Make an Amore altered Altoid tin for Valentine's Day

Give a creative handmade gift to your loved one this Valentine’s day and try making an Amore altered Altoid tin.

“Amore” (Italian) translates to “love” in the English language. Remember the old song “when the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie that’s ‘Amore?’ The Italians celebrate love with no other and it was with this mind that I was inspired to create some super versatile tags that can be used to adorn anything from jewelry, home decor or as fun wedding or valentines favors, tucked inside this embellished altoid tin.

These tags also make gorgeous bag ties for favors perfect for Valentines Day Favors, Wedding Favors, Bridal Showers, etc. Just change the color of the ribbon to match your color scheme.

Supplies for Amore altered Altoid tin:

Altoid tin
Adhesive
Decorative Paper
plain paper
Script Stamp
Black Ink
Fabric strip or ribbon
Black and cream acrylic paint and paint brush.
Adhesive Gems
Wood hearts
Doll pin stands

Instructions for Amore altered Altoid tin:

I have saved Altoids tins for several months ago but I was still surprised to clean out my recycled stash and discover I had 15 of these babies!! I must be eating them like crazy…

For the Amore altered Altoid tin, I knew that I wanted to paint the tin as I was aiming for a shabby, distressed look so I thought it would be easiest if I covered the tin with cardstock first and then painted it. So I took a pencil and make templates by tracing the tin twice (to cover the top and bottom).

I cut out the templates and used Zip Dry Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives to glue the pieces to the tin.

I measured the sides of the tin and used a paper trimmer to cut strips about 1/4″ thinner than the real measurements.This ensures that the cardstock does not hang off the edges of the tin.

Adhere with strips around the tin with the paper glue and use rubber bands to hold in place while drying, although the glue will set up very fast.
Now its time to paint. I used Lamp Black Americana Acrylics by DecoArt to cover the tin on the outside. I also cut a 1″ x 3″ cardstock strip, scored it 1/2″ from each edge and painted it as well. Additionally, I painted a doll pin stand (stay posted for how I used this) and about eight wood heart tags. These tags can be purchased from several online sources. Just search for “unfinished wood heart tags.” I painted and scored cardstock strip

You may be asking yourself why I painted cardstock when I could have simply used black cardstock. I find that for items that will be handled often, adding paint and gesso layers makes them a lot more durable. You are going to love your Amore altered Altoid tin when it is finished.
After I had a front coat on the wood hearts, I used a candle to rub wax heavily across the surface.
Next, I painted the hearts, front and back, with two coats with Americana Acrylics in Antique White by DecoArt. I also dry brushed the box using this paint as well as the doll pin holder.

Note that the doll pin stand, or holder (purchased at any craft supply store in the unfinished wood supplies) has been glued to a stamped cardstock strip and a sparkly bead placed in the hole of the bead. I used Beacon’s Gem Tac to glue these components together.

This embellishment, along with some pink hand dyed ribbon were glued to the top of the tin using Fabri-Tac by Beacon Adhesives.

I also added some tiny self adhesive stones for extra sparkle to the Amore altered Altoid tin.

Now back to the hearts and this is the fun part. Use a sanding block to sand the waxed surface lightly to show a distressed finish. Areas where the wax was applied will “peel” away easily. Use a script stamp and chalk ink to stamp the surface of the hearts for a very subtle stamped background. Use alphabet stamps or stickers to spell out “Amore.”
Make another template for the tin by tracing the tin bottom to the wrong side of patterned papers of your choice. I used some simple black with white dots. Glue the divider strip slightly off-center in the tin, adhering the scored sides to the tin to keep in place. This will keep your tags and ribbon hangers tidy inside the embellished altoid tin.

I embellished this recycled tin can with one of the tags and some washi tape for a pretty art supplies organizer.

These tags also make gorgeous bag ties for favors perfect for Valentines Day Favors, Wedding Favors, Bridal Showers, etc. Just change the color of the ribbon to match your color scheme.
My brain has been on overdrive thinking all of all the art kits I can create with these tins.