It seems this time of year I’m swimming in biscuit tins, but I’m not complaining since they’re such great organizing tools! Plus the crafts you can make with them are gorgeous yet not that difficult to manage since you can go as simple or as elaborate as you like.

These tins are also known as cookie tins or advertising tins and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. I have a few ideas for the large popcorn tins too.

Here’s a list of organizing ideas followed by some tutorials for craft projects. I’m sure you already know and use many of these ideas, but some might be new and useful for you. Since the tins come in an unlimited number of shapes and sizes, it’s just a matter of fitting the right size and shape of tin to the decided use.

Organizing Ideas For Tins:

• Store Baked Goods: Cookies, fudge, squares, candies. I prefer lining the tins with wax or parchment paper first. Great to use when giving baking gifts.
• Store Craft Bits: Ribbons, trims, notions, spools of threads, embroidery floss, beads, buttons.
• Crayons & Markers: I found square or rectangular tin containers with tight fitting lids ideal when my son was younger. He wasn’t able to easily pop off the lid himself and get into the markers when I wasn’t looking. Good for storing Crayon Nibbles too.
• First Aid Kits: Make your own first aid kits for the car and home.
• Junk Drawers, Desk Drawer & Desk Top Organizers: Some tins are shallow and narrow enough to make ideal drawer organizers. Easily holds pens, pencils and stationery items. Great organizers for junk drawers too.
• Store gift tags, labels, greeting cards, birthday cards, keepsake letters.
• Gift Basket: The tin can be used as the container for a gift basket, here are some tips for making gift baskets.
• Pantry Baskets: Store loose packet items like dry soups, seasoning packets, spice packets
• Dry Goods Storage: Rice, beans, flour, popcorn, coffee, tea bags. I like to keep the food items in the bag to prevent any chance of a tin taste being transferred to the food.
• Loose change collectors, coin wrappers
• Store cookie cutters, measuring cups & spoons
• Homemade Emergency Kits: Store home emergency kit items like waterproof matches, candles, firestarters, a small flashlight
• Big Popcorn Tins: Store balls of yarn, fill with gift bows and ribbons, Christmas decorations & lights, seasonal decorations (Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, Birthday), use as garbage cans (line with a plastic bag first), wild bird seed storage.

Craft Project Ideas & Tutorials

You can decorate the biscuit tins with paint, fabrics & trims or paper. Nice for keepsake boxes, gift sewing kits, and special gift containers. You can also paint them to make cute kitchen accessories, who needs store bought canisters when you can design your own with recycled tins! See the resources below for some great ideas and how to’s:

• Tutorial: Tin Box Finish: This tutorial shows step by step how to cover tins in fabric and decorate them. These can turn out gorgeous, some examples here too - Susimac Archives
• Transforming Tin Cans and Containers: This tutorial shows how to decorate tin cans by painting them. Great details and gives pointers on how to transfer graphics from the computer onto the tin containers (including decorating altoids containers).
• Quick Tutorial on Painting Metals
• Quick & Cute Project Ideas: Chocolate Truffle Tins and Gift Card Tins

Tipnut Quickie Coffee Can Ideas: Recycle Coffee Cans

Cleaning Tip:

Just a quick wash in hot soapy water, then hand dry immediately. Let the tins sit out on the counter for a few hours before covering with the lid and storing away to make sure the tin is completely dry as any little bit of moisture can cause rust havoc. Do not put them in the dishwasher.

Purchasing Tins:

These are so inexpensive to collect, I never fail to find heaps of them at garage sales–many of them given away for free! Some are vintage or collectibles that may cost more, but average prices should be a quarter or two (I’d spend a dollar if the size was perfect).

Just stick with picking up the shapes and sizes that you can use purposefully either as an organizing item or decorated for a decor piece or to give away–otherwise you’ll need a storage solution just for your collection of advertising tins ;). No matter how “ugly” their manufactured design may be, they can be turned into beautiful and useful items as shown above.

If you have an idea for using these tins productively or some crafty idea, I’d love to hear it!

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Posted in Crafty Ideas, Organizing, Repurposing | ( 1 )