16 Unique Ways To Repurpose Cookie Tins Around The House

Growing up, if you had a crafty grandmother or parent, there's a chance you saw a familiar blue Danish butter cookie tin in the living room or kitchen. Except, when you opened it up, you found sewing supplies or buttons waiting inside instead. It seems that cookie tins are often one of the most repurposed items in a household, likely because the containers can stack, are waterproof, and easily seal tight. Who wants to throw away a good container like that? With that in mind, here are 16 projects and ways you can reuse a cookie or biscuit tin.

While you can recycle tin in most curbside recycling programs, the urge to hold on to that cookie tin for "someday" might be too strong. Like repurposing popcorn tins around the house, you can transform biscuit tins and the lids into a variety of new uses throughout your home with only a few supplies. Even if you aren't crafty, there's still a use for your tin after you've eaten the sweet contents. From planters to paint palettes, here are the many ways you can bring new life to your tin.

You can give your plants a new home with a round cookie tin. Using a trivet, macrame rope, fabric, and cardboard, it's easy to fashion a planter with its own stand — thanks to the inclusion of the trivet. Because the planter won't have drainage holes, it's best suited for faux plants or those inside a nursery pot. The basis is to make the cardboard into a large cylinder, then cover it with fabric. Once you're done covering the cardboard with macrame rope, you could add a variety of other decorations, such as feathers or fake pearls. 

Remember the fun of playing games in the backseat on a long road trip? While we have gadgets galore for entertaining kids, there's no mistaking the charm of classic games like tic-tac-toe. Using a cookie tin to make a travel game lets you keep the pieces securely inside, plus you can make multiple travel game boards beyond tic-tac-toe by just exploring printout options. You'll need paper, two magnetic sheets, scissors, and a tic-tac-toe board set to fit within the lid of the tin. Then cut the pieces, attaching with the magnets' adhesive. 

When you find yourself thinking you can't possibly shove another plant on the shelf, turn to the walls! A cookie tin is perfect to shape into a stylish boho planter, so capture that precious vertical space with this aesthetic project. You'll only need the tin's lid for this one, plus some coir rope, a clear jar (plastic is good since it's lightweight), glue, and any other materials for customization. The steps involve covering the lid with the rope, then attaching the jar. If you want the effect of it draping down the wall, fill with plants like string of pearls, creeping vine, or string of nickel.

Jewelry in a clunky pile? End the nightmare of tangled necklaces and earrings, plus keep all of your jewelry in a handy spot with this DIY. You can paint the tin and attach crystals, seashells, or other elements for a fun customization. For the container, you'll make the dividers with cardboard, then cover them with felt. It's also advised to line the tin's bottom with felt, too. Set this homemade jewelry keeper on your dresser and it will be easy to retrieve your accessories in a snap.  

Your biscuit or cookie tin is perfect for a functional, yet colorful, terrarium for your shelf or wall. This project won't require the lid, so save it for another DIY. Take a plastic sheet, cut it to size, and use glue to attach it as an inner liner. Then you'll want to cut a half circle with another sheet of plastic to create the outer barrier that'll keep the contents safe and sound. Fill with your favorite types of terrarium plants, faux or real, and a few decorative rocks.

Perfect for holidays, upcycle your cookie tin into a centerpiece. If new to flower foam, fake flowers are a better choice. Once you have your chosen blooms, you need enough bricks of floral foam to fit inside your tin (like this 3-pack from Floflare on Amazon for under $10) and a craft knife. You can decorate the tin's outside with paint or decoupage, or leave as-is for a more eclectic look. Fill up your tin with the foam, cutting to fit, then insert and arrange the flowers.

No matter the season, you can easily recycle a cookie tin lid into a wreath inlay with paint and some decals, or rub-on transfers of some of your favorite imagery. Consider picking your paint color based on the seasons, such as green for Christmas, red for Valentine's Day, and blue for Hanukkah, etc. Simply attach some faux greenery, use cable mounts to attach your lid to the wreath securely, then hang it on your door and wall. This DIY also makes for a great gift. 

If someone brought one of those giant cookie tins to the office, and now that it's empty, snag it from the break room before it ends up in the trash. Grab scissors, some fabric, glue, and jute or yarn for the final touch. After measuring the interior of the tin and the outside, cut the fabric to fit. Once the fabric is on the tin, wrap it with the jute or yarn to create a multi-purpose basket, ideal for supplies, dog toys, toilet paper, and other items that you need in one handy spot.

Here's another jewelry project that involves the cookie tin lid. Gather a small branch, paint, and hot glue. Start by painting the inside of the lid white, and then paint your branch your desired color. Once everything is dry, glue the branch in the center of the lid, as this will be where you put your rings or other jewelry items. You can also wrap rope or ribbon around the lip of the lid if you'd like, or line the inside with felt instead.

Make a rustic barrel planter out of a cookie tin lid, clothespins, glue, twine, and chalk paint. Start by painting the lid in the color of your choice. Break the clothespins apart and discard the metal pieces in the middle. Place your separated clothespin pieces along the edge of the lid to make a decorative border. After they're attached, paint the clothespins — whether it be the same color as your tin, or something else. The decorations don't have to stop there, either — rope, stencils, or even decals all make great options.

For affordable holiday decor or a year-round decorative piece, it doesn't get easier than using decoupage on a cookie tin lid to display on a shelf or wall. It's a good starter project creative ways to use decoupage in your home, and it works with tin lids of any size. Once you've set the image, try trimming the lid with a bead string, ribbon, or twine. Your finished project could also be a great door sign, perhaps for a kid's room.

Delicious cookies come in all shapes and sizes, including Pirouline cookies, which feature a cylinder tin. The round shape for these sweets make an ideal candle votive. You can make it with a drill, paint, hair dryer, and some decorations for the cylinder itself. After painting the tin and adding your decorations, use your drill to create holes for the light to gently flicker through with a lit candle. If you have pets and want to avoid using lit candles, battery-operated candles will offer the same effect. 

If you're an artist with a ton of paint brushes, pens, and other art supplies you need access to for a project, you can corral them a little easier by simply turning over the lid of a cookie tin to use it as a makeshift tray. The lid's lip makes it a perfect tray, as items won't roll around everywhere. Homes with tiny budding artists might enjoy this repurposing DIY too — you can let paintbrushes and paint tubes drip onto the tray, rather than the table, which greatly helps with cleanup.

Pedestal trays are a way to display flowers, figurines, ceramics, and whatever else you like, so this is a great way to repurpose your empty tin. You'll spray paint the cookie tin, then stack on a basket and another tray — perhaps one you already have around the house. The pedestal comes from decorative wood, and it's all kept together with a bit of superglue or E6000 glue. Once you've finished this craft, you've got a great centerpiece for your space. If you choose a neutral color, you can change the display through the seasons, adding bits of color with your decorations.

Your cookie tin is for the birds, literally. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation says birds prefer baths with a 1 to 2 inch depth, so a cookie tin lid is a handy way to make a little bird bath or feeder for feathered friends in your yard. Snag a wreath from Dollar Tree, attach your tin lid to it, then use rope or twine to hang your bird bath or feeder. If you do this project in the winter, you'll give these little guys some much-needed calories as they migrate.

Clocks are handy, and you can craft them out of nearly anything, even cookie/biscuit tins, which really lets your creativity fly. Some crafters use a square cookie tin, but you can use a round one with ease. Once you decide it's "time" to make one, here's what you'll need: a clock kit like this one for $12 on Amazon, as well as a drill. Once you drill where you want the clock to go on the tin, follow the kit's instructions. You'll have quite a conversation piece when you're done.