10 Creative Ways to Upcycle & Display Vintage Tins

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Feature photo for Upcycled Vintage Tins ideas and roundup post. Shown here is a tall tin in copper and chocolate brown - Blue Moutain Coffee. This tin was transformed by using an awl and hammer to poke a hole pattern and add a battery operated candle to the inside to add an array of starlight bursts.

Clever ways to use vintage tins in your home.

I’m drawn to vintage and collectible tins. I often run across them at garage sales or antique stores. It’s like finding a blast from the past, and I’ve accumulated quite a few over the years.

Most are fairly inexpensive—under $10—and I always seem to find room for one more! If you have a few of these beauties tucked away, here are some amazing ways to showcase them and use them.

1. Seasonal Displays

Use vintage tin containers in your seasonal decor! Fill tins with greenery and mini ornaments for the holidays or swap out decorations for different holidays and seasons!

Tray filled with greenery, vintage colorful Christmas light bulbs, a Rumford Baking Soda can with greenery in it and a rectangular vintage Tetley's Tea container with greenery, decorative snow and a small pink vintage looking reindeer in it.
Christmas Centerpiece
Photo of a vintage-style clipboard with an old postcard clipped to in a vintage green St. Patrick's Day display with an old Durkee's Allspice tin, clover wreath, ceramic pot of gold cup, vintage green Katherine Beecher Mints tin lid and other vintage spice tins including a vibrant Imperial gunpowder tea tin set in a wire wall basket.
St. Patrick’s Day Display
Display of small vintage tobacco and other tins on a wire wall shelf with Fourth of July decorations in the mix. In the center is a ceramic oval plaque with the American flag, a Penn's S
4th of July Display

2. Nostalgic Display Shelf

Fill a shelf or two with beautiful tins you’ve collected and mix in some nostalgic items.

Feature photo of a long shelf with a mix of vintage tins, nostalgic tin toys, and old books.

The vintage tins on this shelf bring back memories for me. I love this yellow Mambo’s coconut macaroon tin, it was such a good find, and it reminds me of our trip to Hawaii.

Closeup of a vintage yellow Mambo's Coconut Macaroon tin on a shelf with other vintage tins.
Vintage Mambo’s Tin Closeup

3. Vintage Coffee Can Buckets

Turn large vintage coffee cans into pretty buckets by adding a wire hanger! I also had a couple of rolling pin handles left over from another project, so I used them for handles here.

Photo of two vintage coffee cans, one blue Maxwell House and the other a red and white specialty tin with vintage cars on it. Both on a step with yellow flowers and wood handle gardening tools.
Vintage Coffee Can Buckets

4. Gift Tin

Don’t pass up a cute vintage tin, especially one with a hinged top. These make beautiful gift boxes. Fill them with tea, hand lotions, lip gloss, small candles, chocolates, a handmade bracelet, or anything else you can think of. For Dad, fill a vintage tobacco or other rustic tin with shaving supplies, a tie and tie clip, or make a shoecare kit!

Photo of a hinged, gold lined decorative square tin filled with lip balm, hand cream, pink bath bomb and candle to give as a gift.
Gift Tin

5. Vintage Tin Light

Turn a vintage tin into a starry night light by drilling small holes into the sides in any pattern you like. The first couple of holes I drilled left indents—from pressing too hard—so I recommend using light pressure when drilling and letting the drill do the work. Add a battery-operated candle and set the timer to come on in the evening.

Photo of a tall rose bronze vintage Blue Mountain Coffee Liqueur that has small holes drilled into it and a corded light from the bottom to create a soft starry light in an entryway. Photo taken at twilight showing light sparkling on the wall.
Vintage Tin Light

6. Patriotic Tin Pedestal Table

I have no idea what this old rusty tin was used for, but when I found it, I knew it would make a great top for an old pedestal table base that I had in my garage. I didn’t do very much here except spray-paint the table pedestal base blue and give the tin a protective coat of polyurethane.

Red large tin with white stars used to make a pedestal table. The bottom pedestal a navy blue.
Vintage tin pedestal table

7. Turn Vintage Tins Into Tiered Trays

Stack tins to make a tiered tray to organize your craft supplies, kitchen utensils, or anything that needs gathering up! Find the full 3-tiered tray tutorial here.

Vertical feature image of a finished 3-tiered tray made with vintage tins.

Here, I used an old coffee can, a wood bowl, and a candlestick holder to make a coffee bar tiered tray. Find more unique DIY tiered tray ideas here.

Vertical photo of a tiered tray with a red 'Breakfast Cheer' coffee can top, candle stick center and a round wood bowl for the base, filled with coffee pods.
Vintage coffee tin tiered tray

8. Vintage Tins Planters

Use a vintage tin as a planter for small succulents and air plants. I had two of these, so this one became a planter!

Photo of an Edgeworth blue pipe tobacco tin with a hinged lid used as a planter for small succulents.
Tobacco tin planter

9. Gift Wrap Storage

Tall holiday popcorn tins are perfect for storing those long tubes of gift wrap.

Tall square vintage Santa Claus tin used shown as storage for rolls of wrapping paper.
Vintage tin to organize rolls of wrapping paper.

10. Vintage Tin Lids

After making the upcycles above, I had a couple of lids left over, so I decided to turn them into a jewelry wall organizer.

Vertical photo of a jewelry organizer made from a floral tin lid and dark orange lid hanging on a wall.
Vintage tin lids turned jewelry organizer
Star divider used has two hand drawn lines with a star in the center, used as a content break and signals new or different content below. This doodle style illustration is in a medium charcoal gray.

– MORE TO EXPLORE –

Vintage-Style Clipboards + Furniture Upcycle Ideas + Tart Tin Wreath

Square feature photo of four vintage-style clipboard frames with black and white architectural photography of staircases and other outdoor views clipped to them.
Closeup of a small side table with vintage books and a tetley tea tin filled with succulents. The cabinet is painted black with some of the paint sanded away to show the wood. The drawer was sanded and stripped of the old white paint and purposely left rustic and raw wood with a clear coat to let the woods beautiful imperfections show through. The pull is a vintage metal oval with a simple metal handle. This pieces has beautiful carved vertical lines on the legs and a rope detail under the drawer.
Supplies needed to make a vintage tart tin wreath. Shown: a grapevine wreath, a hot glue gun, vintage tart tins in different shapes like hearts, clovers, square a couple of copper molds, masking tape.
Square feature photo of four vintage-style clipboard frames with black and white architectural photography of staircases and other outdoor views clipped to them.
Vintage-Style Clipboards
Closeup of a small side table with vintage books and a tetley tea tin filled with succulents. The cabinet is painted black with some of the paint sanded away to show the wood. The drawer was sanded and stripped of the old white paint and purposely left rustic and raw wood with a clear coat to let the woods beautiful imperfections show through. The pull is a vintage metal oval with a simple metal handle. This pieces has beautiful carved vertical lines on the legs and a rope detail under the drawer.
Furniture Upcycle Ideas
Supplies needed to make a vintage tart tin wreath. Shown: a grapevine wreath, a hot glue gun, vintage tart tins in different shapes like hearts, clovers, square a couple of copper molds, masking tape.
Tart Tin Wreath

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