Upcycled Holiday Tins

As the holidays creep up on us, I like to be prepared.  I love baking and creating fun treats to give to the Mr's coworkers or bring as hostess gifts, to potlucks, give as Christmas gifts, etc.  If you've been to craft places or even grocery stores, you know that buying tins of all sizes can get pricey.  I'm not about pricey...I'm about using what I have on hand to upcycle and get basically free tins!  

Let me show y'all how I do it.

I gather the materials I need like scrapbooking papers, bakers twine, washi tape, double sided tape and kraft paper.  

Now before you say "girl, I'm not all crafty like you, I don't have this crap on hand!"  Fear not!  For under $10 you can get a hearty supply of this stuff and it can last you a few holiday cycles!  The brown kraft paper roll was $1 at the dollar store.  The twine was $1 in the Target aisles up front by the carts.  The scrapbooking papers are $.60 a piece.  Washi tape can easily be found for a buck or two if you use Hobby Lobby or Joann coupons and literally the most expensive thing is the double stick tape at like $2-3 depending on where you get it.

Have I convinced you yet?

Pretend you are and come along for the ride.

All year long I save containers from cocoa, oatmeal, nuts, Biscoff spread or peanut butter jars...pretty much anything with a lid. 

Obviously you don't want to go giving someone with a peanut allergy the old nut can so make sure you save that one for someone you know well but the rest should be fair game.  Give them all a good clean out of any residue and then you're ready to roll.

I was lucky to to have a scrap of paper that was cut almost perfect to the size of a can I had on hand.  I put down a strip of double stick tape from top to bottom on the can.

I attached the paper, rolled it 1/4 of the way, added another strip of tape, pressed it down and put a piece on the end of the paper for when I got to the end.  When I was done, I was pretty satisfied with the look except for one thing.

It was cut just short of the top so it had a small gap that allowed the paper of the can to show through.  This is where I busted out the washi tape and went around the top just under the rim.  To make it look intentional, I put some around the bottom as well but it didn't need it.

Then it was time to adorn the top.  I wrapped some washi tape around the edge of the lid.  Then I traced the kraft paper and cut it out.

Because kraft paper rolls up on you if it's not in sheets, I put the roll of washi tape in the middle after popping it on top of the lid to hold it in place.  Then I went around the edges and just kept folding the tape down onto the paper until it was flat.  This can be used for decorative purposes like sticking a bow on top but you can also write your "to" and "from" there in Sharpie or gel pens or you can write what goodies await on top.

Boom...done!

What about if you have a tin?  I basically did the same thing to cover the outside with the double stick tape and scrapbooking paper.

Then for the lid, I estimated about a 1/2" skirt tracing around the lid.  This would give me extra to be able to fold it over the edges.  I added some double stick tape on the top of the lid for some stability.

Then I kind of wrapped it like a present, added a piece of double stick tape on the inside of the lid and folded the kraft paper over it to make it stick.  The you have a nice, clean lid to write on if you wish.  It might take popping it on and off a few times to make the paper not as stiff.

If you want to add a little decoration to it without leaving the house to grab gift tags, there are plenty of free Christmas tag printables online.  I grabbed these and it went perfectly with a little bakers twine.

If you run out of paper and have a gap, just run washi tape up and down the seam and cover it up.

Then you can look at how some old containers that were going to go into the recycle bin got upcycled into a new life!

Need something bigger?  (Like to share some of your famous cookies?)  Big ol' oatmeal containers are perfect for this!  If you want an elegant look, grab some sheet music from an antique store to keep on hand or you can find some online as well to print out if you don't want to spend the money.  Grab that double stick tape and maybe some washi tape and pretty ribbon too.

I did the same thing as with the scrapbook pages and cut it to fit.

I knew I'd need two pieces to cover so I added three strips of tape on the sheet music and applied it to the front and I did the same to the back.

Then it was time to decorate the lid.  I traced the lid on the back of a piece of scrapbooking paper and readied Mr. Quaker to be covered by putting strips of tape on him.

 I pressed the pretty paper on top and if you wanted to call it a day, you certainly could.

But if you think it needed a little something extra, grab some ribbon and wrap it around the middle and give it a little bow in the middle to make it extra purty.

I used the oatmeal container to give my mother in law bags of Christmas cookies last year since she doesn't really bake anymore.  You could fill any of these containers with all kinds of treats and get the kids involved too!  Perfect for teachers, neighbors or whomever and they help keep things fresh with their lids.  Obviously you could use any motif for any holiday or occasion like birthdays, graduation or thank you hostess gifts any time of year.

So make this a project for the next week or two and when it's time to throw together a last minute gift of goodies, you'll never be caught off guard for a nice presentation the rest of the season!

Linked up with Simply Designing, Savvy Southern Style, Blesser House, French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Tater Tots and Jello, Yesterfood, Sand and Sisal, Mabey She Made It, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Home Stories A to Z,

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