There’s been no dearth of candy tin contraptions popping up in craft fairs and all over the interweb. Like all of the best DIY-inspiring materials, the sheer sturdy versatility of the ubiquitous strong mint box is a boon to the creatively-minded. It’s conveniently-sized for carrying all manner of everyday items, from credit cards to pocket change to your obsessive lip balm collection, and provides a nigh weatherproof exterior to protect its contents — from band-aids to battery chargers. Here are just a couple of many quick fixes for our fave tiny tin.

Wallet/Decorative Box
Cut two rectangles of craft felt to fit inside the bottom and top of your tin, and sew one to an optional clear plastic wallet insert with several windows or a small fabric coin bag with a front snap. Glue your lining to the top and bottom of the tin with a quick drying craft glue or use self-adhesive felt. Minus the wallet insert and coin bag, you can also use this at home as a jewelry box, sewing kit, or other tschochke — decorating the exterior with collage scraps, stickers, or metal paints.

First Aid/Survival Kit
The following should fit inside a standard hinged-lid candy tin (approximately 2.5” x 3.5”) with a little juggling around: three standard-sized bandaids, two butterfly bandages (can also be improvised from medical adhesive tape) or two steri-strips, two alcohol swabs, two antiseptic towelettes, 2” x 2” sterile gauze dressing, small tube of triple antibiotic ointment or aloe vera gel, small tube of topical steroid or calamine lotion, tweezers, a straight pin or needle, razorblade, 1’ medical adhesive tape wrapped around 1 oz bottle of sterile saline eye wash, and one miniature resealable bag for a couple each of anti-inflammatory tablets such as ibuprofen, aspirin, anti-histamine tablets for allergic reactions, and optional anti-emetic/anti-diarrheal tablets. Of course, none of these items will take the place of informed medical care, but they may make your maneuvering around the urban jungle a tad more comfortable in the short term. With some small modifications and additions (whistle, mirror, strike-anywhere matches), you can also make a pocket survival kit for camping trips or other wilderness forays.