I was eating a fruit cup of peaches the other night (“lite” peaches, of course, who needs those extra calories?!) and I decided that the tin cup the fruit comes in would be a great base for an altered art project.  So I was out in the studio today and decided to create a mini-tutorial for my project to share with you. I didn’t get quite as many photos as I’d planned…darn camera was acting up for some reason in the middle of the project. But I think you’ll get the idea anyway, and I hope you’ll enjoy this tutorial.

Supplies Needed

Washed and Dried Tin Fruit Cup

Ric Rac, Ribbon or Other Similar Sewing Finishes

Scrapbook Paper or Other Decorative Paper

Some Ephemera for Embellishment

Mod Podge and Hot Glue Gun

Paint Brush

Pliers

Scissors

Step 1: The first step is to crimp the inside edge of the fruit cup, because it’s sharp. You don’t want to cut your fingers on it, so just use a pair of pliers to crimp and flatten that sharp edge on the upper part of the inside of the tin.

Step 2: Cut your decorative paper into a strip that will fit around the outside of your fruit cup tin. Mine turned out to be 1-1/2″ high by about 8″ long (note: I didn’t need the full length–I just gave myself a little extra to be sure it would fit). Mod Podge the surface of the tin and adhere your paper to it.

Step 3: Gather your ribbon embellishments and embellish your tin as desired. You can add ribbon or ric rac to the top of the tin, or to both the top and bottom. I used hot glue to adhere the ribbon to my tins, just adding a few  small dots of glue here and there to secure it.

Step 4: You can add any kind of ephemera to the front center of the can for a more decorative touch to finish off your altered fruit cup. I used a 3-D sticker on one tin, and a button on the other.

Altered Fruit Cup Candle Holder

I added a glass votive cup to this tin and then put a votive candle inside. You could also place a small terra cotta pot inside and add some silk flowers or drieds. I used ribbon at the top and bottom of the tin and a 3-D butterfly sticker on the front.

Altered Fruit Cup Glue Caddy

The fruit cup tin is the perfect size to hold any objects that aren’t too tall. I decided to use this one to hold a supply of glue sticks. I only used some decorative sewing trim at the top of this tin, and then added a black button to the front to finish it off.

If you try this project, come back and leave a comment and let me know. Would love to see what you did with your fruit cup!