Recently I decided that I’m going to just start using some of the transfers that I’ve been holding on to while waiting for just the right piece of furniture to come along (a.k.a. hoarding).  I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to use a $30+ transfer on a piece like a toolbox that I’ll be lucky to sell for $55.  However, it also doesn’t make sense to keep hanging onto transfers that I purchased a year ago or more.  Those transfers aren’t worth anything sitting in my cupboard drying out.

Transfers do deteriorate a bit over time, have you noticed that?  They lose some of their stickiness, making them more difficult to rub on.

That’s why I decided to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer from I.O.D. on a toolbox.

This transfer is 24″ by 32″, and you might wonder how I would fit that on a toolbox.  Well, you’re about to find out.

My friend Sue found this toolbox for me recently.

It has a pop up tray, but I still would consider it a toolbox rather than a tackle box based on its size, and the fact that there is only one divider in that tray.

Tackle boxes typically have a lot more than just one divider, don’t they?

It looks at though this toolbox was originally red, and then at some point it was painted silver.  Although that pop up tray doesn’t have any red.  Maybe it was originally aluminum, then painted red, then painted silver again.  LOL, who knows?

But this time around I’m painting it peaches and cream.  Well, technically, Dixie Belle’s Apricot and Drop Cloth.

First though, the prep work.  I cleaned this one with some Dawn dish soap and the garden hose.  Then I used a razor blade to scrape away some clumpy bits here and there.  They looked like maybe bits of glue, or possibly glops of polyurethane or something.  Whatever, I scraped them off.  Recently someone asked me if I sand my toolboxes before painting them, and sometimes I do.  If they have a chippy finish on them, or a lot of rust spots, I will sand them a bit to get them more smooth.  I don’t get carried away though, just a quick sanding.

Next up I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear B.O.S.S.  Personally I wouldn’t go without the B.O.S.S. on most toolboxes, it prevents both rust spots and greasy residue (these are toolboxes after all, they are bound to have some greasy residue) from coming through your paint.

Then I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

I knew I was going to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer on the outside, and after pulling out all three of the pinky coral shades of Dixie Belle paint, I decided that Apricot was the best choice.  Although honestly, any of the three would have worked.  And by the way, stay tuned for an upcoming post comparing those three coral colors!

The exterior of the toolbox received two coats of Drop Cloth.  I painted over everything but the handle.

Then I started cutting up the Flora Parisiensis transfer to fit it to the toolbox.  I started with the two biggest rose elements, applying them to the front of the toolbox and wrapping them up and over the top.

As you can see, I cut the transfer out around the latches.  I usually do a dry fit of the transfer when working on a piece like this, cutting around those latches before removing the backing paper.

Once those were in place, I added the wording to the top of the toolbox, layering some of it over the roses.

I added a section of rose leaves to the front of the box, and once I was done with that, here’s what I had left from the transfer.

Lots of stems and one big rose.

So technically I will likely get one more project out of this one, or I’ll at least have lots of filler to use with other floral transfers.

Next I added a bee under the handle.  It came from the re.design with prima Middy French Labels.

The Rosier du Pont. wording that I added to the front is from I.O.D.’s Redouté II transfer.

I also added another bee from the French Labels set inside the lid.

People often ask me what one would do with a pretty floral toolbox like this one, and I think my best answer is ‘whatever you want’.  Fill it with anything that fits in a box, put it on a shelf somewhere in your house.  Surely everyone needs at least one pretty toolbox, don’t they?

This particular toolbox is for sale locally, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ page if interested.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S. and paint used for this toolbox makeover.