Hey vintage loving friends! Today's project is so fun and a great vintage fake! If you've ever longed to own one of the vintage Campfire Marshmallows tin, but couldn't bring yourself to pay the astounding price tag, look no further! This simple dupe will fool even your vintage loving friends!

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Faux food has long intrigued me! It's easier than you may think to make a fake cake and it's nice to have the look of a homemade faux whip treat sitting on the kitchen counter, whether you spent time slaving in the kitchen or not!

These vintage look-alike campfire marshmallows tins are a great accent piece to add to your summer and patriotic decor! They're very simple to fake, and a great way to upcycle used food tins, as I'll show you below!

My DIY faux Campfire Marshmallows tin of treats is the newest project in my Patriotic Series! If you're new and missed the other crafts, you can catch up below or click HERE to see all my patriotic projects. To see what else I have coming over the next several weeks, be sure to sign up so you don't miss anything!

• Double-sided patriotic star decor
  
• Easy primitive flags with coffee stain
  

I started this project with a small roasted almonds container for my mini marshmallow tin, but I have also used a coffee canister and a cardboard oatmeal container for the larger tubs of vintage treats! Look around your home for similar shaped food containers or metal tins you can upcycle for these vintage inspired decor pieces.

• vintage Campfire Marshmallows printables from Etsy (I used two different ones, find them       HERE and HERE)
• food tin
• creamy white chalk paint
• black and burnt umber acrylic paints
• stiff stencil brush
• instant coffee crystals
• mod podge or other decoupage medium - I like the matte option
• craft brushes
• Crayola Model Magic (white) or air dry clay
• butcher paper or coffee stained muslin

If you're a crafter, you probably have many of these items on hand already! If you have to purchase supplies, you'll still spend MUCH less than you would on an authentic vintage Campfire Marshmallows tin...they are pricey!!!

Look below this graphic for details on each simple step I took to turn an almond container into a vintage marshmallows tin.

Mix 1/4 cup of creamy white chalk paint with 1-2 tsp instant coffee. Use brush to mix well. The coffee crystals will dissolve in the paint, giving a darker vintage look. There will also be some undissolved crystals, which will add some lovely vintage texture to the marshmallow tin.

Paint two coats of the paint and coffee mixture onto the almond tin, letting the first coat dry before painting the second. If you're not seeing much texture, you could add a little bit of ground cinnamon to the paint mixture.

Step #3-6

Add some darker splotches/splatters to the container to add to the look of age. To do this, mix 1 Tbsp water with a few squirts of burnt umber acrylic paint. Mix well until paint is thoroughly blended into the water. Dip a stiff brush (like a stencil brush or a toothbrush) into the mixture and squeeze off the excess on the side of the glass. Rub your finger over the bristles, aiming the splatters at the tin.

Size and print out the marshmallows labels in full color (I sized mine in Word). Cut out printable and make sure it will fit on the container you're using.

Apply label with mod podge, press out any bubbles and then brush a coat of mod podge to the top of the label. Continue with a coat of mod podge to the entire container to seal the design.

To add faux rust patches, sprinkle some coffee granules directly onto the wet mod podge. As it dissolves, it will melt into the glue and create the look of rust. You can also sprinkle the wet spots with a little cinnamon for a similar effect. Go heavier in a few spots for true vintage ago.

Doesn't that look like real rust? It may look authentic, but it's just coffee and it smells really good! Below are some different sized marshmallow containers that I made. You'll see that some have heavier coats of faux rust than others.

You can use either Crayola Model Magic or air dry clay to make your faux marshmallows. There are some pros and cons to each, which I'll describe below. No matter which clay you choose to use, the process to make faux marshmallows is the same.

1. roll a little clay in your hands to soften, and form into a smooth ball
2. press the ball lightly on the table, flattening the top and squeezing the sides slightly
3. flip the marshmallow over and repeat until you're satisfied with the shape
4. set faux marshmallows aside to dry (time will depend on size and type of clay)
5. flip marshmallows over after 12 hours, to help the other side dry faster

• pro - it's bright white and stays white as it dries
• pro - easy to work with and leaves no residue on hands or table
• pro - it's lightweight and feels like a real marshmallow even once dry
• con - it has a tendency to crack as it dries
• con - it never really dries to a hard finish
• con - even when dry, pieces will stick together unless sealed

• pro - it starts gray but dries white
• pro - as long as clay is sufficiently moist, cracks are easy to prevent (or can be smoothed out with a wet finger)
• con - it's heavy and finished marshmallows won't have that lightweight, airy feel and weight

To disguise the cracks in the marshmallows made with Model Magic, I plan to give the edges a toasted marshmallow look with paint, cinnamon and more instant coffee granules.

To display the decorated tin filled with marshmallows, I stuffed the tin with a plastic bag as filler and topped that with two squares of coffee stained muslin (you can also use butcher paper). The marshmallows were added to the top and don't they look sweet! I didn't even seal them, but may do that in the future (simply brushing them with matte mod podge).

The red, white and blue label of this vintage Campfire Marshmallows tin pairs beautifully with vintage patriotic decor!

I really love the look of the big fat clay marshmallows in the larger tin! They look so real, don't they?

Let me know in the comments if you plan to make your own vintage inspired Campfire Marshmallows tin and faux marshmallows! Or maybe you're lucky enough to already own one of these vintage treasures!

Bonus tips:

Happy crafting!