mini tin purses

When my daughter was about nine or ten she loved Altoid mints. This idea for purses made from the tins were a perfect project for her. She found instructions for these tiny tin purses in her American Girl Magazine and was smitten with them.

These take me back to the days when my daughter had a short(er) attention span. Back to a time before a good book, an iPod, YouTube, or GoogleMaps, kept her engaged. Crafts that could be created in an hour or two, at the most, were ideal. We created these on a quiet vacation many summers ago.

To create your own little tin purses, you will need: Altoid mint tins, ribbon, felt, fabrics, pom poms, buttons, small flat round magnets, hot glue and a glue gun

Cut pieces of felt to fit both sides of the tin. Working with the tin open, and making sure you don’t cover hinges, first glue the ribbon you’d like to use as a fastener, then glue the felt on one side only into place over that. You can add a magnet and a button to the ribbon so that it looks like an important fastener on the front of the purse. Add ribbon around the edges. To make a handle, cut a ribbon several inches longer than the tin is around and glue it to three sides of the tin leaving the extra ribbon at the top. Embellish with whatever floats your boat... pom poms, fabrics, buttons, etc.

I’m sure you can be much more creative and precise than we were, especially if you have kids with longer attention spans.

These would make great gifts. It could be a sewing kit (fill it with thread, needles, safety pins, scissors). Or a survival kit (fill it with waterproof matches, a little flashlight, fishing line, water purification tablets). You could put an iPod in it. Turn the inside into a mini scrapbook. The ideas are endless.

Be creative. Have fun!