Campfire Patina

 Wanna make something like this...

Celestial Seasons tea bag tin.

Look like this...?

It's easy!

Throw any old tin you have in your campfire, fire pit, bonfire, etc., let it sit while you roast marshmallows, then retrieve it in the morning when the fire is completely cooled.

 Seriously.

Throw your tins in, forget about it, and you'll end up with some fairly permanent patinas.

An acid pickle would remove the oxidation, but most of us don't have a crock-pot full of pickle sitting around that we unknowingly drop things into, so no worries. 

So far, I've found that the patinas end up pretty random.

I'm sure fire time, placement, paint on the tins, and many other factors effect the outcome, but I think it's kind of fun to surprised.

Tin A Close-up--One hour in fire pit.

Love the marbling.

Tin B Close-Up--One Hour in fire pit.

Some really nice reds started to developed.  I think a longer fire time would have brought out an even redder patina.

Disclosure:

This isn't my original idea.  I caught it on the blogosphere years ago, before pinterest, so I don't have an original source to give you.  This is probably one of those crafty techniques that are without ownership.