Wednesday, May 25, 2016

How to Easily Turn A Tin into Multiple Pieces of Jewelry

I am a hoarder of beautiful tins, I admit it, I can't pass them up.  Many times they're not usable for my purposes but they're beautiful so I must have them.  This particular tin I have found a couple times and it's perfect!  Wait till you see how many projects I've made so far and there's still plenty left to work with.

I forgot to take a picture of the tin before I started cutting but look at all those lovely pieces I have to work with.

I decided to make a bracelet and earring set for my first project.  I'd love to teach a class at the new shop for this, so easy and you leave with completed jewelry.

I started by cutting down my pieces so they are a better fit on the wrist.  I used the block to hammer them relatively flat (when cutting them up they tend to get bent in the corners, amongst other things).

I used a file to sand down any rough edges and round the corners.  Then, using canned food I hammered each piece giving it a slightly rounded finish, you can see what I mean in the next picture.


I marked the pieces where I wanted the eyelets and started punching holes with my crop-a-dile, love that thing....

 ... and added my eyelets.

Using four of my matching tin pieces I linked them together.   I haven't added the closure yet, I started to make one but the wire just wasn't sturdy enough for my liking so I need to get into Michael's sometime and pick one up.  Also, if I'm teaching this for a class we will have limited time, making closures might not be an option, especially if we're making earrings too.

Of course we are.  Again I used ear wires from Michael's that match the wire and eyelets, making the earrings a really easy project.  Simply prep the smaller pieces of tin with a little sanding, mark and punch your hole and attach your ear wire with a ring.  It's as easy as that and you've got yourself an adorable new bracelet and earring set.



Oh but why stop there?  You could continue on and add a necklace quite simply.  I used a different color piece from the same tin for this project.  Simply cut it out and make random hole punches around the outer edge.  I then took some wire and strung it through the holes, leaving a tail at the bottom on both sides.

I strung a few decorative beads sporadically throughout as well...

... and used the "tails" at the bottom to make a ring to add a little bling.

Another quick project for a class that requires very little jewelry making experience yet you leave with a beautiful pendant necklace that you made yourself.

3 comments:

  1. Were did you get the pictures from? What did you coat the picture with too stop it peeling and paste it on?How did you seal it too stop going rusty.

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  2. My mother for as long as I remember had a beautiful, large tin with geisha's on it. She recently passed and as I started going through her things, I went to grab the tin and realized it had come apart on one side. It was headed to the trash until I just saw this, thank you so much!

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  3. Hi Bronwyn s, I was wondering the same thing But she is actually stating that the pictures were a part of the Tin that she cut up for use. I haven't found any beautiful tins such as these.. yet!

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