Altered Game Tin

I made this tin lunch pail for my Grandma's birthday last month. It started as a plain miner's pail that I added paper, stamps and ribbon to. I then filled it with stamped game cards for dice games, dice, pens, paper pads(refillable), coins and poker chips. In this one box she has everything she needs to play 15 different games. The games vary from easy (my 3 year old played them) to moderately difficult (you need to focus, not visit) and everything in between. This way, wherever Grandma goes, she can play games with whoever is there. My son loves it so much that I'm thinking about making one for his upcoming birthday with tic-tac-toe, memory and things like that in it.

Altering to make it yours

Altering is a hot thing right now. There are altered notebooks, clipboards, paint cans and picture frames to name a few. All you do is start with a basic item and embellish to your heart's content! Sounds easy, right? It is! Here, I started with a picture frame and mat...added a few pieces of chipboard, some ribbon...and viola! Art! The great thing about altering is that you decide when to stop embellishing...you may like things more on the simple side or maybe you like wild and over-crowded. It's all up to you. This mat took me about a 1/2 hour to complete.


Here's a notebook that I altered for my grandmother who travels a lot. I thought she may like to have a handmade journal to take on an adventure with her. I started with a composition notebook (you know, the black and white spotted ones?) and started layering paper, ribbons, chipboard and stamped images. I then embossed and added micro beads for texture. I also stamped every 3rd page inside to keep it jazzy throughout. I attached a ribbon bookmark to mark her place too. This project was not a quick one, it consumed the better part of a day, but what a fun day it was!