Altered Tin Boxes and DIY embellishments with Lindys Squirts

Hi friends! Preeti Datta (Dutt Preety) on the Lindy’s blog today to show you step by step how to simply alter Tin Boxes with Lindy’s Starburst Squirts. We will use easy techniques for alteration and create our own DIY embellishments as well.

We will use one of my favorite Lindy’s products i.e. Starburst Squirts. These are unique inks that are thicker in consistency than sprays, they give more vibrant colors and add extra sparkly shine to the project. Since these are not sprayed, there is more control over where the color goes. The techniques we use today can be done with Lindy’s Sprays & Magicals as well. Altered Art is a great way to give a new life to something old or ordinary. For example, here, we’ve used children’s old tin geometry boxes to make little ornate boxes. We’ve kept the process simple but you can add many colors, embellishments and layers to these boxes and customize the designs according to your liking. I have tried to use minimal supplies here so that even beginners in Mixed Media can easily replicate the process. The same process can be used to alter other items like diaries, wood panels, mdf boxes, brushes etc. So let’s start.

Basic Process

To start, clean the tin boxes and remove any oils, dust or dirt. Then apply heavy white gesso to them to prepare the surface for mixed media work.

Next, apply a layer of Crackle Paste to the boxes. This adds subtle texture and interest to the background. I’ve used Platinum Crackle Paste here, use whatever texture paste you have in your stash.

Now, to add texture, apply Crackle Texture Paste through a stencil onto the boxes. (You can use any of your favourite texture paste here. I’m using crackle texture paste because I love the crackle effect.)

Now comes the fun part, adding colours. Start with lighter colours and then step by step, add more colors and increase the intensity of the colors according to your liking. Keep drying the box between each layer. For the pink box, we’ve used 3 Lindy’s Squirts- Polite People Purple, Canadian Bacon Blush & Oh Canada Crimson.

For the blue box, we’ve used 3 Lindy’s Squirts- Loonie Toonie Teal, Emerald Eh?! & Banff Blue.

Next, we need to make the boxes waterproof. You can use any fixative sprays or sealing product from your stash. Or in case the boxes are only for decorative purposes, you can even choose to skip this step but I wanted to create a waterproof barrier. So I sprayed the coloured boxes with Resist Spray. This intensified the colours of the boxes and created a lot of depth, which is an effect I particularly like. After the boxes dry, apply some metallic wax to them to add shine and create an ornate, vintage look. This is how the pink box looks after adding the resist spray and wax.

This is how the blue box looks after spraying the resist spray and applying the wax.

Now, we will create matching embellishments for the boxes. The process is very simple. I have shown how to create DIY embellishments & earrings using Lindy’s beautiful embossing powders HERE. Today, instead of Embossing Powders, we will use Lindy’s beautiful squirts. The process is similar and so easy! You don’t need to specially buy cabochons or stones to match your project, you can simply create your own. To start, add thick gel medium to the metal frame. You can use any thick gel medium from your stash as long as it holds its shape. I’ve used a palette knife and my fingers to add the thick gel medium to the frame and create a rough convex shape like that of a cabochon. Let this air dry for a few minutes.

Next, colour the semi-dry gel medium using the apt colours of Lindy’s Squirts. The gel medium accepts the colour. For the pink box, I’ve created a matching pink cabochon using 2 Lindy’s Squirts- Canadian Bacon Blush & Polite People Purple. Then sprayed this with the resist spray to make it waterproof. Then let it air dry. Don’t use a heat tool to dry it otherwise the color will disappear, cracks will form and the gel medium will bubble up. Let it air dry for a couple of days and it will harden up.

Once the faux cabochon is hard and dry, apply some metallic wax onto it and also, onto the metallic frame to accentuate the embellishment.

For the blue box, we’ve made a matching blue cabochon embellishment using the same process as above. We’ve used 2 Lindy’s Squirts- Loonie Toonie Teal & Emerald Eh?! to colour the piece.

In the end, gather all the elements- the coloured boxes & metal embellishments, create a visually pleasing composition and adhere the pieces to the boxes using gel medium.

Here are some photos of the Altered Tin Boxes …

Lindy’s Products

• Starburst Squirts- Canadian Bacon Blush, Emerald Eh?!, Polite People Purple from the Northern Lights Squirt Set and Banff Blue, Oh Canada Crimson & Loonie Toonie Teal from the Great White North Squirt Set.

Other Products 

• Finnabair & Prima’s Heavy White Gesso, Platinum Crackle Paste, Soft Matte Gel, Wax & Stencils; Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue; Tim Holtz & Ranger’s Distress Resist Spray and Filigree Metal Embellishments.

Thanks a lot for your precious time
Stay Blessed!
Preeti