I’ve been patiently waiting to share today’s toolbox with you guys!

You see, Dixie Belle sent me the new colors from the Countryside Collection of their Silk paint in advance of the release.  So I immediately went and painted a toolbox in one of them, and then realized I wouldn’t be able to share it for weeks!  I should have read the fine print first 😉

In fact, I painted this one before any of the toolboxes that I shared during toolbox week!

And then I had to keep it hush hush until the new colors were revealed.  And I’ll let you in on a secret, I’m not good at keeping secrets.

But I made it!  And now I can share, so let’s start with the ‘before’ of this toolbox.

It was pretty basic, in good shape but a very drab color.

After my usual prep of cleaning it well, lightly scuff sanding it and giving it a base coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss, I painted the interior in DB’s Blue Grass.

Then I painted the outside in the new Countryside Collection color called Oxford Fog.

I just knew these two colors would pair up beautifully.

They are two different styles of paint.  The Silk paint is a water based all-in-one acrylic paint with a built in primer and top coat.  On the other hand, the Blue Grass is from DB’s line of chalk style paints.  Chalk paint doesn’t always require a primer, but I like to add additional protection from bleed-thru with the Bonding Boss when painting over rusty metal with both styles of paint.  In addition, for durability the chalk paint should be top-coated with hemp oil, wax, or a clear water based sealer.  I used Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat to seal the interior of the toolbox.  Furthermore, although the Silk paint doesn’t require a topcoat, the transfer does.  So I finished off the outside of the toolbox with some of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

While technically you could mix these two paints together since they are both water based, I’m not sure I would recommend that.   However, you certainly can use both on the same project like I’ve done with this toolbox.

Once my paint was dry, I added some florals from the I.O.D. Saint Germain transfer.

Gosh those florals are gorgeous, aren’t they?

I wrapped them around the sides …

and up over the top.

Next up I pulled out my precious stash of I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfers.  For those who aren’t familiar, I call them ‘precious’ because this transfer was retired several years ago and is very hard to find now.  I have a steadily dwindling stash of them, but unfortunately it’s not going to last forever.

Anyway, I chose some sections of text from Label Ephemera and applied them next.

I followed that up with that coat of clear wax that I mentioned earlier.

I staged my photos of the toolbox in the shade garden, but I also placed a couple of watering can flower arrangements behind it for added color.

I think the Quick Fire Fab hydrangea, hosta flowers and some verbena bonariensis made a pretty combo.

With fall just around the corner, followed closely by Christmas (I know, way too early, but they will be here before we know it), I’m wondering if I need to lay off the florals for a while.

Or do you think florals can be used year ’round?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, this toolbox is for sale.  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details (sorry, I don’t ship my items).

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the beautiful new Oxford Fog and Blue Grass paints used for this makeover.