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Tin Work Ornaments featuring Bic Mark-its

Happy Friday, friends! We’re in the homestretch of the Christmas holiday now, and I’m STILL making little gifts. Today I came up with this idea to make some metal-work ornaments. Wanna see?

Craft Metal + Nestabilities Dies + Bic Mark-It + Tools = Awesome!

Disclosure- some of the links below may be affiliate links or links to reviews.

I made this with craft tin, but you could just as easily use recycled soda can aluminum. Start with a basic shape- I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities dies with my Grand Calibur to cut them easily.

I used an embossing folder to add instant texture.

For this bird version, I then embossed the shape using a Cuttlebug folder. To make it really POP,  I colored the de-bossed side with Bic Mark-It markers. (Read my review of them here.) Since they work on non-porous surfaces, they are optimal for metal crafts. And oh, how luminous these colors are:

Next, I decided to free-hand a design on a bird shape & hand-tool it so that it was 3-D. (I used assorted metal tools for this.)

 

 

Then I colored it in with my Bic Mark-It Markers and let them dry.

You can blend the colors with a bit of alcohol.

In the meanwhile, I cut an extra birds shape from embossed craft metal and from adhesive backed foamies. I peeled off the backing on the foamies and layered it in between the two layers of embossed metal. (I used The Best Glue Ever to glue the non-adhesive side.)

Adhesive-backed foamies help keep the tin’s shape.

I placed a ribbon hanger in there, and voila- a hand-tooled ornament suitable for any season!

For this version, again, I free-handed my design. I started in the middle, with the heart, and worked my way out. When I was done tooling, I colored the design with my Bic Mark its and punched some holes. This piece will get mounted on a journal.

 

These other piece s could be  sweet little embellishments for a card or…hmmm. Not sure yet!

 

About Jenny

Chief Craft Test Dummy, Craft Evangelist, Founder, Editor, bottle-washer, trouble-maker, and creative whirlwind.

Comments

  2. I have a bunch of already cut cans that I was using to make faux tintypes.
    Now I know what to do with the rest of them. These look so cute and easy. Thanks!
    I’m already a fan of Bic Mark It on Facebook!So I only get one chance to win! 🙁

  4. This really is a good idea! Birthday decorations, maybe a banner, comes to mind…I love the idea of embossing metal and coloring with these markers. Thank you!

  6. Do I understand that you Die Cut your cans with your Grand Caliber? How else would you cut the cans and handle the sharp edges. Sort of new to this and could use some advice. Thanks

  10. I’m not sure what I would make specifically. They’re useful for so much. I would probably use them to embellish various crafts. I’m going to have to try your ornaments, though. They look awesome! Thanks for the giveaway!

  11. Your ornaments are beautiful! I’d love some Bic markers to use on metal.

    iamvictorias at gmail dot com

  12. Jenny, great idea to mount these on foam for more 3-D “pop” and stability. Another suggestion for folks doing this with kids or others w/special safety needs: try the softer aluminum baking tins from the grocery store. I have been working metal a lot lately with kids and in adult/medical facility and have had sketchy results (heh!) with other pens~ can’t wait to try the Bic Mark-its!

  14. I like to make drawings and paper crafts with markers. I love the colorful Sharpie permanent markers but I have not tried Bic markers yet.

  35. I’d love these! I’d use them to try and make jewelry, which is something I’ve been drying to try but waiting until after the holidays.

  37. Wow! Who’d a thunk ornaments outta pop cans????? I think I’d love to make a variety of christmas trees all blinged out to go on our ‘big tree’. How fun!

  39. Jenny, these look great and yet another great use for the nestabilities die-cuts!! I use my bic permanent markers for creating overhead transparencies for my science class (yes unfortunately in Strongsville we still use overhead projectors instead of 21st century technology like most other schools). I love the variety of colors and the color intensity because even the lighter colors still show up on the projector and my kids can read them better than that ‘other’ brand of permanent markers.

  42. I love using markers. We use them from everything from cards to signs for our shows. Our youngest daughter who is 30 has to be supervised even today because when she picks up a marker no surface is safe. i expect to see her 8 month old marked with her name any day now.

  47. ellen- since I used regular soda-can aluminum, the edges were not that sharp. And since I used a die to make the cuts, there were not little ragged edges.

  48. What sandwich did you use for the embossing in grand calibur? I used raspberry and cutting plate and the embossing folder cut through the aluminum can – thanks!

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Jenny Barnett Rohrs is Head Dummy and Pied Piper behind CTD, which focuses on reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news. Jenny has appeared on HSN, Scrapbook Soup PBS series, and is currently the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS.

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