2 Old Tool Boxes Re-Loved

 

Well it's been a little while since I managed a post to the Shabby Blog but I promise, I have been painting things, Life is just very busy at the mo ;)

Today I am sharing a couple of old wooden tool boxes I picked up a few weeks ago.

I love boxes like this, not only do they look great once painted up but they also tell a story and you get a real sense of their History.

The larger box is an old Carpenters box complete with pull out drawer.

After giving both boxes a really good dust and clean the handles were removed before painting. I did this very carefully as all the fittings are original and I didn't want to strip threads/damage heads etc on any of the bolts, the catches were left in place and cleaned up with my Dremmel with a steel brush head.

 

The Smaller box was given a couple of coats of Decoarts Chalk Finish Paint in Primitive, once dry the box was sanded back till I reached a level of distress I was happy with. I used the Decoart Chalk Finish Stencil and applied my stencil with their  Everlasting (white) Chalk Paint.

A couple of coats of the Satin Varnish were added to give a nice soft sheen to the finish and to protect the paint.

 

 

 

Now the larger tool box is my fave. I really love how this came out and this one will be staying with me. When I got this box the handle had completely rotted away and needed to be replaced. Luckily I have found a Tanner with a workshop not to far from me. Instead of buying a new handle I actually made a new handle myself under his tutelage, I think this may be one of the reasons I like the box so much, learning new skills is always fun and I am over the moon with the result. I'm looking forward to going back to learn more leather working skills. I knew I wanted to paint the box with the Blues so my handle was made with Brown leather rather than black as with the darker wood showing through the distressing I thought it would be a better colour match.

The Blues from the Decoart Chalk Paint range I used were Treasure First followed by Legacy and then sanded back. Again I used the Satin Varnish to finish off, The Satin Varnish really makes the blues pop and almost look electric.

 

 

And of course, I had to include a before picture.

 

As always a great big thank-you for stopping by. I will try not to leave it so long between posts on here. xx