Autumn Art with Dremel

It’s officially September and soon we’ll be stressing over gifts to give our neighbors and friends. I’m a big fan of gifting edibles and while I wish I could say I bake everything from scratch, sometimes life gets in the way and I’ve got no problem with repackaging bought cookies as gifts. Here’s a great way to use a Dremel rotary tool to create a beautiful lid for a store bought tin so that you can honestly tell people, “I made this for you” even if the food inside is store-bought!

First things first

You’re going to need to find containers to make lids for. I love these little tin containers you can usually find at a dollar store in different colors. You could also buy inexpensive bread making tins or even individual mini-loaf pans. Tons of options! Once you have your containers, just measure and cut a thin piece of wood (I got mine at a craft store) to fit. Sanding and rounding the edges was super easy with the Dremel hand tool!

Add a thin layer stain over the entire wood cut-out, allow to dry completely, and then transfer my free “Hello Autumn” printable with gray charcoal paper onto the wood front.

{Download the “Hello Autumn” Free Printable!}

Now the fun part!

I used the engraving bit that was included in the Dremel packaging and started engraving on medium speed. Don’t be intimidated! This was my very first time working with a Dremel tool and it was super easy to make the lines straight and clean. Go really slow and give your hand plenty of breaks to prevent exhaustion. Continue until everything is carved out.

Happy Autumn

I just love how it turned out! You can fill the tin with either store-bought (like the biscotti in my picture) or homemade goodies, pop that handmade lid on, tie up with some string, and you’re good to go. You could even add a small hanging bracket to the back of the lid so that it could be hung after opening. A beautiful package that turns into Autumn Art? Total win!

I had so much fun working with my Dremel rotary tool! Honestly, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one for years and now that I have it, my brain is a little overwhelmed with the possibilities.

The Dremel Micro 8050 (available online at Amazon.com and HomeDepot.com, $89.00) can cut, carve, engrave, sand, grind, sharpen, clean and polish—helping you bring just about any brilliant project to life! The super light-weight and compact body is perfect for crafters, hobbyist, and DIYers. There’s even an LED light to help during those low-light crafting sessions. Seriously. I’m totally in love with my Dremel rotary tool and you can definitely expect to see more projects with it in the future!

Dremel wants to celebrate its fans’ brilliant projects, work and ideas! Now through October 12, share, tweet or post photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that depict your brilliant ideas using the hashtag #MyBrilliantIdeaSweeps for the chance to win weekly prizes, including free tools and handmade gifts, or the grand prize: a custom-engraved Honda scooter and a Micro 8050. Visit www.facebook.com/dremel for rules and to learn more.

What next?

Hope this tutorial comes in handy for the gift-giving season! I’m sure I’ll be making something similar for winter as well. Now I’m off to research more fun things to make with my Dremel hand tool. Any suggestions?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.