Tin cases (or Altoid Cases) can be repurposed for many things, this series is all about finding new ways to use them!

Total Project Time: 30 minutes

One of the best things about tins is they provide awesome organization without needing to put in a lot of effort! I was cleaning up my office when I came across my cord drawer. Apparently, I have shoved all the cords I use on a semi-regular basis into one drawer and just hoped for the best. Even looking at it makes me cringe! I decided to clean up the area by using a tin solution. Instead of doing a lot of crafting for this project, I did more computer design work and all files are available at the end of the post!

Check out the Craft section of MCG for more unlimited ideas.

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Supplies

For this project, you will want to have the following:

Metal tin
Sticker Paper
Decorative Washi Tape

I would also recommend being able to use a color printer as printing on stickers is going to be a major part of this project.

Process

01

Identifying Needs

The first thing that I looked at when designing these stickers is: what size do I want them to be? I could leave an edge around the stick so the tin is visible, or I could take the sticker right up to the edge. I decided to leave an edge around the sticker to keep it flush and not cause any potential for catching. Then comes designing the sticker. I always start with identifying needs when it comes to organization. How do I want to split everything? The categories I came up with are:

Micro USB B Cords
Micro USB C Cords
Cords Relating to Specific Equipment (External Hard drive, External CD Player)
8-Pin Lightning Cords
Favorite Cords
Extras

With these in mind, I then wanted to come up with an image for each that helps me identify what each tin contained immediately

02

Printing Stickers

After that, it was time to print the stickers! I printed the first batch on normal paper as a test to make sure they were the right size. They fit like a glove!

03

Edging

For the edging around the tin, I used some decorative washi tape to give it just the right feel. Washi tape is great for this type of work because it is thinner than regular tape and won’t get in the way of opening and closing.