I hope you guys aren’t getting tired of the toolbox transformations because I’ve got another one for you today.  And I have to say, I think ‘transformation’ is definitely the right word for this one.

Let’s start with some ‘before’ photos.

Yep, I have to admit, I wasn’t sure this one was going to be worth the effort.  This toolbox certainly didn’t seem like anything special in its ‘before’ state.  However, as you’re about to see, it totally was worth it!

Earlier this fall I spent a sunny afternoon cleaning up a pile of toolboxes and lock boxes out in the backyard using the hose.  I then took a quick photo of the pile before I gave them a good scrub …

As you can see, the interior was just as rusty and flakey as the outside.  Also, this toolbox included the red tray that is shown above on the upper left.

I started by sanding this one a bit more thoroughly than usual to remove any of the flaking paint.  Then, as I mentioned, I washed it up with Dawn dish soap and the garden hose.  Once dry, I coated it inside and out with Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.

Then I studied that tray for a moment.  I kind of liked the patina on the handle, but wanted to clean it up a bit.  So I opted for painting just the inside of the tray in Dixie Belle’s Honky Tonk Red which ended up being a perfect match for the original color.

Then I added a little Christmas bird from Dixie Belle’s Evergreen and Holly transfer.

Isn’t he sweet?  I followed that up with a coat of DB’s flat clear coat to protect it all.

I also went ahead and gave the interior of the toolbox a couple of coats of Honky Tonk Red followed by some flat clear coat as well.

Next up I painted the outside in my favorite Dixie Belle Drop Cloth.

Then I thought about the I.O.D. Cosette transfer that I had on hand.

I’ve had this transfer for a while, just waiting for the right piece of furniture to put it on.  But I have to confess, I’d been hesitating to use it because I didn’t like the red wording.  I felt like adding even that little bit of red to something would make it more difficult for someone to work into their décor, thus making a piece more difficult to sell.  I don’t know, I certainly could be wrong about that, but I really was wishing all of the wording on this transfer was black.

So decided to do something a tad reckless (LOL, for me anyway).  I cut out that center section of wording to use on this toolbox.

I’m calling it reckless simply because this transfer costs around $40, and here I was just hacking a section out of it for a toolbox.  But then again, I wasn’t using the full transfer because of that red.  Now the red is gone, and I could fill that center section with something else when I find the right piece of furniture for the size of the rest of the transfer.

And the red was perfect on this toolbox!

I added some poinsettias from the Dixie Belle Evergreen and Holly transfer to tip the look over into the Christmas category.

I also added a little Tim Holtz number transfer.

I also used part of that center section of the Cosette transfer up under the handle, and the tiny red “PARIS” on the latch.

This might be the last Christmas themed toolbox I do this year.  I’ve mostly run out of Christmas transfers and don’t think I’ll be finding more this season.

I sure do feel like I’m going out with a bang on this one.  I have to admit, if it doesn’t sell I won’t be sad about that.  I may just have to keep it.

But that being said, if any of you locals are interested be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for details.

Thanks to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their products used on this toolbox!