I’m sure that many of you saw that I.O.D. came out with a new summer release recently.  It included a couple of really pretty transfers.  Even though I’m trying not to buy new transfers, and instead use up the ones that I have, I just couldn’t resist this one called Elysium.

This transfer costs around $30 (plus shipping in most cases), so adding it to a smaller item, like a toolbox for example, that I am planning to sell for less than $50 doesn’t seem like a smart plan.

But I figured I could break it up and get at least 4 smaller projects out of just this one transfer, and suddenly the cost seems a lot more realistic.

So far I’ve used it on two pieces, so I thought I’d share those together today.

First up is the rustic box that’s underneath the wood tote in this photo …

It may once have looked pretty cool with that paper label on the front, but there wasn’t enough left of the label to salvage.  So I cleaned the box first, then sanded off most of that label.  As I was working with the box, I realized that it was pretty much falling apart.  So I did a little gluing and nailing too.

Finally it was ready for paint.  I first painted the interior in Dixie Belle’s Kudzu.

Other than paint, I left the inside quite plain.

I kept the pretty stuff on the outside.

After painting the exterior of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth and sanding it well to distress the edges, I added just one sheet of the Elysium transfer to the top (this transfer comes in 4 pieces).

One thing to note with this transfer is that there is some typography in the background.  It’s subtle, but it’s there.  So you want to be careful to not place it with the words upside down.

 Next I layered on some wording from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

Once I had those in place, I decided that the box needed some rustic hardware, so I added this old rusty handle that I had in my stash.

And voila, a fun box that would be perfect for housing your stash of Jeanne d’Arc Living magazines (or any sort of magazine really).

The 2nd project using just one sheet of the Elysium transfer is this tackle box.

I picked this out of a ‘free’ pile on the curb in my neighborhood.  Mr. Q and I were passing by on our daily walk and there it was, so I grabbed it.

It didn’t look too terrible on the outside, but the inside was a gunky mess.

I actually ended up discarding the tray because I didn’t think it was worth the effort to save.  But for the rest of the interior I first soaked it in soapy water and then scraped off as much gunk as I could.  Then once dry, I sanded it down until it was mostly smooth.

Then I applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. to prevent any kind of bleed thru problems in the future.  I followed that up with two coats of DB’s Holy Guacamole.

Then I sealed it with two coats of DB’s flat clear coat.  My main goal here is to make the inside of the box suitable for use, whether that use is containing art supplies, storing old photos or holding your makeup.

I painted the outside in two coats of Drop Cloth, and then I added the Elysium transfer.

Once I had the floral in place, I again added some wording from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer to the top.

With this section of the transfer, it would be much more apparent if the background typography was upside down.

So there you go, two projects down and I still have two more sections of the transfer to use on a couple more things.

Both of these items are for sale, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details if interested.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying their products used in these makeovers.