Cookie Tin Purse Tutorial

[Lothruin]

Ok, we've all seen those adorable tin purses, made to look like lunchboxes and a slew of other things.  Well, why buy one when you can make one?

What you'll need:

A tin.  Whatever shape and size and color you want.  Mine is a cookie tin bank I got on clearance for $1 at the grocery store.

Two each of the following:
"Mirror Hangers" ($0.50 each at Menard's.  They were hard to find because I didn't know what they were called, and was trying to describe what I knew in my head they looked like.  Finally, a guy found them in a drawer near the picture hanging and hinges section.)
1/8" diameter nuts and matching bolts or screws (I got a package of 100 pieces for $2.99, also at Menard's.  I got 1/2" long screws because that was the shortest they had.  The shorter the better, but you'll probably be cutting off the excess anyway.)

Material and batting for a lining if you don't want your purse to clink and clank while you walk.  I spent $3 total for remants of material and batting, and used only a third of each piece for this purse, for a total material cost of $1.

A purse strap or handle.  I salvaged a clip off purse handle from a thrift store find, total $1.99.  You could as easily make a strap to your liking, or since purse-making is big right now, you can find funky chain and beaded straps at the craft stores.

Now then, to get started.

Punch or drill holes in your tin.  I eyeballed mine so they were just below where the lid sits and about opposite from each other on either side of the tin.  The size of the hole you drill will really depend on the size of screw or bolt you bought, which in turn will depend on the mirror hanger you bought.  In my items list above, I said 1/8" because the mirror hangers I found at Menard's had 1/8" holes.  If your mirror hangers differ, adjust the size of your nuts and bolts and the size hole you make.  I recommend drilling if you can because punching can bend your tin if you don't have the proper support.

Now, make your lining.  The lining will depend entirely on several things:  What size and shape of tin, whether you decided to use batting and your sewing skills or lack thereof.  For this purse, the lining is 100% sew-free.  I used iron-on adhesive tape.  It was tough with the batting, but my sewing machine is out of commission right now and I was anxious to finish it.  For future projects, I will sew my linings.  I'll leave the lining designs up to you, though, since they can be so specific to each project.  For this project, I had to punch holes in the lining as well, and the screws that hold the hangers on the outside also hold the lining up inside.

Now, screw the hangers on to the outside and fix your lining in place.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  I do, however, recommend tightening down the nut and screw with a wrench.  Next, you'll want to take a saw, bolt cutters or files and trim the excess screw off flush with the bolt.  This was especially important for my example because the purse opening is small.  On other types of tin, this might not be as big a deal.

Now, attach your strap, which was very easy in my case.  You could also use the lunch-box style handles if you wanted a hand-bag type purse and had the right style and size of tin.  They shouldn't be much different to attach, though you might need some extra rings or something.

And voila!

[ksea]

Oh, so cute!

[Xiuxiu]

Oh, that is so creative and cuuutteee!

[second-hand-smoke]

awesome awesome awesome!! what a great idea!! thanks for sharing (and thanks for telling me what those hanger things are called. i've been trying to figure that out for months!!)

[Lothruin]

Your welcome, SHS, it took me forever to find them, and I asked three different people at Menard's before one of them thought he knew what I was talking about.  And even then, they had them stored in those big drawer units, and he couldn't find them right away.  I just KNEW they existed, though, so I persevered.

I'm working on another similar project, but can't post it until after June.  It's meant for a birthday gift for my little sister, but she just joined here too, so I won't post it until after she gets it.  But keep your eyes out.  

[kayray]

Hey great tutorial.  Thanks for taking the time to post it!  With your tin, you can drop your change right in through the slot in the top, heheh :)

You can purchase clip-things like the ones on your purse handle at a fabric store, although all the ones I've seen are plastic, and then attach them to a strip of webbing or something.

Another nice strap option would be to sew a skinny, sturdy strap, feed the ends through your mirror hangers, and then stitch or rivet the ends back to the strap.

I'm inspired, now!  Gotta find a nifty tin...

Kara

[Lothruin]

Thanks guys!  It was fun to make, and I'm working on a couple of others using different styles of tins.  I'll try to post examples when I get them finished.  

[begin again]

very cool. I've got some cool china-town type tins that could surely be made more interesting than as pencil holders!

thanks for the tute!

[TinySoapyBubbles]

Great tutorial!!  

the dollar stores all have really cute seasonla tins, it would be fun to make these for diff holidays &  seasons.   =)

Julie

[Lothruin]

TSB, I've been keeping my eye out at all the shops I go to, thrift stores, dollar stores, random other stores that may have tins somewhere...  I've decided that the "fruitcake" tins, the largish round ones that you can also get danish shortbread cookies in, would make cool canteen-style purses.  The lids would have to fit tight because they'd be carried on their sides, but I think they'd look nifty.  Have to get creative with a lining, though.  I'm working on that one.