Category: toolboxes.

I picked up this vintage lunchbox at a garage sale last summer.

After getting it home, I removed the filthy string that was holding the handle in place and then gave the whole thing a good clean with soapy water.  Then I added a coat of B.O.S.S. and put it on the ‘pile of future projects’.

Sometimes I like to hang onto these smaller projects and then bring them out in January when I’m stuck in the house.

Anyway, I did debate whether or not to paint this one.  I know there is a segment of the vintage loving population that would have preferred this in its original patina.  However, that segment doesn’t seem to buy a lot of my pieces.

So I decided to paint this one up.  I started with a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Silk paint in Cactus on the inside.  I thought I’d save myself some work and use a Silk paint with its built-in top coat, thus eliminating one step in the process.

Next up I painted the outside in my favorite Dixie Belle Drop Cloth.  Once that was dry I pulled out some sections of the I.O.D. Floral Anthology transfer.  My original plan was to start at the bottom of the lunchbox and then continue the florals about half way up the lid.  But I started by cutting off the section for the lid and applying that first.

Once that was in place I decided I rather liked the look of the florals just on the lid.

Sometimes … oh, who am I kidding? … most of the time … my designs morph as I go along.

That’s sort of the fun of creating, isn’t it?

Once I had the florals in place I went in search of some typography to add.  I found the upper half of the smaller version of the Seeds transfer in my stash and thought it would be perfect.

This is a retired design.  It was originally sold by re.design with prima, and then by I.O.D.

Sadly, neither one of them produces this design anymore.  I was in luck because one of my readers sent this one to me (thanks again Monica!).

The handle on this lunchbox is made out of plastic, and I wasn’t overly fond of that original shade of forest green.  So I decided to go ahead and paint it in the Cactus as well.

To give my paint every opportunity to adhere to the plastic, I first washed the handle thoroughly with hot soapy water to remove any oils.  Once dry I sanded it to rough up the surface, and then I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s Slick Stick.  I followed all of that up with two coats of the Cactus.

I finished up the lunchbox with a coat of clear wax on the exterior.  Since the interior was painted in the Silk paint it didn’t require a further topcoat.

I was halfway through photographing the lunchbox when I remembered that it came with a funky … well … I’m not sure what you would call it.  It’s sort of a large safety pin thingie.

It slides through the latches and prevents the lunchbox from opening.  The latches are slightly loose and one side in particular tends to fall open rather easily.  I’m guessing that the former owner of this lunchbox added this as a clever fix.

I’m not sure if I prefer the lunchbox with or without this addition.

It certainly adds a unique touch.

What do you think?

I don’t know that I would use this as a lunchbox, although you certainly could.  I think I’d be more inclined to use it to store seed packets, or maybe colored pencils or other art supplies.

Regardless of what you want to use it for, this lunchbox is for sale locally.  Check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the Slick Stick, Drop Cloth and Cactus paint, and clear wax used on this project.

Today I’m switching it up just a little.  OK, OK, not by much.  Instead of a toolbox, today’s project is a tackle box.  I know I’ve done a lot of toolboxes/tackleboxes/lockboxes lately, but for whatever reason, those seem to be coming my way these days.

Not only is this one a tackle box, but it’s a double decker tackle box.

Or to be precise, it was a tackle box.  There was no way I was going to mess around with painting those trays though.  So I had my handyman Ken drill out the hinges and take them out (they are already out in that photo above, I’ve just placed them on top for the photo).

Once that was done I gave this one a good clean, and then I sanded the rusty spots with some 220 grit sandpaper.  Next I gave it two coats of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.  I really wanted to try and prevent that rust from coming back through my paint.

When I initially began to work on this one, I wanted to do something using autumnal colors.  I’m stepping a little bit outside of my comfort zone here.  I don’t typically like browns, oranges, or yellows.  But I wanted to lean in to fall (fall the noun, not the verb, get it?).  You know, fully embrace the season.

That being said, I didn’t have any fall themed transfers on hand.  Conveniently, at that very moment, re.design with prima came out with a new release that includes a transfer called Harvest Hues.

It looked perfect for my needs, so I ordered it.

While waiting for my transfer to arrive in the mail, I painted the inside of the tackle box in Dixie Belle’s Mojave.

Whenever I see this color I automatically think ‘Harvest Gold‘.  If you were around in the 70’s, you know what I’m talking about.

Next I painted the outside of the box in DB’s Drop Cloth and waited for my transfer to arrive.

I was so excited when it came, but when I pulled it out of the tube I was startled to find that it came in two long strips.  I’ve gotten so used to using both I.O.D. and Dixie Belle transfers that come on smaller sheets.  I was a little flustered about how to manipulate the sheets to fit my tackle box.

Then tragedy struck when one of the sheets rolled up on itself without the backing paper while I was handling it.  Argh!  Has that ever happened to you?  That basically ruined about half of one strip as it stuck to itself.  Thank goodness I wasn’t planning to use the complete design on a bigger piece, that would have been a real bummer.  I really appreciate that the I.O.D. transfers now come in flat packaging, thus eliminating the whole rolling problem.

Anyway, that left me with trying to figure out how to make the remaining long strip work for my tackle box.  It also left me somewhat frustrated, so I set the whole thing aside for a couple of days.

I then realized that autumn was getting away from me, and if I didn’t get this one done soon I was going to miss the entire season.

Once I started working with the transfer, I realized it wasn’t much harder to fit it to the box.  I just had to play around with placement a bit, and do a little creative trimming here and there.

Once I had the Harvest Hues in place, I added some bits of wording from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer in the blank spots on the top (sadly, this transfer is retired and getting difficult to find) …

I also added some Label Ephemera to the front …

The Harvest Hues transfer is wrapped around one side quite a bit.

But on the other side I added the color chart from the end of the transfer.

Those dots were transferrable, so I thought, why not?

In the end, I think it turned out nicely.  And I was able to stage my photos outside and capture some of those beautiful fall colors in the garden before they are gone!

How about you?  Are you a fan of harvest hues?  Or do you tend to lean more towards summer pinks or corals?  Then again, how about jewel tones?  Or maybe deep, dark navy?  Leave a comment and let me know.

In the meanwhile, this harvest hues toolbox is for sale.  Be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying their products used for this project.

When we were in Norway last month I was determined to find a set of 5 small Norwegian flags to bring home as a souvenir.  Yeah, I know, maybe not your typical souvenir.  But I have this vintage flag holder and although I have U.S. flags for it, I was thinking it might be fun to fly the Norwegian flag for a while.

Especially since nnK (my neighbor across the street) flies the Swedish flag!

I initially thought I might have to really hunt around for those flags in Norway, but no.  They were everywhere.  Nearly every souvenir shop we visited had them, and they had them in various sizes too.

So now I have them hanging on the carriage house and I love them.

Fast forward to a week or so ago when I found this red toolbox at a garage sale.

I was heading out to my workshop with it, and as I passed those flags I thought … hmmmm … the Norwegian flag would be perfect on the toolbox.

After all, I’ve done a few union jack pieces …

So why not the Norwegian flag?

So I cleaned up the toolbox and then gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Honky Tonk Red inside and out.  You’ll note that I skipped the B.O.S.S. step this time around.  This toolbox did not have any rust, and it also didn’t seem to have any greasy residue from anything.  So I thought I’d be O.K. skipping the B.O.S.S.

I let the paint dry overnight, and then I taped off the white stripes and painted those with Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I taped some more and then added the dark blue stripes using In the Navy.

Once I had the flag design in place I decided that it needed just a little something more.

So I decided to add a few roses.

The white roses are from the I.O.D. Brocante transfer, and the red roses are from their Redoute II transfer.

I wrapped them up and over the top …

And also around the side.

You may be wondering what roses have to do with the Norwegian flag.  Well, nothing really.  I just thought they looked nice together.  Plus, judging by the amount of rose hips I saw while visiting Norway, I’d say they grow plenty of roses there.

So it’s not entirely odd to have added roses to their flag.

I staged the toolbox with some old photos of my Norwegian ancestors.

The wedding photo in the front is my great grandfather who emigrated from Norway as a young man.  In the back row is my grandmother’s confirmation photo, then her wedding to my grandfather, and then there is this photo from 1909 …

My grandmother is the 2nd from the left in the front row.  I thought this photo was particularly relevant because several of the kids are holding Norwegian flags.  The back of the photo dates it to May 17, 1909.  May 17th is Norway’s Constitution Day, so they must have been celebrating that.  I have no idea why there are only men and children in the photo.  Where are all the women?  Probably in the kitchen making Kvæfjordkake or something.

By the way, a little sidebar, I did try Norway’s official national cake, Kvæfjordkake, while I was in Kristiansand …

And it was absolutely delicious.  Have you ever had it?

Anyway, I totally love how the Norske toolbox turned out.

I am going to attempt to sell it.  I’m banking on the belief that there are a lot of locals in Minnesota with Norwegian ancestry who just might want a Norwegian flag toolbox.

Maybe?

Well, I guess I’ll find out.  And if it doesn’t sell, well then, maybe it was meant to be mine.

If interested, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

I’m pretty flush with toolboxes these days.  I have several friends who have been snatching them up for me, which is always appreciated.  Especially if those friends know how to discern a good vintage toolbox from a not so good one.

I’m drawn to unique shapes, good handles, and weight.  You can almost always judge age by weight.  The older toolboxes are heavier and constructed out of thicker steel (hmmm, I feel like this applies to me as well).  I’m not as big a fan of newer toolboxes (although that being said, you are going to see one of those newer varieties from me next week).

For today, I’m working with this one.

Not super exciting with its black plastic handle, but I do like its shape.  It’s heavy duty, and it has a good tray inside.  I like the trays that don’t have any dividers meant for a set of sockets.

I prep all of my toolboxes in the same way.  I wash them out in the yard with the garden hose and some Dawn dish soap (you need a good grease cutting cleanser).  Once dry I may sand them if they have chipping paint or a lot of lumpy spots.  Then I give them a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. to block any potential stains from bleeding through my paint.

Actually, the photo above shows this toolbox after all of that prep.  As you can sort of see, the B.O.S.S. does look a bit filmy.  This product is always meant to be painted over, never left as a final coat.

Next up I painted the tray and the interior of the box in Dixie Belle’s English Ivy, and the outside of the box in their Sawmill Gravy.

Then I went through my stash of transfers.  I’m really trying to work on using up transfers that I’ve had for too long.  As I’ve mentioned before, transfers lose their stickiness over time, so you really can’t hang onto them for years.

I ended up pulling out an old re.design with prima transfer called Violet Hill.

I have to confess, this is not one of my favorites.  I’m drawn to warmer shades of pink, and the florals in this one are in cooler shades leaning towards violet (hence the name).  I have used snippets of it in the past.  First on a cast off hankie drawer …

and then on a pair of ice skates.

But I had enough of this transfer left to use on a toolbox, so I decided to go for it.  Even though these aren’t my favorite colors, I know there are those of you who love them.

I thought these darker florals would be more appropriate for the season too, they aren’t quite as summery looking as others that I use.

I added some of the Violet Hill transfer to the tray as well.

I pulled out another of the old prima transfers that Monica sent to me to add some French wording to the top of the toolbox …

as well as to the side of the tray.

By the way, isn’t that vintage velvet ribbon gorgeous?

It was the perfect color to work with the colors in that Violet Hill transfer.

I purchased that ribbon years ago at a garage sale and although I pull it out occasionally to stage a photo …

I haven’t come up with a permanent use for it yet, but one of these days I will.  In the meantime, I’ll just keep using it as a photo prop.

As for the Violet Hill toolbox, it is for sale locally.  So if any of you locals love these colors, and could use a fab vintage toolbox, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Recently I decided that I’m going to just start using some of the transfers that I’ve been holding on to while waiting for just the right piece of furniture to come along (a.k.a. hoarding).  I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to use a $30+ transfer on a piece like a toolbox that I’ll be lucky to sell for $55.  However, it also doesn’t make sense to keep hanging onto transfers that I purchased a year ago or more.  Those transfers aren’t worth anything sitting in my cupboard drying out.

Transfers do deteriorate a bit over time, have you noticed that?  They lose some of their stickiness, making them more difficult to rub on.

That’s why I decided to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer from I.O.D. on a toolbox.

This transfer is 24″ by 32″, and you might wonder how I would fit that on a toolbox.  Well, you’re about to find out.

My friend Sue found this toolbox for me recently.

It has a pop up tray, but I still would consider it a toolbox rather than a tackle box based on its size, and the fact that there is only one divider in that tray.

Tackle boxes typically have a lot more than just one divider, don’t they?

It looks at though this toolbox was originally red, and then at some point it was painted silver.  Although that pop up tray doesn’t have any red.  Maybe it was originally aluminum, then painted red, then painted silver again.  LOL, who knows?

But this time around I’m painting it peaches and cream.  Well, technically, Dixie Belle’s Apricot and Drop Cloth.

First though, the prep work.  I cleaned this one with some Dawn dish soap and the garden hose.  Then I used a razor blade to scrape away some clumpy bits here and there.  They looked like maybe bits of glue, or possibly glops of polyurethane or something.  Whatever, I scraped them off.  Recently someone asked me if I sand my toolboxes before painting them, and sometimes I do.  If they have a chippy finish on them, or a lot of rust spots, I will sand them a bit to get them more smooth.  I don’t get carried away though, just a quick sanding.

Next up I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear B.O.S.S.  Personally I wouldn’t go without the B.O.S.S. on most toolboxes, it prevents both rust spots and greasy residue (these are toolboxes after all, they are bound to have some greasy residue) from coming through your paint.

Then I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

I knew I was going to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer on the outside, and after pulling out all three of the pinky coral shades of Dixie Belle paint, I decided that Apricot was the best choice.  Although honestly, any of the three would have worked.  And by the way, stay tuned for an upcoming post comparing those three coral colors!

The exterior of the toolbox received two coats of Drop Cloth.  I painted over everything but the handle.

Then I started cutting up the Flora Parisiensis transfer to fit it to the toolbox.  I started with the two biggest rose elements, applying them to the front of the toolbox and wrapping them up and over the top.

As you can see, I cut the transfer out around the latches.  I usually do a dry fit of the transfer when working on a piece like this, cutting around those latches before removing the backing paper.

Once those were in place, I added the wording to the top of the toolbox, layering some of it over the roses.

I added a section of rose leaves to the front of the box, and once I was done with that, here’s what I had left from the transfer.

Lots of stems and one big rose.

So technically I will likely get one more project out of this one, or I’ll at least have lots of filler to use with other floral transfers.

Next I added a bee under the handle.  It came from the re.design with prima Middy French Labels.

The Rosier du Pont. wording that I added to the front is from I.O.D.’s Redouté II transfer.

I also added another bee from the French Labels set inside the lid.

People often ask me what one would do with a pretty floral toolbox like this one, and I think my best answer is ‘whatever you want’.  Fill it with anything that fits in a box, put it on a shelf somewhere in your house.  Surely everyone needs at least one pretty toolbox, don’t they?

This particular toolbox is for sale locally, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ page if interested.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S. and paint used for this toolbox makeover.

Remember the toolbox I brought home recently?

I fear that some of you are going to be disappointed when you read that I have painted it, but yes, I did.  Of course I did.

I followed my usual process.  Washing it with Dawn dish soap and the hose out in the yard, letting it dry and then giving it a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. inside and out.  Oh, and there is a tray with this one, and that got the same treatment.

Next up I painted the interior of the toolbox and the tray in Dixie Belle’s new Cottage Core color called Cottage Door.  Once dry, I added some wording to the tray from an old prima transfer called Catalogue.

This is another of the transfers that my reader Monica donated to me.

I once used this same transfer on a dress form, and I absolutely loved the result.

Transfers have come a long way since the early days when they were much more simple (and less expensive), and were mostly just cool typography and nothing else, like this one.

After adding the wording to this tray, I’m reminded of how impactful adding even just a simple bit of typography can be!

Next up I painted the outside of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and then I added the last two pieces I had from I.O.D.’s Elysium transfer.

As a reminder, this transfer comes on four 12″ x 16″ sheets.  It’s a little bit pricey at around $30 – $35, depending where you shop.  But I was able to use it on three different pieces.  This toolbox, and these two other boxes …

So I got three items out of one $30+ transfer.  That’s not too bad.

Once I had the floral transfer in place, I had a couple of somewhat blank spaces in the opposite corners that needed just a little something.

I added a small portion of the old, small Seeds transfer (also sent to me by Monica!) to the front corner.

That tiny crown at the bottom is from one of the knob transfers from re.design with prima.

As are the bees and crowns that I added to the latches.

I added a few more scraps here and there from various transfers.  I have a big pile of random bits that have been left over from previous projects.

Once the transfers were in place, I protected everything with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.

I did opt to leave the handle unpainted …

And as a nod to the original finish and color, I also left the little clasp thingie unpainted.

I just have to say, that Elysium transfer is so pretty.  And it works just beautifully with that new Cottage Door paint color from Dixie Belle.

Don’t you agree?

By the way, I just couldn’t resist using my Limelight hydrangeas as a background for these photos.

They are looking particularly fine at the moment.

I absolutely love the way this one turned out, and I hope not too many of you are disappointed that I painted it.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S., paint. and flat clear coat used in this project.

I’m back with the remaining two metal boxes that I promised from last week.

As a reminder, here is the stack of boxes that my friend, opK, gave me.

I shared the end result of the largest box on the bottom of the stack last Friday (and it is sold, fyi).

Now let’s look at the middle sized box.  I have no idea what this box was originally intended for.  It has built in dividers inside that would have worked for holding a screwdriver and screws, or maybe some other sort of hardware and/or tools.  Who knows?

I have to say that initially I wasn’t sure I even wanted to bother with it because of those dividers.  They sort of limit what you can keep in the box.  But then again, they also provide a way to keep some bits and bobs organized, don’t they?

Rather than trying to paint a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. inside those little cubbies, I opted to spray paint it.  I find that spray paint also does a pretty good job of blocking stains.  I didn’t have a color of spray paint that I liked though, so after the blue spray paint was dry, I brushed over it with a custom mix of Dixie Belle’s Silk paint.

I mixed up this color a while back for another project.  I was trying to match Annie Sloan’s Scandinavian Pink, and I think I did a fairly decent job.

The outside of the box did get an initial coat of B.O.S.S. followed by two coats of Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage.  Then I added a few random scraps of transfers from my stash.

The florals are from the I.O.D. Floral Anthology transfer, and the wording is from their Label Ephemera transfer.

I especially love the little blue and white daisies that I put on the front of the box.

I also really like the way that this one distressed.

I think it has a very authentically aged feel.

As for the smaller box, I did give that a coat of B.O.S.S. inside and out.  Then I painted the inside in one of the colors from Dixie Belle’s new Cottage Core Collection called Cottage Door.

Isn’t that a gorgeous warm coral pink?  I love it.

After adding the bee transfer from re.design with prima’s French Labels set …

I protected the interior with a coat of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.

Next I painted the outside of the box in my favorite Drop Cloth, and then added some florals that are also from I.O.D.’s Floral Anthology transfer.

I love the way the Cottage Door color works with the those Floral Anthology blooms.

As for the top of the box, I went with a scrap of wording from an old re.design with prima transfer called Paris Valley.

The little “No. 1483” on the lid is from a Tim Holtz transfer.

This box is really a little bit wonky.  You can shut the lid, and you can maneuver the little handles up over the top, but it does take a bit of finagling.

That being said, I think I’d be tempted to just leave it ajar.

Cuz it’s awfully cute.

So … boxes before and after …

Which one is your favorite?

Recently my friend, opK (that’s oar painting Karen) offered me a stack of metal boxes.

Before I got started making them pretty, I gave them all a good cleaning with some Dawn dish soap and the garden hose.  Then I let them dry in the sun, and followed that up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. inside and out.  I like to use the B.O.S.S. to reduce the chances that any rusty spots will seep through my paint job.

I decided to paint them all in different colors, which required the use of a lot of paint stir sticks and brushes.  At one point I had six different paint brushes going, lucky I have a lot of brushes.

I started with the largest box.  I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Silk Paint in Fiery Sky.

Then I painted the outside in DB’s Sawmill Gravy.  I’d used this combo on a toolbox once before and really liked it, so I thought I’d do it again.

I also already knew I wanted to use I.O.D.’s Redouté II transfer on the outside, so the Fiery Sky was going to be the perfect compliment.

In case you aren’t familiar, Pierre-Joseph Redouté was very famous for botanical paintings, especially those of roses.  I bet that back in the 90’s quite a few of us shabby chic lovers had a Redouté print or two hanging on the wall, I know I did.

I picked up this transfer recently at a brick and mortar shop that’s not terribly far from me called Liza Jane Designs (in Afton, MN).  I thought I’d share her info for any of my local readers who use I.O.D. products because she had a pretty much complete inventory of everything (which I think can be rare in a brick and mortar); transfers, paint inlays, molds, stamps and ink .

This particular transfer is an older release from 2021, but I’d never used it before.  It comes with 8 full pages of roses, so I’m sure I’ll get a number of projects out of it.

I added a small Tim Holtz number transfer to the latch on the front of the toolbox.

I love adding small details like that, and like the bee under the handle (from re.design with prima’s French Labels transfer, which has plenty of bees, FYI).

As per usual, I wrapped the roses around the sides of the toolbox too.

And speaking of wrapping, I’m just wrapping up the finishing touches on the other two boxes and I’ll be sharing those next week.  So be sure to stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, how do you like this rosy makeover?

This toolbox is available for sale locally (details can be found here).

Thank you Dixie Belle Paint Co. for providing the B.O.S.S., paint and flat clear coat used on this project.