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An empty Altoids tin is best suited to small storage, craft, and maker projects. You can keep it simple with hairpins or beads, decorate it with washi tape or paint, or modify it for a project such as a pinhole camera. The ideas below are practical suggestions—not a reconstruction of the older Make: article’s full 22-item list.
Start with simple storage
A hinged tin can keep small items together when you need a compact container. DIY Candy suggests uses such as pills, hairpins, and craft supplies. For personal items such as medication, keep the original labeled packaging: a reused mint tin is not established as child-resistant or as a substitute for a labeled medicine container.
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- Contains one (1) 3.52-ounce box with 2 individual tins of ALTOIDS curiously strong peppermint mints
- Peppermint adds an extra kick to these already curiously strong mints
- From graduation day to your first day on the job, keep a tin of Peppermint ALTOIDS on hand for a minty-fresh survival kit
- First date? Pop one ALTOIDS breath mint and let your breath be the wingman you never knew you needed
- ALTOIDS are always there to save the day as your after-dinner breath's trusty sidekick
- Sort craft supplies: Group buttons, beads, or other small pieces by type.
- Keep hairpins together: Use the tin to corral loose pins in a drawer or craft area.
- Hold small personal items: Choose items that fit without forcing the lid shut.
- Organize tiny project parts: Store screws, findings, or other small components while working, keeping sharp pieces contained.
Before making a fitted insert or planning an enclosure, measure your own tin. Adafruit lists inner dimensions of 2.24 by 3.6 inches (56.9 by 91.5 mm) and a bottom-section height of 0.83 inches (21.28 mm) for its mint-sized tin; those measurements are not a guarantee for every Altoids tin. Adafruit’s tin listing
Make the tin itself the craft
A little surface decoration can turn an ordinary container into a personalized project. DIY Candy describes decorating a used tin with washi tape or paint.
Rank #2
- Package includes 12 individual packs, 1.76 ounces each.
- Altoids come in the ever-versatile, pocket-size tin.
- Strong mints that freshen with a curiously strong peppermint flavor
- Get a boost of good-breath confidence with Altoids breath mints
- The original, celebrated mint always has your back
- Cover it with washi tape: Apply tape to the outside for a quick color or pattern change.
- Paint and personalize it: Add a color, design, or label to distinguish it from other small containers.
Keep decoration to the exterior if you intend to use the tin for storage; the cited guidance does not establish that paints or adhesives are suitable for food contact.
Build a project around the tin
The compact metal case can also become part of a maker project. Make:’s “22 Ways to Reuse an Altoids Tin,” by Matt Richardson, published in 2011 and updated in 2015, points to examples including a pinhole camera, an urban survival kit, and a fireball shooter. Its available description does not show all 22 entries, so the following are project directions rather than claims about that roundup’s complete list.
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- ALTOIDS Arctic peppermint candy mints in an easy-to-pack, stand-up tin offer fresh breath with sugar free mints anytime, making the sugar-free candy mints suitable as mini purse essentials
- Experience refreshing mint hard candy with the Arctic Peppermint flavor, breath mints for bad breath in a convenient tin box
- This pack of mini candy bulk mints includes eight (8) 1.2-ounce metal tins with lids
- ALTOIDS peppermint mini mints offer a curiously cool minty flavor, keeping you feeling fresh for every adventure
- This bulk pack of ALTOIDS in a tin box delivers on value, making it suitable for fundraising, concessions, or stocking a store
Pinhole-camera project
Use a tin as the basis for a small pinhole-camera build. This is a modification project rather than simple storage; plan where the opening and any light-sensitive material will go before cutting or drilling. The cited roundup names the project but does not provide enough detail to establish a complete build method.
Compact emergency kit
A tin can hold a few carefully chosen small emergency supplies, as in the urban survival-kit example identified by Make:. Treat it as a supplemental pocket kit, not a replacement for appropriate emergency equipment: its capacity is limited, and no particular contents or performance are established by the cited source.
Rank #4
- Altoids Arctic Mint hard candy come in an easy-to-pack, stand-up ALTOIDS tin
- Package includes (8) eight individual packs of ALTOIDS Sugar-Free Artic Wintergreen Mints, 1.2 ounces each
- Sugarfree candy mints give you all of the mint with none of the sugar
- Freshen up with a curiously cool wintergreen flavor in these sugar free mints
- These curiously cool breath mints always have your back against bad breath
Electronics enclosure
A mint-sized tin may serve as an enclosure for an electronics project. Adafruit describes its tin as useful for larger electronics projects, but the fit depends on your actual components, wiring, and clearances. Check dimensions and electrical requirements before modifying or assembling anything; the product listing does not establish that a tin is suitable for every circuit or provides electrical insulation.
Other small builds
Use the tin as a project case or organizer only when the contents fit and the build does not depend on an unverified seal, weather protection, or other performance characteristic. If a design calls for holes, cuts, adhesive, heat, or sharp components, account for those requirements before starting.
Best Value
- Contains one (1) 1.76-ounce tin of ALTOIDS Classic Peppermint Breath Mints
- Peppermint adds an extra kick to these already curiously strong mints
- First date? Pop some ALTOIDS breath mints and let your breath be the wingman you never knew you needed
- From graduation day to your first day on the job – keep a tin of Peppermint ALTOIDS on hand for a minty-fresh survival kit
- The OG, celebrated mint – always there to save the day as your after-dinner breath's trusty sidekick
Choose an idea by fit and effort
| Project type | Typical work | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Small-item storage | Usually unmodified; optional label or exterior decoration | Items fit with the lid closed; keep medication in its labeled packaging |
| Washi tape or paint decoration | Surface preparation and craft materials; no cuts needed | Keep coatings off anything intended for food contact |
| Pinhole camera | Modified tin; requires a planned opening | Opening placement and the specific build instructions you are following |
| Emergency kit | Usually unmodified; selection and packing matter | Capacity and whether the kit is only supplemental |
| Electronics enclosure | May require holes, fitting, or other modifications | Interior dimensions, component clearances, and electrical requirements |
Limits to keep in mind
The cited sources describe reuse and project examples, but they do not establish that a used tin is food-safe, weatherproof, or reliably sealed. They also do not provide cleaning instructions or durability testing. Avoid relying on those properties for a project unless you have suitable evidence for the exact tin and use.
Quick Recap
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