Category: toolboxes.

Welcome back for the final installment of toolbox week!

I have a confession to make, this isn’t my favorite style of toolbox.

I’m not sure what it is, but somehow I just don’t love this shape where it’s deeper at the top than at the bottom.

I have done at least one like this in the past, and it turned out fine …

But I really struggled with this next one.

I started out painting it red on the outside and navy blue on the inside because I thought I’d do another Norwegian flag toolbox like this one.

But I just wasn’t loving it in the red.

So I painted over both the inside and outside with black.  I was thinking I’d do another one like this one …

But then I didn’t love that either.

So I painted over the inside yet again, this time in Dixie Belle’s Oxford Fog.

That’s such a pretty color.

Then I painted over the exterior in DB’s Drop Cloth.

I must admit, it felt a little boring at first.  But then I gave it a major distressing job using my mouse sander and some 150 grit paper.  That started bring it to life.

I followed that up with some really lovely florals from the I.O.D. Madeleine transfer.

And the bird is pretty gorgeous too.

The typography comes from an old re.design with prima transfer called Catalogue.  This one goes way, way back.  And actually, I didn’t buy this one, I’m pretty sure this is one that my reader Monica sent to me (correct me if I’m wrong on that Monica).

I rearranged the words a little, and I only had bits and pieces from the original full transfer, but it worked out perfectly.

In the end, I think this one turned out quite nice.

It might even be my favorite.

But then again …

Now it’s your chance to share your opinion.  Which of the five boxes I shared this week was your favorite?

The Les Fleurs lunchbox …

the Italian tacklebox …

the simple black toolbox …

the English wildflower toolbox …

or today’s architecture et arts décoratif toolbox?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Welcome back for day 4 of toolbox week.

Here is where today’s toolbox started out.

Not too terrible.  I rather liked the subdued shade of green, so I tried to copy it for the interior as you’ll see in a minute.

But first, yes, this one got the same prep as the others.  A good wash, slight scuff sanding and a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out.

Then I gave the inside a coat of Dixie Belle’s Highlands.

It’s not an exact match to that original color, but in the same neighborhood.

Next up I gave the outside a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I applied quite a few wildflower transfers from I.O.D.’s Primrose Isle set.

The detail on these is just lovely.

The flowers are so delicate looking.

The typography I used on top is from that same collection.

I’m afraid I don’t really know anything about the wild flowers of the British Isles, so I’m not sure if all of the flowers qualify.  But does anyone really notice that level of detail?

So far I think this might be my favorite toolbox of the week.  What do you think?

As with all of this week’s toolboxes, this one will be available at my upcoming occasional sale unless someone snatches it up ahead of time by checking out my ‘available for local sale‘ page.

Welcome to day 3 of toolbox week!

Today I’m keeping it simple.

This toolbox started out black …

and I’m keeping it black.

Full disclosure, I did prep this one along with all of the others before I’d really even thought about what color I would paint it.  So in the ‘before’ pic above it has a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear Bonding Boss on it (thus the filmy look).

Had I planned ahead I could have skipped that step on this one.  It didn’t have much rust and painting black over the original black would really only have required one coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  And actually, I think I could have even skipped painting it on the outside completely and just worked with that original distressed black finish.  However, either way, I would have wanted to paint the inside to clean it up.

But that’s water under the bridge.  Since I had already given it a coat of Bonding Boss, I went over that on the outside with just one coat of Midnight Sky.

Then, after giving it some thought, I decided to use Dixie Belle’s Silk Paint in Anchor on the inside.

Now, you’re probably wondering why I would specifically choose the chalk mineral paint for the outside and the Silk All-In-One mineral paint (an acrylic paint) on the inside.  So, let me explain.

In my experience, the chalk mineral paint distresses better than the acrylic (a.k.a. Silk) paint, and I definitely wanted to distress the outside.  I also find that the chalk style paint adheres to metal better than the acrylic version.  Although since I started with Bonding Boss, which improves adhesion hence the “bonding” part, that was probably a moot point.

On the other hand, the Silk paint doesn’t require a topcoat and can still be wiped clean with a damp rag once cured.  So it’s great for the inside of toolboxes to create a durable finish with the least amount of effort.

Here’s the inside with one coat of Anchor.

The outside has one coat of Midnight Sky.

Once dry, I added those gorgeous florals from the I.O.D. Saint Germain transfer.

They are just so gloriously shabby, don’t you agree?

And they are perfect over black.

As a final touch, I added a gold ‘label’ from the I.O.D Étiquettes gilded transfer to the top.

I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to protect the chalk mineral paint and the transfers.

Easy peasy.

As with all of this week’s toolboxes, this one will be available at my upcoming occasional sale unless someone snatches it up ahead of time by checking out my ‘available for local sale‘ page.

Welcome to day 2 of toolbox week.

Today I’m sharing the makeover of this … well … technically it’s a tackle box.  So far we’ve had a lunchbox and now a tackle box, but I group them all in my ‘toolbox’ category.

It did originally have two pop up trays that came up when you opened it, but I had my handyman Ken remove them so that now it’s just an empty shell.

As I mentioned yesterday, I prepped all of this week’s ‘toolboxes’ the same way.  Scrubbing them with Dawn dish soap out in the garden, rinsing them with the hose, letting them dry in the sun, then giving them a good scuff sanding and another rinse.  I followed that up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss to prevent any rusty or oily spots from bleeding through my paint.

Next this tackle box got a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Cottage Door on the inside.

Once dry I protected it with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.

Then I painted the outside in DB’s Drop Cloth.

I added some roses from I.O.D.’s Rose Botanical transfer.

But I also knew that I wanted to have some sort of typography on it.  I would have loved to use more of I.O.D.’s Label Ephemera for that, but my supply of that retired transfer is running out.  So I started looking at my other options.  I ended up pulling out the re.design with prima transfer called Sunlit Serenade and using just the wording from it.

I’m fairly sure that is Italian, which is a nice change of pace.

After adding a random bee and butterfly from other transfers, I finished the outside with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

Isn’t it pretty!

This tackle box will be available at my sale next week.

Unless one of you locals wants to snatch it up first.  If so, check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

If you’ll remember back to 2024, I decided that the collective noun for a grouping of toolboxes would be ‘windfall’.

Well, I’ve found another windfall of toolboxes lately.  In fact, I even passed on a few the last time I was out garage saling because I felt like I had so many at home already … but I have to admit, I sort of regret that now.

But … oh well.  I’m sure I’ll continue to find more (hopefully those aren’t famous last words!).

In the meantime, I thought I’d better get going on some of these so it’s time for another toolbox week!

On a recent warm and sunny day I set up an assembly line prep station for the toolboxes.

I started by washing them all with the garden hose and some Dawn dish soap.  Then I sat them in the sun to dry.  Once dry, I sanded them to remove any flaking paint or rust, followed by another rinse with the hose and more time in the sun to dry.

Next I gave them all a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out to prevent any rust from bleeding through my paint job.

Then it was time to get painting.  Today I’ll start with the metal lunchbox.

I painted the inside using Dixie Belle’s Blueberry.

I have to admit, since I put frozen blueberries in my smoothies almost every morning, this color doesn’t really feel ‘blueberry’ to me.  I think of it as more of a cornflower blue.

And it worked beautifully with the pretty blue cornflowers in the I.O.D. Madeleine transfer.

I painted the outside of the toolbox in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth and once dry, I sanded it all over to add back some ‘age’.

After applying those swags of pretty blue cornflowers, I added some typography from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer (long since retired, more’s the pity).

I sealed the inside of the toolbox with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat, but I don’t like to use that product over transfers.  I find that it can look a little filmy over them.  So the outside was finished using Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

This sweet little lunchbox will make its way into my upcoming Carriage House Sale, along with all the rest of them that you’ll see here this week.

If you are local, be sure to save the date!

You may remember that I picked up a trio of metal boxes at an estate sale a couple of weeks back.

The smallest galvanized box on the left was rather unique.  It opens to the side.

I knew this one would make for a fun makeover project.

I started with my usual prep of washing with Dawn dish soap and hot water, followed by a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out.

Next up I gave the inside a coat of Dixie Belle paint in Cottage Door.

More on that color choice in a minute.

Next I painted the exterior of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Then I pulled out I.O.D.’s By Any Other Name transfer and chose some roses that I thought would be perfect on this box.

I added roses to both of the long sides of the box, without really deciding which side I would consider to be the front.  I also chose roses that had a creamy pale tone to them.  It wasn’t until later that I realized that most of them read more pale yellow rather than cream now that they are in place.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that …

However, I now think I should have gone with a different color on the interior.  Unfortunately, I had already applied Dixie Belle’s clear wax over the Cottage Door.  So to repaint would be a process.  Sure, you can eventually paint over Dixie Belle’s clear wax because it is water based (this is not true of all waxes, FYI), but not until the wax is cured (7 to 10 days).  At that point you also need to clean the surface with their White Lightening cleaner (or a similar TSP based cleaner) and then scuff sand before painting.

So hopefully the Cottage Door isn’t as wrong as I think because I’m leaving it.

Plus, the lid on this box is likely to mainly remain closed.

I mean, I’d want to see the top of that box, wouldn’t you?

That transfer on the top is also from the I.O.D. By Any Other Name set.

I also added some bits to either end of the box.

The wording above is from the I.O.D. Saint Ouen transfer as is this transfer on the other end …

and the typography on the front of the box.

I also finished off the exterior of the box with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

This one is headed into Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater today, so if any of you locals are interested be sure to head down there to check it out.

Also, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think of today’s ‘toolbox’!

Last week I showed you the vintage lunchbox that I picked up while out thrifting.

It definitely was not very exciting ‘as is’.  So I knew it would benefit from a paint job.

After my usual prep of cleaning, lightly sanding and adding a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss to make sure my paint would adhere nicely, I painted the interior in Dixie Belle’s Secret Path and then sealed it with their flat clear coat.

As someone who once openly admitted that I don’t like purple, it’s funny how often I pull out this color.

In this case, I knew it would pair beautifully with the gorgeous florals from the new I.O.D. Madeleine transfer.

But before we get to that, I painted the exterior of the lunchbox in Dixie Belle’s Ecru.

After allowing that to dry and then distressing it with a light sanding, I started cutting up the Madeleine transfer and figuring out the placement on the lunchbox.

This transfer comes with several symmetrical elements.

But I didn’t want an entirely symmetrical look.  So I cut things up and moved them around to create the look I wanted.

I also wrapped a few of the florals around the sides, and added in some bees and butterflies here and there.

One comment that I have about the Madeleine transfer, and indeed all of the spring release florals from I.O.D., is that they are all somewhat small in scale.  That makes them great for working on smaller items like this lunchbox, but I think I’d struggle to use them on a large piece of furniture (or the ginormous toolbox that I found while thrifting a week or so ago).

Is it just me, or do you also see the trend moving away from transfers for use on furniture and focusing instead on smalls?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think about that.

Once all of the florals were in place, I chose a section of typography from the I.O.D. Saint Ouen transfer to add to the front of the lunchbox.

It was perfect for that space in the middle.

For one final touch, although my original plan was to leave the handle in its original chrome, I decided to paint it using Dixie Belle’s Cactus.

I then finished off the outside of the lunchbox using Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

Last week one of my readers, Sheri, suggested that my floral toolboxes would make awesome Easter baskets.  I thought that was a fantastic idea, and wouldn’t this lunchbox be perfect for that as well?

Who wouldn’t love to receive this filled with Easter goodies?

This lunchbox is available for sale locally, so be sure to check out the details here.

However, I should note that I am heading off to visit my mom later today and will be gone for a week so you may have to wait to pick it up.  The forecast for Henderson, Nevada (where my mom lives) this week calls for temps in the upper 70’s to low 80’s.  Yay!  Unlike my recent trip to Florida, I’ll truly be getting away from winter weather this time around.

Also, I’m leaving plenty of room in my suitcase just in case I find any goodies at the Goodwill that’s around the corner from my mom’s place.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some pretty spring florals.

Especially if they’re on a toolbox (I bet you don’t hear that said very often!).

This is another toolbox that I brought home from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Full disclosure, I actually finished this project before I left for Florida but I didn’t have time to photograph it to share with you guys.

Suffice to say, I gave this my usual prep treatment; I scrubbed it with Dawn, gave it a light scuff sanding, and followed that up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.

Next up I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Apricot, followed by a coat of their flat clear coat.

I followed that up with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Caviar on the outside.

I then added some florals from the I.O.D. Saint Germain transfer and the gold typography from the Queen’s Glory transfer from re.design with prima.

Once the florals were in place, I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to protect them.

Now, you might be feeling a bit of déjà vu right now.  That’s because this is almost exactly the same as another toolbox that I painted back in October.

Except that one had an interior painted in Dixie Belle’s Cottage Door, and I did flip the florals upside down too.  That first one ended up selling at my fall occasional sale, so I never brought it into the shop.

Since I had more of the same transfers that I used on that first one, I decided to go ahead and recreate the look once more.

This time it did make it into the shop, so if any of you locals are in need of a toolbox be sure to head into Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater this weekend (the shop is open Thursday – Saturday).

I also brought in Keith’s toolbox …

And this Botanist toolbox …

Plus a small tackle box that I never bothered to share here on the blog.

So there are plenty of pretty spring floral toolboxes to choose from!

Leave a comment and let me know which one is your favorite.

I thought I’d take a break from posting about the free-at-the-curb dollhouse today and share a toolbox that I worked on recently.

This toolbox came from my neighbor nnK’s brother Keith.  Apparently he purchased it because it was full of drill bits that he wanted, but he didn’t want the toolbox itself.

But he knew exactly who might like to have it … me!

I treated the toolbox to my usual prep; I scuff sanded it, then washed it with grease cutting dish soap and hot water.  Once dry, I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss inside and out.

I painted the inside of the toolbox in Dixie Belle’s Cottage Door and then sealed it with their flat clear coat to give it extra durability.

Then I painted the outside of the toolbox in their Apricot.

After sanding to distress the edges and wiping away any dust, I pulled out the I.O.D. Rose Botanical transfer as well as a small section from their Clementine transfer.

I knew I wanted to add this bit of wording from the Clementine transfer somewhere on the toolbox.

So after playing around with it for a bit and deciding exactly where the wording would go, I first applied several roses from the Rose Botanical transfer.

My selection of roses from that transfer was pretty picked over since I’ve used it on several projects already, but I think I was able to come up with a pattern that works.

Once I had all of the roses in place, I added the wording.

I knew that some of it might overlap those roses, so that’s why I chose to apply them in this order.

I also added a small number transfer from Tim Holtz just above the latch.

Once all of the transfers were in place, I followed up with a topcoat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

Now that the toolbox is so pretty in pink do you think Keith would like to have it back?

Hmmmm.  I’m guessing not.

But maybe one of my other local readers would like to have it?  If so, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details!