Well would you look at that!
I've transformed another "small" and my back loves me for it! (no heavy lifting)
It may be small....but I really felt its transformation was worthy of sharing.
I am calling this my Repurposed Cigar Box. Why? I honestly don't know. It has something to do with "SEO" and "readability"... it's a "blogging" thing. You don't really need to know anything more about it, unless you are a blogger or business owner of course - in which case, you might want to visit www.victoriousseo.com for more info. I really wanted to call it my Girly-Girl Keepsake Box... 'cuz every little girl needs a box for her treasures. But I guess this just didn't fair well with the "search engine optimization" gods..... so Repurposed Cigar Box it is (#girlygirlkeepsakebox).
This post contains Amazon Affiliates of which I make a small commission if you purchase, at no cost to you. I am not paid to recommend these products, I only blog about and recommend my fave products that I have been using for years and years. Thank you!
I have done more pieces for this client than I can count! She just hands 'em over and says "do it...do your thing"... (took awhile to get there...she used to try and control my moves....but after a few failed attempts at HER designs....she has asked me to help her squash her control issues....right Krystal?).
She originally purchased this box by Hooker at Star Furniture. It is a handsome piece....but she never really found a place for it. She wanted to use it in her daughter's room (she's only 3....and needs a girly girl keepsake box repurposed cigar box...right? Main goal: lighten it up!
I coated this piece heavily in Shellac as I knew the potential for bleed through was about 589% possible!
I then gave it a nice juicy coat of primer.
This now allowed me to move forward with my design and not worry that bleed-throughs would show their ugly and annoying face later!
*side note: I literally just had a friend reach out that she had cleaned/primed/painted 17 kitchen cabinet doors and the frame in white chalk type paint ....then used a sealer to finish them off...only to have tannins pull through!!! She did not shellac first. This is a must when painting with any light-colored natural type paint. She is a seasoned painter....and this is the first time it's happened to her. But this was a big job...and it only takes ONCE to make you realize it is just easier to add this extra step as a precaution! If you haven't used it before...it is thin, easy to apply, and STINKS! You can use my affiliate link to purchase Shellac here.
I used two coats of Irish Cream chalk-type paint by Heirloom Traditions to cover the entire piece.
The checkerboard pattern (yes....I freehand this) is painted in Heirlooms Espresso, which I love. It is a deep rich almost black brown! See my dirty little secret for painting my black and white patterns here.
The harlequin pattern on top (freehanded) is done in Blushing and Azalea (my two favorite lighter pinks offered by HTP).
All of the heavy gold that you see on the corners, the dots, and the trim were painted with Liquid Leaf, Classic Gold
Lets talk about these molds and why I chose to add them. As adorable as this Repurposed Cigar Box is....when I covered it entirely in white paint it just became so boring!! The legs are beautiful...but the box itself lost all dimension when I covered the decoupaged paper on the top. I really felt when I added the painting designs and detail that it would be enough...but it just wasn't. So I broke out my trusty molds by Iron Orchid Designs. These silicone molds are SO much fun to work with. They also offer a paper clay that is super easy for beginners in molds like myself. I used that Paper Clay
Baroque No.6. You can purchase both the clay and the molds from my affiliate links and you get many uses out of them! And for a more detailed tutorial on how to make and apply the molds to your furniture check out this glam desk project.
Now if you look closely at the spindle leg you will see a light brushing of gold glaze. Well let me tell you about this glorious product!!!! HTP used to something called Aurora Staining Gels and I use them on SO MANY projects! This particular gel is called Goldilocks....and I just brushed it on all sloppy-like and wiped it right back off. The gold pigments settled into every little nook and cranny and left me with this shimmery finish that is so perfect for my girly girl keepsake box Repurposed Cigar Box. It went from "cute" to "elegant" with this one simple step! AND as an ADDED bonus....the gels SEAL your piece!!! There is no need for a sealer if you use them all over as a glaze! BOOYA!
The Aurora Staining Gels have many uses....you can check out my favorite use for them here on my famous chairs ... Of course now that these gels are discontinued ... but you can find similar gels.
I finished the repurposed cigar box off with a light sanding and called it a girly girl keepsake box!
Ok...enough! But I did call it a day!
I hope you enjoyed this little trinket of love! It really is amazing what we can do with good quality paint products and a little imagination!
Do you NEED these girly colors that I used on my repurposed cigar box? You can find them in my Amazon influencer list here.
XOXO, Tracey
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