Friday, July 31, 2009

Before & After: Thrifty Jewelry Box

Last week I found this plain-old jewelry box for just two dollars at a Goodwill. When I looked at the shape and size of the box, I immediately saw a solution to one of my annoying habits (according to my husband) so I brought it home and planned a makeover.

I have a habit of leaving random clutter on the kitchen counter and it drives Jared crazy. When I open the mail, clip a coupon, or deliberate over a paint swatch, I leave it out because I want to come back to it later... the problem is, sometimes "later" is actually weeks away. I figured this box might serve as a catch-all for my miscellaneous (read: mess) items.

The first thing I did was to rip out the lining and jewelry dividers. Next, I used a healthy amount of Goo-Be-Gone to eliminate the sticky reside that was leftover. Then I lightly sanding the entire outside of the box and wiped away the dust. Finally, I painted the top and sides with a few coats of Benjamin Moore's Buxton Blue. (I bought a $5 sample from the BM store.)

The new color looked good enough, but I wanted to make it better, and more personal. So I created a monogram using Word, used it as a stencil, and traced it onto the surface of the lid. Then, using some white paint (which I already had on hand) and a teeny-tiny brush I filled in the outlined letters and, behold:


A personalized storage box for under $5.00! I hardly count paint as an expense...it's more of a necessity... plus I got to test out the color in case I decide to paint another room!

I think Jared will be pleased to see I took his constructive criticism to heart and came up with an easy solution. And since I put both of our initials on the top, my mess is his mess but at least it has a place out of sight.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like that box. The desing is so simple as i want and the color is also nice. i like that box. that looking like the old boxes. For the more information visit www(dot)uzbekalive(dot)com.
Hand Painted Jewelry Boxes

cotedetexas said...

That is so darling!!!!
love it. I have a big wicker box that I use for those kinds of things. I wish my husband cared about clutter. but he doesn't and makes so much of his own.