Trio of small chests

 

It started with this box.

Thrift store find cigar box; taller and better construction than your typical cigar box.

While the outside was a bit scratched up, the ‘innards’ are nice and clean!  I can easily ‘paper over’ the inside of the lid to cover up the wording.

I removed the broken hardware from the front and spray painted it a sea-foam green.

Perfect place for me to use this scrap book paper map to cover up the writing on the inside of the lid.

Decided it needed a little ‘something’, so I glued on a repro white skeleton key to the front.  Just right!

Then I found this box at the thrift store. Not terribly fond of the wood burned design in the top.  Not even sure I’ll be able to ‘sand it off’.  But I can always ‘paper over it’; which actually might look perfect with the raised trim around the edge of the lid.

Clean and divided inside.

  Fortunately my orbital sander fit inside the trim, and the design on the lid sanded off better than I’d expected.  A wee bit of the wood burned color still shows, but the top is smooth, so I can just paint over it.

Alas, I found a piece of trim in my stash that fit perfectly, so I decided to add it.

Used my lightest aqua acrylic paint on this one and hand distressed a bit.

I had removed the hardware on the front before I painted it.

Pretty easy to remover and reattach; one screw for the latch and an eye screw.

Decided to leave the inside ‘as found’.

Sanding detail on the wood applique.

And along the edges.

So, now I had those two individual pieces done;  but before I got them priced and stocked them in my booth at Stars; I found this:

On an ‘inspiration excursion’ to Home Goods.  It’s not at ALL the blue that I normally go for.

and it’s got a GLOSSY finish, which I NEVER do. (and which is impossible to capture in photograph!)

 But it was such a cute little chest, and for some reason it ‘spoke to me’.  And I listened and bought it!

The DARK inside was a bit TOO dark and dreary for me, so I added some vintage atlas pages (on the lid and bottom) to brighten it up a bit.  (the area was too big to use the same scrap book paper as on the first cigar box.)

I really didn’t NEED to do anything to the outside.  But I like to add my own little touches everything, so I attached a skeleton key.

Ah-HA!!!  This is why the biggest chest at Home Goods was speaking to me!

It wanted to come home with me and join the other two blue chests!

I LOVE it!  And I’m gonna KEEP them all to myself!  (for that big home redecorating project I have coming up very soon!)

Just waiting for me to fill with treasures!