Category: toolboxes.

Remember the box I picked up while garage saling recently?

I’m not sure what this box was originally intended for.  It definitely looks homemade, so I assume it was made to hold something specific but it was empty when I purchased it.

I know the wood grain looks pretty in that ‘before’ photo, but it was damaged on the top of the box.  But honestly, even if it hadn’t been damaged I still would have painted it.  Painted boxes sell for me, wood boxes don’t.

I started with the inside of the box by painting it with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  I then applied one of I.O.D.’s paint inlays into the 2nd wet coat of the Drop Cloth (you can find full instructions for applying the paint inlays here).

Isn’t that pretty?  That is from the new I.O.D. Floriography paint inlay.  You’re going to see a bit of that one in upcoming projects because I absolutely love it.  Now, do I wish it was a transfer rather than a paint inlay?  You betcha.  If only.

When I ordered the Floriography inlay and a couple of other I.O.D. items from The Painted Heirloom recently, I needed to spend $5 more to get free shipping.  So I decided to add a sample size packet of Sweet Pickins Milk Paint for just $7.

I chose a coral/pink color called Corabelle.

I have to admit, this color totally reminds me of Calamine lotion, and thus a really bad case of poison ivy that I had when I was younger.  Nonetheless, I think it’s a very pretty color.

I mixed up just half of the sample (half powder to half water) and it was plenty for two coats on the outside of this box.

I wanted to try a technique that I’ve seen Yvonne on Ginger Chick Rehab (on YouTube) use to get a lot of crackling with milk paint.  Basically you spray seal your piece first with some kind of sealer.  I believe Yvonne typically uses a spray shellac, but I used the Rust-Oleum matte clear spray on my box.  Next you brush on your milk paint and then add heat to dry it.  I used an old hair dryer for that (I think Yvonne uses a heat gun).  I’m not sure if you really have to add heat to both coats of paint, you may be able to get away with just heating the final coat, but I did both just in case.

It worked beautifully.

See that crackle?

Once dry, I sanded lightly to distress the edges and remove any loose chippy paint.  There wasn’t much, but a little here and there.  Then, and this is important if you’re going to add transfers, I gave it another coat of the matte spray sealer.  That makes sure that your paint is sealed in place and won’t lift up with the transfer.

As you can see, I went back to the I.O.D. Rose Botanical transfer for the florals and my old standby Label Ephemera for the typography on this box (yes, sadly, Label Ephemera has been retired for some time now and is difficult to come by).

I think it’s a little difficult to tell the size of this box by looking at these photos, but it’s 16.25″ wide, 8.5″ deep and 6″ tall so you could fill it up with all sorts of different things!

This box is for sale locally so be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

It’s time for another tackle box makeover.

This box came from the windfall of boxes that I got from my friend Kathy last year.

There it is at the bottom of the pile on the right.

Some of you may remember that it had the word ‘camping’ written across the top.

I ended up getting that mostly removed using a Magic Eraser.  However, even after it was removed I still thought I should paint the box.

After giving it a good cleaning and a light scuff sanding, I decided that this box didn’t really need my usual prep with Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.  First of all, it didn’t have any rust (so I wasn’t worried about it bleeding through my paint).  Second of all, I knew I was going to use the Dixie Belle chalk style paint and I have found that it adheres quite well to a metal surface that has been lightly sanded.

After my handyman Ken removed the pop up tray (like all tackle boxes have), I gave the inside two coats of Dixie Belle’s Holy Guacamole.

Once dry I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat to seal it.

Next I painted the outside in two coats of DB’s Drop Cloth.

Then I pulled out my I.O.D. Rose Botanical transfer and found that I’m running dangerously low on pink roses.  However, I hadn’t used any of the yellow ones yet.  I guess I’m just not usually drawn to yellow.

But I decided to go ahead and use them on this tackle box, and I’m sure glad I did.

They really are so gorgeous, don’t you think?

After adding the roses, I also added some wording from the now retired I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

I think my favorite bit is the “London:  Covent Garden.” on either side of the latch.

I finished the outside of the box with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

This tackle box would be the perfect size for containing art supplies.

This tackle box is for sale locally, check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for details.

  What do you think of the yellow roses?  Leave a comment and let me know.

My friend Sue gifted me with this old tackle box for my birthday last year.

Of course, she filled it with some other fun vintage items using the tackle box as a sort of ‘gift box’.  How perfect!

Sue knows me well and obviously knew I would appreciate a rusty, crusty old tacklebox!

And that I would obviously give it a makeover.

I started by having my handyman/neighbor Ken drill out the pop-up trays from inside.

I do sometimes leave these trays in place (check out this example), but it makes it quite a bit more difficult to paint the interior.  I tend to resort to using spray paint when I leave the trays inside.

In this case, I decided to remove them.

After giving the tackle box a good cleaning, followed by a good sanding, I realized that I quite liked the original color.  So I decided to work with it.  I first applied a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss to keep any rust from bleeding through my paint.  Then I applied just one quick coat of their Antebellum Blue both inside and out.

This color matched almost perfectly, which meant that I really only needed one coat to get the coverage that I wanted.  Bonus!

After sanding to distress a bit, I pulled out the IOD Brocante transfer.  It happens to have two images of white roses in it, and I thought the white would really pop over the Antebellum Blue.

That being said, I had planned to put some typography from the IOD Label Ephemera transfer on the box, but after adding a small bee and some script to the handle area, I realized that black typography was not going to show up as well as I’d like it to on this color.

So, since that Label Ephemera transfer is getting harder and harder to find at a reasonable price, I decided to forgo that.  I finished it off with a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat on the inside, and a coat of their clear wax on the outside.

I don’t think this tackle box really needed anything more.

I think it’s pretty enough as is.

What do you think?

Once again, this tackle box is for sale locally so check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page if you’re interested in more details.

Today I’m sharing my makeover of the toolbox that I picked up recently at River Revival Thrift.

First I gave it my usual prep.  I washed it with Dawn dish soap and hot water, then I sanded away any flaking paint or built up rust.  Then, after another cleaning, I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss both inside and out.  This will both help discourage any remaining rust from bleeding through my paint, and help my paint stick to the smooth metal surface.

I decided to embrace the red of this toolbox by painting the inside in Dixie Belle’s Barn Red.

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

After sanding the edges to distress them, I continued on my quest to use up old transfers.  So I pulled out the IOD Redoute 4 transfer.

This is an old one, the last time I used it was in 2020, so I’ve had it for nearly 5 years.  So it was good that I was able to use up the remainder of it on this project before it got much older.  I find that the transfers tend to start drying out over time and then become more difficult to apply.  I definitely noticed that with this one.

If you look closely at the image above, you’ll notice that this particular transfer has a rather distressed look to it already complete with scratches and worn areas.  I rather love that, but if ‘distressed’ isn’t your cup of tea you might not like it.

Although this one is long retired, I did find several places still selling it online.  So if you like it, you can still buy it.  But personally I think the I.O.D. Rose Botanical is a better value.

I only had the two clumps of red roses on the left side of the sheet remaining, so I applied them both to my toolbox.

Then I applied some typography from the IOD Label Ephemera transfer.

I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever this says in French, it may not make sense to have it on a toolbox.  But hopefully no one will care.

I’m planning to take this one into the shop to sell, so if any of you local readers are interested in it please check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

So, do you like the pre-distressed look of this transfer?  Or are you more of a purist?  Leave a comment and let me know.

First up, I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a message conveying their condolences on the loss of our sweet Lucy.  Every comment was so kind and thoughtful and I appreciated each one.  Somehow it’s easier when you know you’re not alone and many of us have suffered through the loss of a beloved pet.

I have to admit that I haven’t felt very creative over the past week and have been mostly watching old Miss Marple episodes on PBS Masterpiece interspersed with taking nice long walks in the woods with Mr. Q (in between snow showers, ugh, could winter just be over already?).  But luckily, I had finished a few projects earlier that I can share with you today.

You may remember that I picked up a trio of boxes while out thrifting a few weeks back.

They are three different sorts of boxes; a metal lock box, a small wood box with a hinged lid, and larger open wood box.

I chose that last one at the time because I thought it would be handy for corralling some of my dollhouse supplies.  You know, sometimes you just need a handy box to put stuff in.

I’ve given all three of them makeovers, so I thought I’d share them with you today.

First up, the lock box.

To be honest, I really debated whether or not to throw this in the cart.  But it was only $3.99, so I figured it was worth a shot.

After washing it up, I gave it a cursory sanding with my Mouse sander, wiped away any dust and then gave it a good coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss both inside and out.  Although there wasn’t any rust, and bleed through wouldn’t be an issue, it was a pretty slick surface.  Not only does the Bonding Boss prevent bleed through, it also improves adhesion of your paint.

One more quick note about Bonding Boss.  I almost always choose to use the clear version.  It also comes in white and grey.  If you aren’t going to distress your item, it might make sense to use the white if you are painting light color over a dark finish, or the grey if your final color is in the red family (red will cover better over a grey primer).  But when you distress the edges of your piece the white or grey will show.  So I mostly use the clear version to avoid that.

Next up I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Cottage Door.  I’m still loving this particular shade of coral/pink.

After two coats of paint were dry, I added another of the gilded Etiquettes transfers from I.O.D. inside the lid.

I am definitely starting to get the hang of these gilded transfers.  Isn’t the gold lovely over the Cottage Door color?  I’m glad I didn’t give up on them entirely after the first time I tried them (which was pretty much a fail).  If at first you don’t succeed …

I painted the outside of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and once dry I sanded the edges to distress the paint.

After cleaning up the dust, I started adding roses from the I.O.D. Rose Botanical transfer.

Every time I use this transfer I am reminded how beautiful the roses are.

In case you aren’t familiar, this transfer comes with single rose images in a few different sizes.  I just cut them out and started layering them onto my piece.

Once I had the roses in place, I added some typography from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer to the top of the box.

Finally I gave the box a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat to seal it inside and out.

I ended up bringing this box into the shop (Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater, MN) to sell, and I believe it may be already sold, I’m not sure.

Next up, the open box.

Giving this box a new look was a much simpler process.  I gave it quick cleaning, followed by a scuff sanding to prep the surface for paint.  Then I painted it in one of Dixie Belle’s new Southern Roots colors called Thicket.

I had a heck of a time trying to get a good photo of that color.

I hope that’s a decent representation of it.  It’s a nice grey green, but possibly not as dark as I thought it would be looking at the jar.

Once the Thicket was dry, I painted over just the outside of the box in two coats of Ecru.  Once that dried, I sanded the edges a bit to distress them and then started applying some transfers.

The florals are all from I.O.D.’s Floral Anthology.  The wording is from their Label Ephemera transfer, and the butterflies are from their Brocante transfer.

I decorated both sides of the box, and wrapped some around the corners too.

I gave the inside of the box a top coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat for extra durability, but I finished the outside with their Easy Peasy Spray Wax.

I tend to forget about this product, and it’s super easy to use.  Just spray it on and then wipe away any excess.  I usually use an old t-shirt for that.

I staged the box with all of my vintage green books.

I have to confess that I usually choose vintage books based on their color rather than their content.  However, this little book on Flowers published in 1909 is one of my favorites.

It’s probably childish of me, but I chuckle a little every time I open it to find a chapter called “soil for pot plants”.

Clearly that meant something more innocent in 1909.

Last up is the cigar box.  Well, I’m calling it a cigar box because it’s the right size and shape for a cigar box.  There is a stamp on the bottom that says “container made in the Dominican Republic”, and that’s the only mark on the box.  It also doesn’t smell at all like cigars inside.  So, was it a cigar box, who knows?

Regardless, it had a finish on it that would almost definitely bleed thru paint.  So once again I followed the proper directions with the Bonding Boss.  I applied two coats with 4 hours of dry time in between coats, followed by 24 hours of dry time after the 2nd coat.

Lucky I did, because there was one small spot around the hinge in the back where I missed getting good coverage with the Bonding Boss, and sure enough my paint turned a little orange in that spot.

But otherwise, the Bonding Boss did the trick.  I painted the inside of the box in Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

Then I painted the outside of the box in two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I pulled out one of the new I.O.D. transfers called Catharina.  This set features botanical illustrations painted by Catharina Klein in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

These florals are very soft and delicate looking.

Although there are some roses in this set, there are also lots of other flowers like pansies, violets, apple blossoms and more.

Aren’t they pretty?

I also added some bits and pieces from the I.O.D. gilded Etiquettes transfer here and there on the front.

And then I added a larger image from that transfer on the top of the box.

This would make a lovely jewelry box, or just some sort of trinket box.

I still have this one on hand if any of my locals are in need of a pretty flowery box.  I’ll list it in my ‘available for local sale‘ page with the details.

So there you have it.  Three makeovers of three different ‘boxes’.  Leave a comment and let me know which one is your favorite!

It’s time for another toolbox!

This is one of the toolboxes from my Habitat for Humanity ReStore haul.  If you’ll remember, I found three of them at once earlier this winter.

I’ve already re-done the grey one that is under the blue one in that photo above.

Now I’ve completed the blue one.  As a reminder, here is the before.

As you can see, it was in rough shape with a lot of peeling paint and patches of rust.  After using some Goof Off Gunk Remover and a flat razor blade to remove that oval shaped label from the front, I gave the toolbox a good cleaning with Dawn dish soap and hot water.  Then I pulled out my new Mouse sander (my sister gave me a new one for Christmas, my old one had finally given up the ghost) and used 80 grit sandpaper to remove as much of the chippy, peeling paint as possible.

Then after another good cleaning, I gave it two coats of Dixie Belle’s clear Bonding Boss.  This time I followed the proper directions of applying two coats with 4 hours of dry time in between coats, followed by 24 hours of dry time after the 2nd coat.  Although Bonding Boss doesn’t technically prohibit the rust itself, it will help keep any remaining rust from bleeding through the paint.  In addition, any protective layer, whether it’s Bonding Boss or just paint, will also help reduce future rusting.

OK, so once my 24 hours were up I gave the inside of the box a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue.

I applied a floral bit from the I.O.D. Lost Garden transfer (from their new spring release), since, spoiler alert, I was going to be using that transfer on the outside of the box as well.

Next I gave the outside two coats of Dixie Belle’s new color called Ecru.

If you are a fan of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, then you will LOVE Ecru.  It may be my new favorite warm white.  Obviously it’s not wildly different from Drop Cloth, but I would say it’s a bit less yellow and also just a tad darker.  Dixie Belle is calling it a ‘timeless beige’, but I think ‘beige’ has gotten a bad rap over the years.  Let’s call it a warm off-white with ‘an earthy undertone’.

Once the Ecru was dry, I sanded the box to distress the edges.  After wiping away any dust, I started applying the Lost Garden transfer.

According to The Painted Heirloom, this transfer is “designed with large décor in mind” so you could line up the first six pages into a cohesive design across the front of a large dresser for example.

But I chose to break it up and use it on this toolbox.

I cut various sections out of several different sheets and fitted them to my toolbox so that it appears as one continuous design.

By the way, as I was working with the transfer I was surprised to realize that three of the sheets are repeats (the first three sheets are repeated a 2nd time).  Just something to know if that sort of thing is an issue for you.

The thing that drew me to this particular transfer was the addition of the blackberries.

I love the combination of fruit and flowers.  It reminds me of Dutch still life paintings.

I’d left a space at the top of the toolbox for some typography and for that I pulled out my old standby, the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

How perfect is that?  That translates to something like “choice of the most beautiful flowers and fruits”.

I also added a number to the top of the toolbox …

As well as a tiny little bug to the latch.

Both of those are from old Tim Holtz rub-ons.

I actually painted up this toolbox a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn’t share it here until Dixie Belle released their new colors, which they did yesterday.  There are 7 new colors in their Southern Roots collection including Ecru.  Be sure to head to their website to check them out.  I think I’m going to try the Blue Grass next.

As for the toolbox, I actually took it into the shop to sell last week.  If any of you locals are interested, you could always pop by Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater, MN to check it out.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co. for providing me with samples of their new colors!

Sometimes it takes a couple of tries before I feel like I’ve gotten something right.

Such is the case with today’s project, this metal box.

My friend Kathy gifted me with this box last summer.  I really wanted to try and save that original very distressed paint job.  So after cleaning the box, I decided to paint just the lid and then apply an I.O.D. paint inlay to it.

I shared the full details of that back in June of last year, and it ended up looking like this.

I have to admit, I didn’t love it.  I did put a price tag on it for my occasional sale last summer, but it didn’t sell.  So I tucked it away for a bit.

But I pulled it out last week to give it another go.

First up I sanded the lid vigorously to prevent the lines of the paint inlay from showing through a couple of fresh coats of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.

Then I decided to give another I.O.D. paint inlay a try.  But this time I wanted to put it around the sides of the box rather than on the lid.  Once again, I didn’t want to paint over that chippy paint though.

I’ve seen quite a few people applying the paint inlays into a clear top coat rather than paint, so I decided to give that a go.

I used Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat, and it worked out perfectly.

Or … well … somewhat imperfectly, but just like it’s supposed to.

Basically just follow the same steps that you would with paint, only use a clear, water-based top coat instead (find full step by step post for applying a paint inlay here).  In addition, be sure to remove the paint inlay paper backing fairly quickly once dry.  If you wait too long the top coat will harden and make it difficult to get the paper off.

When I did the original paint inlay on the top of the box last summer, I noted that I got some inconsistent results.

Since I was applying it over a solid, fresh coat of black paint, I think that looked a little out of place.

But I think the same sort of result looks much more fitting over the chippy sides of the box.

Once I had the paint inlay applied, I gave the sides of the box a quick spray with a matte sealer to protect it from smearing.

Next I gave the top of the box a good sanding to rough it up a bit because I felt it looked too freshly painted in comparison to the sides.

Then I decided to give one of the I.O.D. gilded transfers another shot.

You may remember that I purchased these when they first came out and I wasn’t super enthused about them.

But I did give them another try later, using them on some ice skates in the fall with much better results.

I definitely felt like using them in this way, layered over something botanical, was the way to go.

But for the top of this box I decided to try applying one over black paint once more.  I’ve seen examples of this online that look really good, so I was willing to try again.

I think you have to be OK with imperfections when using these gilded transfers.  Much like the paint inlays, they aren’t meant to produce perfection.

Once you accept that and decide to work with it, they can be really lovely.

You also have to get a feel for how to apply the gilded transfers.  They work a little differently than your typical transfer.  It takes more patience, and just gentle pressure rather than hard rubbing to get these adhered.

Ultimately, I think this box turned out pretty cool.

I did paint the inside in Dixie Belle’s Anchor to freshen it up, so it would work well for storing stuff like your garden journals, hats and mittens, your old DVD collection, your stash of greeting cards, craft supplies … and with that hasp, you could even lock up your secret diaries in this box.

I staged my photos with this pretty little tea cup.

I still have a major weakness for pretty floral china, although aside from using it in photos I rarely do anything with it.

I’ve gotten rid of most of the floral china I once had with the exception of anything with birds on it.

How sweet are those little birds?

Anyway, back to the box.

Now that I have decided to embrace the imperfections and work with them instead of against them, I’m much happier with how this box turned out.

How about you?  Are you OK with imperfections?  Leave a comment and let me know.

By the way, this box is for sale.  I’ve added it to my ‘available for local sale‘ page, so you can check out the details there.  Also, FYI, I’ve created a new page for the mini’s that I have for sale and am willing to ship.  For clarity, I decided two separate pages might work better.  Be sure to check those out!

I thought I’d break up my posts on the dollhouse renovations to bring you another do-over project.

As they say, if at first you don’t succeed …

try, try again.

I painted up this vintage lunchbox back in July 2024.  Initially I wasn’t planning to paint it.  It had a nice original cobalt blue paint job.

But I ran into a little trouble with the original paint wiping off when I tried to clean it, then I tried to seal it and that didn’t go so well either, so ultimately I painted it in Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue which came pretty close to the original color.

After adding a white I.O.D. transfer to the top, I put it in my Carriage House Sale last summer.  But it didn’t sell.  So then I brought it into Reclaiming Beautiful, and it still didn’t sell.

I have to admit, the white transfer didn’t really do a lot for me.

I mean, it’s not bad.  But it’s not spectacular either.  So I’m not surprised there weren’t any takers.  And you know, I have to admit that I must have become a bit jaded over transfers because there was a time when I would have thought this transfer was quite amazing.  I think I’ve been spoiled because there are just so many fantastic transfers to choose from these days.

For example, I painted this similar lunchbox back in January.

And it sold quite quickly.

That small version of the I.O.D. Seeds transfer fit it perfectly.

And I just love the look of those florals from the I.O.D. Floral Anthology transfer.

So even though it’s the dead of winter, I decided that a floral makeover was in order for the blue lunchbox.

But first, some prep.  I had added wax over that Bunker Hill Blue paint, so I needed to do a little more prep than usual to give my new paint job a better chance of sticking.  I started by sanding off the white transfer.  Then I scrubbed the lunchbox using Dawn dish soap.  Next, I used 150 grit sandpaper to somewhat vigorously sand the entire lunchbox.  I followed that up with another rinse with hot water.

I then started with the interior of the box.  I hadn’t painted or added any sort of wax to that previously.  It also didn’t have any rust to worry about.

So, after a good cleaning I simply gave the interior of the lunchbox two coats of Dixie Belle’s Apricot followed by two coats of their flat clear coat.

Just for fun I popped a vintage blue Atlas jar in the spot where the original thermos would have been.

Next I painted the outside in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I used 220 grit sandpaper to distress being careful to note whether or not I thought my paint was sticking well.  It was, so then I started applying some of the beautiful rose transfers from I.O.D.’s Rose Botanical set.

Those roses are so gorgeous, and even the foliage on these transfers is stunning.

The cursive writing between the two latches is also from the Rose Botanical transfer, while the ‘Les Fleurs’ is from my fresh new stash of the Label Ephemera transfer.

I did wrap just a little bit of the florals around the sides.

I also added some wording from an old Tim Holtz rub-on in the little label holder slot.

For those of us who swear we aren’t ‘collectors’, this lunchbox tells the true story 😉

I must admit, it felt good to pull out the pink florals in the dead of winter.

I finished off the exterior of the lunchbox with some of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

Now I don’t know exactly what one would use this vintage lunchbox for.  Certainly you could even use it for its original purpose.  But I think it would make a lovely ‘gift box’, you could fill it with seed packets, flower frogs, and vintage garden tools.

Or you could use it in your craft room to hold art supplies.  You could also use it as a sewing box, just fill it with your threads, needles, scissors, etc.

There are so many possibilities.

What would you do with it?  And what do you think of the makeover?  Leave a comment and let me know.