Old Handmade Wood Toolbox Redo Into a Girly Toolbox!

A while back my old neighbor had to get out of her house quick.  She had a garage sale and didn't sell or get rid of everything.  I saw this old toolbox in the corner of her garage.  It caught my eye because it didn't look like a toolbox you would see today in Home Depot or Lowe's.  I opened the lid and drawers and realized it was solid wood.  Here is a picture of it.  You can see on the lower left side, the wood trim was falling off.

  It was a light blue color with metal handles on each drawer and on the sides. The top opened and had a deeper storage than the drawers.  On the lid is little wood pieces meant to hold an old hand saw.  The one on the left turns to lock the handle in place while the piece on the right allows the blade to rest between the wood piece and the lid.

This is what was inside along with some other things.

I'm thinking that the previous owner was a contractor.  Any guesses?

So I told my friend that I was interested in this little treasure if no one bought it.  The next day, she gave it to me for helping her with her garage sale, along with a few other items.

You can see in the picture above, how the trim on the sides had fallen off and the shape of the handle on the side.

I was so excited to be able to re do this piece!  It sat for 6 months before I finally tackled it one day.  I had to fill in the holes with putty from the handles that were there before.  

I had some Louis Blue Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan and some Old White.  I mixed them together to come up with my own shade of blue.  I first painted the whole thing with Antoinette to have a pinkish underneath the blue.  I don't know why I did that. I then clear waxed and finished with a dark wax.

I purchased some knobs and handles from Hobby Lobby and some trim from The Home Depot. My daughter wanted the knobs on the bottom two drawers and I wanted the top ones, so we compromised.  I like the way it turned out.

Below is the finished product.  I've had several people (women) tell me they're interested in a Girly Toolbox.  I love it that more and more women are doing their own DIY stuff now! 

The handle below is from Hobby Lobby.  I painted it the same color as the toolbox.  

You can see the different knobs my daughter and I chose below.

The below image is before the trim was finished.  Note to self: trim will stick easier to wood than painted wood.

You can see the trim below.

Well, what do you think?!  Would you be interested in a Girly Toolbox and what color would yours be?

Emperor's Silk Chopping Block

I got this old chopping block from my mother in law.  She was moving and getting rid of most of her old furniture.  I loved this piece because it's solid and beautiful.  It was a little dirty and worn on the top.  I kept it in my entry way until I got inspired.

I've been wanting to use a rich, deep color on something from Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint line so one day I just decided to do it!

I went to my local Annie Sloan Chalk Paint carrier, Vintage Begonia in Old Town Temecula.  I was happy to see they had restocked all of their sample bottles.  The previous month had a bare shelf with a few to choose from.

I took a chance and bought Emperor's Silk!  I waxed it with clear and then dark wax.

Here's the before:

Here is the after