Mini Makeover: Redecorate an Ugly Tin

Today I wanted to share with you a quick and fun way to redecorate those Holiday and novelty tins that often come into our homes as gifts and end up staying with a new purpose. We somehow have quite a few Christmas tins that are great for storing items, but look really out of place any time other than December!

What you’ll need:

• A holiday or novelty tin (or tins)
• Patterned Duct Tape (or Washi Tape)
• Scissors or a Utility Knife
• Your Mini Makeover Essentials including time
• Optional: Enthusiastic children/helpers

Depending on the pattern on your tape and the shape on your tin, decide where the best place would be to start. With this round tin, I got my duct tape and started at the bottom just above the lip. I slowly followed it around from where the break in the tin was at the back and made sure the tape was on smoothly until I got back to where I started and used a utility (stanley) knife to line it up at the start. If you’re using washi tape, scissors are probably a good alternative for the cutting.

Repeat around the main part of the tin, lining up the pattern where you can until you reach the top. Because mine was chevron, I tried to get the pattern consistent all the way around the tin.

Then it’s time to decide how you’re going to tackle the lid. I did the side first so that it matched the main tin. Because my tape was so thick I carefully used the utility knife to cut off the excess tape, but you could do a cut and fold onto the top. Since the top of the lid was too wide for one piece of tape I chose to place a piece on the left of the top and cut an extra piece where the pattern would match. I then carefully used the utility knife on a cutting surface (an old phone book) to get the rounded edges. If I’d done this with my nieces, I would have done all the cutting parts.

I think it took about 10-15 minutes to do this tin and I’m happy with how it turned out for a first attempt. It gives a bit of colour to the bench next to the phone. (and is a whole lot prettier than what it looked like before!)

This is a quick and easy mini makeover that can add a pop of colour to your home. You could also try doing this with paint or some really cute labels. I think it could be a fun rainy day activity that’s a little bit different. You could also get a collection of them together and paint or decorate as a set to re-gift with baked goodies inside for your next special occasion.

Have you redecorated any old novelty tins in your home? How did you do it? I’d love to hear!

If you do try this, I’d love to see a photo or hear about how it went! Tweet me your pics at: @danniellecresp or instagram me at: @dannielle with the hashtag: #styleaminimakeover