a tooth for clay to hold.
3. Prepare your polymer clay. To condition and soften the clay, run the clay through the pasta machine at the largest setting and continue to run through the machine at smaller settings until you reach your desired thickness. Keep it thick enough to impress a rubber stamp onto it.
4. Lay the clay on the table and spray lightly with tire protectant spray. Rub all over surface with your finger. This will ensure that your stamp does not stick to the clay.
5. Lay the clay on top of the plastic patterned template and, beginning on one end, push with some pressure along the entire surface of the clay with the acrylic brayer. Your clay may begin rolling up over the brayer, so just be careful.
6. After you have brayered the clay, use the template to trace and cut with a craft knife around the embossed clay, remembering that you will be placing the clay on the surface of the lid.
7. Brush a layer of liquid polymer clay onto the lid as glue. Place this piece of clay on top of the lid and gently push down. Make sure there are no air pockets and make this clay piece as flat as possible against the lid. To ensure that the clay does not pop off, use your finger to bevel the edges of the clay down and around the perimeter of the lid.
8. Using a paint brush, rub the surface with mica powders of your choice. This will make the stamped indentations pop!
9. Bake this piece according to the manufacturer's directions. You will bake the clay and the lid for approximately 20 minutes.
10. Once your piece has baked and cooled, put a layer of tacky tape around the un-clayed edge of the tin top. Roll the tin in micro beads.
11. Paint the outside bottom portion of your tin with metal paint and a sponge brush and let dry.
12. Adhere decorative fabric to the insides of the top and bottom of the tin.
13. Embellish your lid. Using a strong-bond adhesive, add buttons or metal embellishments. You can also add beads according to your theme. Consider adding beads or dice as feet to the bottom of the tin, depending which way it will be displayed.
14. Take photos (previously resized to fit tin) and adhere them to cardboard pieces which should also be cut to size. Make sure your pieces can stack and still fit inside of your box.
15. Lay out a piece of ribbon that is approximately 12 inches long. Lay all of the little cardboard photo pieces on top, allowing about 1/4 inch in between each picture.
16. Adhere these pieces to the ribbon. Turn this ribbon piece over and add decorative paper cut to size to cover the exposed ribbon.
17. Depending on which way you choose to pull your photos out of the box, glue either the first or the last cardboard piece into the bottom portion of your tin.
18. Trim the ribbon so that a small bit is hanging out of the tin as a makeshift handle. Close the lid snugly. After some use, the tin will conform around the ribbon.
Website: www.micasadearte.typepad.com
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