Toolbox: Before and After

I bought this huge, beat-up toolbox at an estate sale a while back.  It's been sitting in our garage holding junk for several months.  I bought it because I wanted a toolbox and this one was OLD.  I knew it was in bad shape but I never really looked hard at it.  Until Saturday. Wow. It was water-damaged, covered in grim, most of the wood had splintered, and one side had been replaced with MDF or something similar.  And GOODNESS it was filthy.

I cleaned it up as best as I could and looked at it.

I thought I'd go for white paint and then maybe stencil my last name or initials on it.  As I started to paint it, more and more dirt was getting mixed up into the white paint.  Where WAS all that dirt coming from???  Oh well, there wasn't any turning back now.  I wound up giving it 2 coats of ASCP in Old White.  I had Thing One helping me for a bit.  He's such a *cough* huge help.

I wasn't digging it.  I took a step back to get a better look at it when I kicked the can of Old White and sent it flying through the dining room.  Oh, I paint in my dining room.  Normally I'm pretty careful but I wasn't wearing my glasses and I just didn't SEE the darn can of paint on the floor - right where I left it.

Paint went EVERYWHERE. I screamed and called for Hubs. It was all over the dining table legs, chairs, ME, and the floor.  I stripped where I stood and put my new blue jeans (yeah, new) into the sink to flush out the paint and put them straight into the washing machine. Hubs got on his hands and knees and, with a little elbow grease, got the paint off the furniture.  Thank goodness I was using chalk paint.  It comes off pretty easily with water.

I did not stop to take a picture.  My sons are choking each other and I take time to snap a picture. Paint on the furniture is a catastrophe!  Which is ironic... since I paint furniture.

I still wasn't digging the white of which I had much LESS of now.  I pulled out some *gasp* color. I chose Duck Egg Blue for the outside and Scandinavian Pink for the inside.  I heavily sanded to pull some of the white and wood through.  I had some jute so I decided to wrap that long metal handle with it for some texture.

And here is what it looked like before I staged it for the photograph.  I think I really like it!

I decided it didn't need any stenciling. READ: I'm tired and wanted to be done.

And here it is in it's temporary home.

See how huge it is?

And in case you were worried, my jeans are just fine :-)

Linking to:
The Girl Creative, A Pinch of Joy, Lip Gloss and Crayons, Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Sew Can Do, Mad in Crafts, Craft-O-Maniac, Creating My Way To Success, All Things Fee, Serendipity and Spice, Clair Justine, That's What Che Said, Huckleberry Love, Home Coming, Tip Junkie, Kammy's Korner, The DIY Dreamer, Nap Time Creations, Inside BruCrew Life, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Yesterday On Tuesday, Sugarbee Crafts,Three Generations Living Out Loud, savvy southern style, Gingersnap Crafts, It's Overflowing, Create With Joy, The NY Melrose Family, Oh My! Creative,Tilly's Nest, Naptime Is My Time, Mama Bzz, The Life Of Jennifer Dawn, This Silly Girl, Craftastic Moms, White Lights On Wednesday, Duck's N A Row, Janine's Confessions of a Mommyholic, Posed Perfection, Lambert's Lately, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, A Peek Into My Paradise, Miss Mustard Seed, Nancherrow, Funky Junk Interiors, Stylish Patina, My Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Jennifer Rizzo, One Project Closer, I Heart Naptime, The Cottage Market, By Stephanie Lynn, A Stroll Thru Life, Thrifty Decor Chick, Dwelling In Happiness, Bigger Than The Three Of Us