How to Decorate a Metal Pill Box
A plain metal pill box may be attractive just as it is, but if the crafty side of you is desperate to decorate it somehow, there are several different methods to consider. One is embossing the box with the aid of adhesive aluminum or copper foil tape; another is by soldering fine wire onto the surfaces of the box. Both methods can be used to decorate just the top of the pill box, or the top and the sides.
Things You'll Need
- Embossing method:
- Paper
- Pencil
- Adhesive aluminum or copper foil tape, as wide as possible
- Plastic spoon
- Craft knife
- Cutting mat
- Stylus or empty ball-point pen
- Sticky tape
- Wirework method:
- Fine wire
- Wire cutters
- Pliers
- Gardening gloves
- Safety goggles
- Soldering iron
- Solder
Instructions
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Embossing Method
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1
Place your pill box lid on a piece of paper and trace around it. Draw your embossing design within the outlines of the pill box lid. It could be something simple like a grid of straight or wavy lines, a motif of some kind such as a heart or star, or an abstract pattern. You can trace or copy a pattern or picture if you like.
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2
Unravel a strip of adhesive aluminum or copper tape that is large enough to cover the pill box lid and cut the piece on your cutting board with a craft knife. Peel the backing off the foil and stick it down onto the pill box lid. Press the tape down well onto the lid with a plastic spoon.
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3
Place the pill box lid tape-side down on your cutting mat and cut the excess tape off from around the edges with a craft knife. Do not touch the edges with your fingers as they will be sharp. Press the edges down well with a plastic spoon to smooth them and make the lid safe to handle.
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4
Tape the piece of paper with your embossing design over the lid so that the pencil outlines match the edges of the lid. Trace over your design with a stylus or empty ball-point pen, pressing smoothly into the metal underneath the paper.
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5
Remove the paper to reveal your embossed design. If you want the embossing to be deeper, go over the lines again with the stylus or pen, this time pressing directly into the metal. You can also add more details to the design at this stage if you wish.
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6
Repeat the entire process for the sides of the pill box if you want to emboss them also.
Wirework Method
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7
Trace around the pill box lid on a piece of paper and draw your design within the outlines. The design must consist of continuous lines and dots only, which will be rendered in wire and small blobs of solder. Spirals, scroll-like designs and swirls are ideal.
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8
Wearing gardening gloves, bend a piece of fine wire to fit the design on paper. To do this, bend a small section of the wire, hold it against the paper design and adjust the bended section until it matches. You may need to use pliers to help you bend the wire. It will be hard to get it perfect but the most important thing is that the wire piece will fit onto the lid without going over the edges.
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9
Cut the end of the wire with wire cutters when you have bent it to the shape of your design, then repeat the process for each element of the design. Press the bent wire pieces flat on a work surface so they will lie flush against the lid of the pill box.
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10
Wear protective goggles and gloves, and take your pill box, wire pieces, soldering iron and solder to a well-ventilated area. Plug the soldering iron in and wait for it to heat up.
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11
Place the first of your wire pieces on the lid of the pill box to match your design on paper. Lift the wire up from the surface a little, position the end of the solder underneath it and melt a tiny blob of solder with the soldering iron so that it drops onto the pill box lid underneath the wire. Immediately stick the wire down onto the solder blob, which should adhere it to the pill box lid. Continue in this manner, soldering the wire piece every 1/2 inch or so until it is completely stuck to the pill box.
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12
Add small blobs of solder directly to the surface of the lid to match any dots in your design on paper.
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13
Repeat the entire process to decorate the sides of the pill box, if you wish.
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1
Tips & Warnings
With the embossing method, you can turn an old breath mint tin into a pretty pill box.
Take care when cutting and soldering wire and metal so that you don't cut or burn yourself. Wear protective gloves and goggles and don't rush.
References
- Photo Credit pill box image by Edsweb from Fotolia.com
