storage with style.

Published on by Quandie

I’m painting more metal boxes.  It’s so quick and easy, and I love the results.  I picked up a couple of them while thrifting recently.

painted boxes collage

I painted the larger one in Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg, and the smaller in her Florence.

painted boxes 1

Then I doctored them up with some more rub-ons.  The numbers are Tim Holtz, and the faux vintage labels are 7 Gypsies.  I just adore the one I used on the top of the smaller box.

wild cherry box

And I added some pretty October Afternoon scrapbook paper inside.

painted box inside

And the French labels on the bigger box are kind of fab as well.

painted box french label

I doctored up the top of the bigger box also.

painted duck egg box top

I don’t know about you, but I prefer storing things in pretty containers.  These boxes would be perfect for storing all kinds of things; craft supplies, tax records (gack!), your make up, old photos.  Both of these boxes have keys, so you could always lock up your most precious belongings, whatever they might be.

storage with style

Here are some tips for you if you plan to paint some metal boxes of your own.  First of all, sand lightly before you paint.  I know that chalk paint aficionado’s say you don’t have to, but it just takes a minute and it helps remove any residues that might affect the paint.  Next, water your chalk paint down.  Way down.  You won’t get the brush strokes if your paint is really thinned out.  Take a closer look at my photos.  I watered down the Florence, but didn’t water down the Duck Egg.  You can see brush strokes in the Duck Egg, but none in the Florence.  That did mean that I needed two coats of Florence, and only one of Duck Egg, but I think it’s worth it to get rid of those brush strokes.  Especially on metal.  Next time I’ll be sure to water down all of my colors.

I finished by sanding and then adding clear wax.  I followed the clear wax with some dark wax on the smaller box.  Then I added the rub-ons.

Makes for a simple project you can handle in an afternoon.  But if you don’t want to tackle it yourself, these lovely boxes will be available at my sale in June unless someone snaps them up sooner.

13 thoughts on “storage with style.”

    1. Thanks Darrielle! I really prefer using the chalk paint after it has been watered down. It goes on much more smoothly, and of course it also goes further!

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  3. Love them both Linda. I have been in Charleston getting my daughter settled and I painted two pieces of furniture for her while I was there. I have a question about sanding for you. I did not have chalk paint I had Valspar Latex Paint in a satin finish and the finished product feels like sandpaper instead of smooth like satin should. I suspect I should have sanded between coats.😦😦😦 First I sanded using one of those foam sanding blocks, next I had to prime because her cat had scratched the original paint off down to the wood. But I did not sand in between primer and the two top,coats of paint. Any suggestions? Thanks

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    1. I wonder if it was the primer that left the surface so rough. Possibly. It’s been so long since I’ve painted with latex that I don’t think I’m qualified to offer any opinion now 😉 Hope you are able to get it corrected. By the way, Valspar’s home office is right here in downtown Minneapolis. And look at this, they have a version of chalk paint now that will be available at Lowe’s.

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  5. Ah, they turned out great! Love the colors. Wasn’t sure if you would paint the big one, but I really like it 🙂

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    1. Oh, I forget sometimes that not everyone is familiar with some of the scrapbook supply designers. 7 Gypsies mostly makes scrapbook stuff. I am finding it increasingly difficult to get their products though. I used to get it at a local scrapbook store, Archivers, that has since closed all of their brick and mortar stores. I also used to order it online at Two Peas in a Bucket, another scrapbook supplier that has closed its doors. But if you google “7 Gypsies rub-ons” you’ll find some online resources for them.

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