I love doing simple little projects like this one that prove how much personality you can add with a little paint, some transfers and some decoupage paper.

My friend/picker, Sue, found this little lockbox for me last summer.

It’s just your basic metal box meant for storing important documents.  It’s obviously not particularly old, maybe from the 70’s or 80’s.  It’s not really anything special, but Sue knew I could give it a fun new look.

I started by scuff sanding the surface to give the paint a better chance to stick.  Then I cleaned the box with soap and water.  Once dry, I started painting.  I painted a strip down the center in Dixie Belle’s French Linen, and once that was fully dry, I taped a line on either side of the handle and painted the outer edges of the box in Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy.

I love this combination of colors, these two play really well together.

Once all of the paint was dry, I sanded the edges to distress the box, wiped away any dust and then added some IOD transfers.

These were just bits and pieces that I had in my transfer scrap pile, all of them coming originally from the IOD Label Ephemera transfer.

I cut out each line separately and arranged them to fit the top of the box.

I’d also painted the interior of the box in the French Linen.  Once that was dry, I lined it with some re.design with prima decoupage tissue paper called Washed Damask.

I used Dixie Belle clear coat in flat as a decoupage medium for the tissue, and I also gave the rest of the interior a couple of coats of the flat clear coat to provide extra protection to the paint.

I used clear wax as a topcoat on the outside of the box because I prefer the look it gives over the flat clear coat.

It leaves just a bit more sheen.  But it doesn’t provide quite as much protection, so that’s why I opt for the clear coat on the inside.  I also buffed up the lock using clear wax so that it’s nice and shiny now.

I wish I had the key to go with the box, but unfortunately I don’t.  I even went through my jar of random keys to see if I could find one that fit, but no luck.

So whatever is stored inside won’t be under lock and key.

But it will be stored in style.

This particular box is already spoken for.  One of my regular customers gave me a really fabulous, and really huge, cabinet in exchange for it.  I won’t be able to work on the cabinet until spring/summer when I can be outside in my carriage house workshop because there is no way I have room to do it in the house.  So you’ll have to stay tuned for that one!

In the meantime, let me know what you think of the lock box makeover.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle for providing the paint and clear coat used on this project.