Another roadside garbage find I couldn’t resist…. this box sat for a few months in my garage before I found out what I wanted to do with it 🙂

Rather grotty, it was still pretty cool and…. free! So, I picked up a spray can of chalk pain in a nice dark blue and after protecting the hardware (hinges handle and clasp) I painted a few light coats.

Wanting to continue recycling and make the interior pack a punch (a little surprise once open, different from the demure exterior) I found two maps and bought a small container of mod podge to cover the interior. I painted the wooden mouldings on the interior gold (but later changed my mind as the contrast with the colour of the maps was too great, making the interior too busy, rather than cool and fresh like I wanted)

I spread the adhesive in sections, placing the measured out paper over it, in sections as well.

I repainted the mouldings mint blue and trimmed the excess paper with an exacto knife and a spatula (making several light passes to make sure to not tear the paper).

All finished up, it is now a book box for my daughter’s story books 🙂