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Mini Tin Photo Album By
This pocket-sized project gem is a true conversational piece that you can carry around and pull out on a whim for Show & Tell! Your friends and family will be totaled amazed! Supplies: •
Time to Stamp Musical Background rubber stamp *Read all instructions before beginning project.* Instructions: 1. Open the tin and save the aspirin for the headache you’re going to get from this project (LOL). 2. Using the needle nose pliers or regular pliers, flatten the little bump on the bottom side (smaller side) of the tin. The one on the top doesn’t need to be flattened much if you get the one on the bottom flattened out completely. You’ll notice that once the bump is flattened, the lip of the bottom side of the tin will be shaped like a little hill, which points toward the top of the tin. Use your wire cutters or nippers to flatten this knoll if desired. I used a grinder to grind mine off, but I’m kind of a tool junkie and will use any old excuse to fire them up. If you’re not using a pain reliever tin, skip this step. 3. Measure the bottom of the tin. The measurement of the Anacin tin used is 1¾” x 1¼” wide. I cut the Bristol paper to a strip that is 1⅝” x 7⅛” wide. Score and fold the strip every 1⅛” making sure the top and bottom of the paper are flush. When I scored all before folding, mine didn’t end up flush. I now just score and flush one section at a time making sure they line up perfectly. If you don’t, this section won’t fit in your tin. This project has a total of 6 pages: valley fold, mountain fold, valley fold, mountain fold, valley fold. After you’ve folded your six pages, trim off any surplus paper at the end. Round off the corners and try fitting the back page only into the bottom of the tin. If it doesn’t fit, trim the corners of THAT PAGE ONLY until it does fit. Once it fits, use that page as a guide to trim the rest of the page corners.
4. Once the pages fit the tin, treat them with the Walnut ink method of your choice. I sprayed Walnut ink on mine and sprinkled on gold mica powder while the pages were damp. On some pages, I rubbed the mica into the walnut ink with a paper towel. To get the pages to dry straight, I put this section between two sheets of waxed paper and placed a big book on top of it while it dried. Once dry, stamp the musical background image randomly with the Chestnut ink. Then apply one light coat of Preserve It Spray to the front and back. 5. Remove the paint from the tin. Avoid painting over the original enamel. If even a tiny scratch happens, that neon yellow color will show through and look hideous. I tried three methods of getting the paint off. My least favorite was paint stripper. My second least favorite was the torch. My first favorite was the Dremel with a sanding buff, and a second favorite is good old 400 grit sand paper and elbow grease. J My advice to you – USE WHAT YOU’RE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH AND WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION. 6. Paint the tin with two coats of the Rust-Oleum, which provides longevity to the life of the project. You do not want the rust you create for looks to run wild in a freak incident and eat it’s way through the tin. The rust here is for looks only. J For proper drying and curing time, allow 1 hour between coats and 24 hours after the 2nd coat. 7. While you’re letting that dry, choose your photographs. Size them on your computer to fit your tiny album pages and print them out. Use the correct setting on your printer to acquire the highest possible detail. Use an entire page to work with when you’re setting this process up. Place several versions of each photo, sized differently, on the page; don’t expect one shot at this to be perfect. Printing photos this tiny isn’t easy for any printer. I used Canon S820 and Pixma i5000 for this process. 8. Give the sheet a coat of Preserve It and trim around the photos. Notice that some of the pics in my samples have ‘matting’ around them. Sometimes, I use a photo that turned out too big. In this case, turn it 90 degrees and trim to fit, which looks pretty cool as matting. Play with the layout of your photos on the accordion folded paper. Do not attach the photos yet, though. If needed, take a picture of your layout or sketch the layouts on another piece of paper. Set aside for later. 9. Using Iron paint, paint the tin as desired. Obviously, if you cover the entire tin, you will have rust over the entire project. I spread the iron paint around to the outside edges and put a little inside too – just around the inside edges. Being heavy and goopy, one coat of Iron paint should complete the job. I like to let mine dry before I start the distressing procedure. Follow the directions on the product you use. It’s been my experience that applying a coat of the rust antiquing solution, letting it dry for a couple hours, and then applying another coat of the solution yields very nice rust. I like highly vibrant-colored rust. Let dry over night and see if you like the color of your rust. If so, spray a very light coat of the Krylon Clear Matte on the outside. Allow to dry thoroughly and then spray the inside. Applying a coat of the Krylon too heavy will cause crinkles to form in your base coat – this can be very cool looking. 10. I used my paper trimmer to trim my leather strap to size. I also use either rubber stamps and StazOn or a leather stamp and wood mallet to personalize and decorate the strap – this is your choice. Decorate yours as desired. J 11. Sew the male side of the snap to the top side of one end of your leather strap. This end will go on the FRONT of the tin. 12. Next, drill a hole in the front of the tin and one in the back of the tin. These holes will be used to attach the paper as well as the leather to the tin, so try to keep them fairly level with each other. Place the paper inside the top of the tin. Using a pencil, make a mark on the paper where you will punch a hole. Repeat on the other side of the paper and tin. Open the tin and place one end of the strap against the outside of the front of the tin. Using your pencil once again, mark the leather where you will punch a hole. Punch the holes in the front page of the paper and on the end of the leather that will be attached to the front of the tin. 13. Using a long eyelet, insert it through the leather, front of the tin, and the first page of the paper. You need to set this eyelet on the INSIDE of the tin. Place the tin on a smooth, firm surface and set the eyelet with your setter and hammer. Setting the eyelet on the outside of the tin could result in the tin being caved in. 14. Close the tin and stretch the leather around the hinge as well as to the back of the tin. HOLD IT THERE FIRMLY while opening the tin. Make a mark through the hole in the back of the tin on the leather where the hole should go. This is extremely important. If you do not allow yourself enough of the leather around the tin, the tin won’t close correctly. Once you’re sure of the placement of this hole, punch the hole in the leather. Line up the holes in the back page of the paper, the tin, and leather and insert the eyelet. Set the eyelet on the inside of the tin with a hammer and eyelet setter. 15. Now, you can place the photos in the mini album. Embellish mini layouts as desired. I used Photo Glue Stick to attach my photos and The Ultimate Glue to attach embellishments. 16. Close the tin. Pull the strap of leather up and over the male side of the snap to get the placement of the female side of the snap. Mark the snap position and sew the female side of the snap to the bottom side of the leather. Take a few stitches, and then check your placement before going further. Glue a button or embellishment to the top side to cover your stitches. Trim the end to a point or as desired. Enjoy your mini tin photo album!
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