Tiny Tin Purse

I have had so much fun making this altered altoid tin! Very much out of my element but just what I needed to re-gain that creative spark. It's not perfect and I made some goofy mistakes along the way but it looks good. I had it almost finished last night when I realized the face would be upside down once I reattached the lid. Oops! Luckily I had another tin so I made a new back for it with the handle on the opposite side. I got this from a tutorial I found while searching altered altoid tins. You would be amazed at the inventive things people do with their tins when they are empty. The site I found with a tiny purse is called Craftster Community and someone named Faith submitted this tutorial. I fell in love with the idea.

In case you aren't familiar with altoids, they are little mints that come in a little tin case. Here is a photo of the case after I separated the lid from the base. I just thought it would be easier to work with them as two pieces.

The older tins were flat on the top. The newer tins have raised lettering. I used a hammer and tried to flatten mine out a little so the word would not show through my picture. I think you can see how it is flattened a little in this photo. (Remember you can click the photo to see a larger version)

I used an old deconstructed necklace or two to make the handle. I cut my wire too short the first time and had to make it a little longer in order to twist the two ends together inside.

I drilled two tiny holes in the tin for the wire on the handles to go into the tin. Blue spray paint seemed like it would go the best with the photo I found. Besides I already had a can of blue spray paint that could be used on metal. This photo shows the spray painted bottom of the tin with two holes for the handle. I had to reverse the side I drilled my holes later when I realized I had put the photo on the top going the wrong way.

I wish I had taken a picture of the photo on the can before I added the microbeads. Huge difference! I am super excited about these microbeads and can't wait to find some more uses for them. Really fun to use. Here is a photo with the microbeads applied. I found this photo at the Graphics Fairy blogspot. I immediately became a follower of her blog. She has lot's of photos that you can use for free.

This is when I discovered my goof with the picture!

I wanted to cover the edges of the photo and add a little more bling to my purse.

Here it is this morning, right side up, top and bottom reattached. It's a little snug to open and shut. I shouldn't have painted the edge of the bottom piece. I think next time I would mask that before I paint. Isn't it cute!

Now I plan to add some fabric lining and I need to decide what to put in my tiny purse before I send it off in the mail. Any suggestions?
Have a creative day
Janet