Toy Box to Treasure Box - Reinvention

 Long time followers know how I love an old box to reinvent ...  this vintage toy box, shown to the left was pretty rough when I bought it.  The hinges had broken through, and the lid was missing a large section of the top ply of the plywood that made up the top.

My husband made me a new top and moved the hinges to make them sturdy, then I took over and painted it white with a nice satin finish paint, that I prefer to chalk paint.

 After the white paint was applied I masked off stripes and applied blue paint.

 After removing the tape from the stripes, I masked off the top and used Hazel and Ruby masking stencils to spell out treasures on the lid.  I thought it could be used as a hope chest, toy chest or a memory box, and the world 'treasures' would apply to any of these uses.

I added polka dots to finish the top, after removing the masking.  I liked it, but it was so pristine looking, I thought it sort of lost the character of its age, so ...

 I first distressed it with sand paper, then I waxed it with clear paste wax, inside and out, and last of all I used dark paste wax to age it.  I like the sheen and smooth finish you get with the paste wax, and the character the distressing and staining added back to the piece.

 We had added French Provincial handles, and I like how they looked painted, then sanded, then stained, as well.

Of course, the interior needed polka dots as well ... now this fine treasure box just needs to be adopted by a new home ... I am listing it as my offering today on Reclaimologists and Other Crafty Chicks on facebook, so perhaps it will have a new home soon.

Thanks for stopping by to watch me do a little reinvention!!