A while back my friend opK found a toolbox for me at an estate sale.

Apparently it was ‘The Odds and Ends Toolbox’ for someone.

And to keep track of what was inside, that previous owner liked to add labels.

It had a little bit of rust, plenty of dirt, and A LOT of labels.  I started by using some Goof Off to remove the labels, and they actually came off quite easily.  Then I gave it a good scrub with dish soap.  After it dried, I sanded it to remove any flaking paint or rust and then gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out.

Next I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Highlands.

I followed that up with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Ecru on the outside.  Once dry, I scuff sanded to distress the edges and after wiping away any dust, I was ready to add some transfers.

For that I pulled out a retired I.O.D. transfer called The Botanist.

I used this transfer in its entirety back in 2023 on this headboard.

But I’d also used just the typography section from the middle on a box top back in January 2024.

FYI, the florals on that box are from a different I.O.D. transfer called Floral Anthology.

A while back I noticed that The Painted Heirloom has a sale price of only $22.05 on The Botanist, so I ordered another one.  For that price I felt like I could choose to just use the typography portion on a smaller item again rather than using the entire transfer.

But then I studied those swags of flowers and decided that maybe I could modify them to work on this toolbox.

Keep in mind, the full design comes on four 12″ x 16″ sheets.  So it’s quite a bit larger than my toolbox.  But after a lot of cutting, trimming and rearranging the swags, I came up with a pretty good layout.  I’m so glad I took the time to try this.

The florals are so pretty, so it was nice to find a way to use them other than on a full sized piece of furniture.

And of course the typography is a perfect fit for a toolbox.

I finished everything off with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

Now, if you’re wondering what you would do with a toolbox like this, well … obviously … you would just keep your odds and ends in it.  Right?

This toolbox is for sale locally (check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details).