a sweet little toolbox.

Published on by Quandie

My friend opK found this sweet little toolbox for me last summer.

She thought it would be the perfect candidate for a makeover, and she was right.

I gave it my usual prep, a good washing with soapy water and then a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.  By the way, while we’re on the subject of B.O.S.S., did you hear that Dixie Belle is coming out with a new product that combines the qualities of B.O.S.S. and Slick Stick?  So it will still block odors and seal stains, but it will also be formulated to use on slick surfaces to improve the adhesion of your paint.  I’m looking forward to trying that out.

But in the meantime, I still like using the clear B.O.S.S. on items like this.  I prefer the clear version over the white or grey because I almost always distress my pieces and I don’t want to see that white or grey color under my final paint color.  Of course, in this particular instance I could have used the grey and it wouldn’t have made much difference since the original color of this toolbox was a silvery grey.

I painted the inside in DB’s Cottage Door.  This is such a lovely warm pinkish coral.  I’ve used it to create a pop of color inside a few toolboxes now.

Next I painted the outside in DB’s Midnight Sky.  Then I taped off a Swiss cross to paint in Drop Cloth.  Unfortunately, after I painted the cross, the tape I used pulled a bunch of the Midnight Sky with it when I took it off.

I usually use the yellow Frog Tape for delicate surfaces, but they didn’t have that one at Home Depot so I had purchased the regular green Frog Tape instead.  I’ve since gone back to Menard’s to stock up on the yellow version so this doesn’t happen again.  I could also probably avoid this problem if I allowed the paint to cure longer before taping over it, but who has the patience for that?

After going back and touching up the Midnight Sky, I added a small transfer from I.O.D.’s Label Ephemera to the top of the toolbox.

Then I decided that a small section from the I.O.D. Mélange paint inlay had the perfect typography for below that transfer.

I love it!

Except what did I do?  You can definitely see it in that close up photo above.  Yep, I forgot to seal my paint inlay with a spray sealer before applying some clear wax.  As soon as I swiped over it with the wax brush it smeared.  Ugh!

A more detailed explanation on the correct way to apply and seal a paint inlay can be found here.

I’m so annoyed with myself, I definitely knew better, I just wasn’t thinking.

I went back in with a q-tip to try and clean it up a bit, but you can definitely still see a bit of smearing, especially in a close up.

But most people aren’t going to be scrutinizing it that closely, right?

Unfortunately, an immediate fix for this would be rather delicate.  Since the paint inlay has to be applied to wet paint, I would have to paint back over that area.  However, I wouldn’t trust the adhesion of paint over the freshly applied wax, although you can paint over it after it’s cured, in about 30 days.  Otherwise, the wax would need to be removed by scrubbing it off with some mineral spirits.

Then I could brush on some more Drop Cloth paint and apply the paint inlay again.  However, as I’ve found in the past, using a paint inlay for the 2nd time gives a much fainter result than the first time around.  So would I be any happier with the look of that?

Another option would be to buy a new Mélange paint inlay just to use that little section of it.  The inlay is currently on sale at The Painted Heirloom for $40.50, plus $6.95 shipping unless I would spend at least $150 to get free shipping.  Yikes!  That’s a lot of money to fork over just for this one little fix.  Don’t get me wrong, I do think that the Mélange paint inlay is worth that price if you have lots of projects to use it on.  But I already have it, and I’ve only used about half of it.

FYI, The Painted Heirloom site has a message saying that all I.O.D. paint inlays are now considered ‘limited release’ and once sold out there won’t be more.  So maybe that’s motivation to buy another.

Do I really want to spend almost $50 for another Mélange inlay though, just for this one little section on this one little toolbox?

And maybe that blurring isn’t really that bad?

From a distance you barely notice it … especially if you squint just a little.

LOL, I don’t know.  We’re always more critical of our own work, aren’t we?  What do you think?

By the way, I also added a simple Tim Holtz number transfer to the side of the toolbox.

and I think the latch is my favorite part of this makeover.

It’s half black and half white, and I added a little crown.

For now I have set this toolbox aside while I consider whether or not I need to re-do that inlay.  But I may just take it into the shop and see what happens.  I can always make a decision about re-doing it if it doesn’t sell.

What would you do?

34 thoughts on “a sweet little toolbox.”

  1. I doubt this would be a problem at all…bring it to the shop, give it “x” amount of days to sell – and then forget about it. You’ll see it will sell quickly with no further investment of either time or money from you. It’s gorgeous!

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  4. I think it looks great. I would just pop it in your spot . If it doesn’t sell in the appropriate time (you think). Then you could redo. My eyes must be going because I don’t see an issue. It looks homey and charming.

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  5. I don’t know that I would’ve even noticed if it wasn’t pointed out to me. It’s really lovely and I agree with the comments above: I wouldn’t re-do it until/unless it doesn’t sell.

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  7. I always look at the pictures before I read and I didn’t even notice smearing. I am sure this will sell quickly! I love how each of your boxes is so unique. You are an unending font of creativity.

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    1. I’m always a little worried that one of these days the well is going to run dry, and I’m going to run out of new idea. But so far that hasn’t happened … knock on wood!

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  10. I think you’re overthinking this one🤪. It adds to the vintage look. The toolbox is fabulous as is. Might be Too much time and money for something nobody will probably notice. Why are we always so hard on ourselves?? Another super cute tool box refab!

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  12. Leave it! Didn’t even notice and any wear or imperfections to me would seem to be intentional.. love the design on this and the pop of colour inside!

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  13. The boo boo just gives it character us chippy paint people will love it don’t be too hard on yourself your work is awesome thanks for sharing

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  14. I would be very happy to send you this section of my paint inlay as a show of appreciation for all the work you do creating posts for all of us to enjoy. I look forward to every single one of your posts! Let me know where to send it.

    Nancy

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    1. You are way too kind Nancy! But I don’t want to take this bit away from you. I’m sure you’ll find something fabulous to use your bit on. I’m going to take everyone’s advice and take this in to the shop ‘as is’ and see what happens.

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  15. And if you feel more comfortable I would be more than happy to mail it to the store where you sell your finished pieces. To me it is kind of scary to give your address to a stranger on the internet!!!

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    1. I know many bloggers have P.O. boxes for that reason, but I haven’t gone that route. Well, to be honest, not too many people offer to send me stuff 😉 Thanks for your offer though!

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  16. We are tougher on ourselves than others! It’s fine; most would think that that’s the way it is supposed to look, and if they didn’t like it well, that’s ok it’s not for everyone, just that one person who finds it perfect (perfectly imperfect!)

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