They have four children who are doing a LOT of traveling while they're back in the States, so I wanted to make them some little gifts that are portable and fun. I changed a few ideas more than once, but here's what I decided on for the girl (8 years old) ...
This is what the tin started out looking like. I had picked it up at a thrift shop filled with the original contents for $0.25. My kids had fun with the pipe cleaners and yarn, but I wanted it for the suitcase-type tin. It's not a tiny thing, either. It could almost hold a regular-sized sheet of paper. After I decorated it, it looked like this (personalized with her name):
And then, of course, I filled it with fun things ...
There are ten notecards and envelopes inside. I left them black and white so she can color them (with the provided crayons) and send them to her grandparents - or anyone else she'd like. I also put a few mini gel pens in that small tin on the left, along with the crayons. That way, she can write inside the cards, too.
The tall journal is for all the secrets girls her age like to write down. I didn't do anything to it, other than stamping her first initial inside the flower. It matched my patterned paper quite well!
And then there is the magnetic paper doll set. I had this set all made up to go into a different container, but the magnets in the other container weren't strong enough. After I finished everything else, I happened to think about this being tin and the fact that the paper doll would stick just fine inside. So I attached her and most of her accessories to the lid of the tin. I experimented, and they stayed on even when I toted it around for awhile. For the fussy little accessories, like the shoes, crown and stuffed animal toys, I decorated a second Altoid tin and put them inside. That way, they won't get lost.
She seemed pretty happy with it, and I was happy with how it turned out!
4 comments:
Wow! I'd like one of those! Well, maybe I'm a little old for it -- but I would have LOVED it a "few" years back! You did a tremendous job on this gift -- love it! I need to start collecting tins from thrift stores --- you do wonders with them!
You are such a generous hostess! I agree with the above poster--I would have loved getting a gift like this. I think the paper dolls are my favorite, although having stuff in small tins is neat too.
Now I know why I save Altiod tins! These are fabulous gifts.
Oh this is just perfect. We travel a lot and I know my girls would love one of these.
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