Butler's Chocolate Crate

I can't believe I'm actually going to sell this box, but I am.  I found it at one of those sponsored neighborhood real estate sales.  It's got a tool tray in it and it started out as a wood crate.  The details of the crate are wonderful, but there was a very large oil stain on the top that I feared would bleed through a simple stain and varnish.

My husband painted it with Rustoleum Canyon Black brush on paint and top coated it with the same color spray.  I gave him strict instructions not to do very much sanding because I wanted the old world feel to come through loud and clear.

I have no idea of the age of this crate, but it's been around the block, the tool shed, the garage, whatever you want to call it.  Nicely dinged and beaten up from years of use.

 For the gold design, I used a simple inexpensive stencil I found at Michael's.  I didn't join the lines to make it look hand painted because I wanted to keep the aged primitive feel going.  I used acrylic craft paint in antique gold and burnt umber.  I put them sided by side on my paint palette and dipped the stencil brush in the gold on one side and then the burnt umber on the other side.  This made for a very uneven coloration thus looking like some of the paint had been worn back with time.

 I wrapped the gold design around the sides of the box.  I used my script 3-inch alphabet stencils to do the lettering which was done with ivory acrylic paint.  I came back with burnt umber on my liner brush and did a little shading on the letters just to give them a bit of depth.  It's barely visible against the black background, but it did have a subtle effect.  When it was totally dry, I came back with lightweight steel wool and rubbed the whole piece to dim any harsh lines from the stenciling.  Then it got a clear sealer coat.

The next photo is the crate as I found it, dust, oil stain and all.

 I love this look with fall colors, and I think at Christmastime it will look amazing with the traditional greenery, but honestly, I love this look all year round.  The old world look is definitely my style.

Thanks for dropping by.  As always, thanks for visiting and I hope you take away some inspiration for your own style and projects.

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