Welcome to our monthly thrift store makeover challenge! Today I’m sharing another wooden recipe box makeover. Here’s what it looked like when I found it at Goodwill on our Roseville thrifting trip. Notice the price written on the front… $2.19. Thankfully, they wrote it on the ceramic part and it came off when I cleaned it.
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Wooden Recipe Box Makeover
- wooden recipe box from thrift store
- Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in Whisper
- DecoArt One Step Crackle
- DecoArt Acrylic in Burnt Umber
- Americana Decor Glazing Medium
- paint brushes
- 7 Gypsies Architextures Tin Tile
As with most wooden things that I buy from thrift stores, I cleaned my recipe box first. Read my article on how to clean wood furniture if you need some cleaning tips.
This took a couple of coats of white paint to cover the dark wood. I left it to dry overnight with a tube of wood filler propping open the lid so it wouldn’t stick.
I’d had this Architextures tin tile for a while and it fit the lid perfectly! I just had to trim a little off one side. These have a sticky back so I just stuck it on. To get the crackle finish I used DecoArt One Step Crackle Medium. When it dried my recipe box was covered with little cracks… just what I wanted.
The cracks don’t show up very well until you put an antiquing glaze over it. So, after distressing lightly with some sandpaper, I brushed on a thin coat of burnt umber mixed with glazing medium.
I love how the crackles show up now!
Now I’m thinking that the front looks a little bare… I may add a stencil or a name.
Thanks for reading!
‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Kathy A says
Hi Ann, are most of your upcycles for you/family/friends, or do you sell them? Sometimes I am beginning to think that they are more effort than they are worth but I enjoy doing them; I haven’t sold many of my upcycles which I thought were so clever, simple, but well done. Can you get your project, supplies, time costs back or do people still want to pay $1 more than the thrift store price?
ducttapeanddenim says
I should write a whole article about that subject! My “real” job is making and selling jewelry. I started refinishing the jewelry boxes to use in my displays. I loved it so much I just kept on doing it. I sell most of mine for $25-40. So I’m making a little money… IF I don’t consider the time I spent. I’ve seen some for much higher on Etsy so that’s going to be my next experiment. My jewelry sells well there so I’ll see how the boxes and cabinets do. But even if I just break even I love doing them. Now, if you get into refinishing furniture THAT’S where you can make more money.
Julie says
That’s such a clever idea, so much more than just a paint job!
Debrashoppeno5 says
Great job. These little projects are always so much fun and the results are so fantastic.