A Catch All

I have oodles of little projects going on (most involving a little boy who seems to be growing up WAY. TOO. FAST.) and I thought I would start with a very easy and cute one. We seem to have a major issue with clutter at the end of the day. Somehow, against the futile fight I engage in, wallets, mail, loose change, glasses (how do we have so many) and all other bric a brac that lives in your pants pocket ends up strewn on the kitchen counters. For a short while, I had put a little dough bowl in plain sight to toss all of it into (obviously to be sorted later....eh hemmmmmm). Then, in typical fashion, I saw a much better spot for the dough bowl and lost my clutter catch all by the door. Enter a small $5 find from a barn sale.

 I saw this carpenters tool box and knew I would use it somewhere. It spent some time on the coffee table. And then it was a fun carrier for matchbox.

After I moved the dough bowl, I realized that we really did need a centrally located catch all for the little daily things that accumulated. I started by giving it a VERY light rough sand. There really wasn't much of a finish to it anymore so I didn't want to abuse it. Next it was a dry brush with white paint. To achieve this look, you just lightly dip the tips of your paint brush in the paint and then brush off the excess with a paper towel. It leaves you with a brush stroke that allows you to see the lines of the paint brush, an almost aged look. Another technique to give a similar appearance is to mix a little plaster in with the paint. You can get a chalky, antique feel this way (Spoiler alert for a future project!!)

Once I was happy with the overall appearance of the box, I used the letter transfer technique to put the word "mail" on the side of the box. A little touch with fine grit sand paper and I was very happy with the result!