I really enjoy quick little projects to just dress something up.  Improvements that don’t take long, but totally change the look of something.

I purchased this green metal box a while back.  I liked the lid, and that the box was quite heavy duty, but I didn’t love the forest green color.  Not to mention the fact that it looked decidedly ‘spray painted’.

I knew this piece could benefit from a makeover.  I started by sanding it rather well.  Partially to allow the new coat of paint to adhere well, but also partially to remove that spray paint texture.  I then painted it with two coats of Fusion’s Lily Pond, a pretty paler green.

Next I used sand paper to distress the box.  I distress almost everything I paint.  I think distressing is what brings an item to life.  It gives it a sense of history.  It keeps the piece from looking ‘freshly painted’ and too bland.  It has a secondary function that I also like.  When a piece is distressed it doesn’t matter down the road if it gets a few more dings.  They just blend in with the intentional distressing.

You can really see the results of the distressing on the lid …

Once the box was distressed, I went over it with some of Fusion’s beeswax just to get a richer sheen and to protect the areas that I distressed down to the metal.

Next, I glued on an enameled number plate using some E6000.

This box could be used to store all kinds of things.  It’s a nice size for your extra toilet paper rolls in the bathroom.

I use boxes like these in my pantry to store things that aren’t in the greatest packaging on their own.  Things like cat food, kleenex, cleaning products, etc.

This was such a quick and easy update!  Projects like this are perfect for the working gal like me, you can accomplish them in one evening between supper and bedtime, while doing a load of laundry in between coats of paints.  Multi-tasking at its finest!

This weekend I plan to do some serious multi-tasking.  I’m finishing up a dresser and a buffet, plus I have a couple of smaller projects to work on as well.  But first my sister and I are going to attend the anniversary celebration at Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater this evening.  If you didn’t see my post about that over on their blog, check it out {here}.  Maybe I will see you there!