A while back I decided to go to Goodwill on a whim, just to see what I could find.  It turned out there were a few little treasures there - remember the embroidery hoops I used in the book page wreath?  I also found a fantastic little cigar box from Nicaragua.  It was in great condition and it cost $1.25.  How could I say no?  I didn't take any photos of the inside, but it's a wonderful velvety red and smells sweet and woody all at once.  If you don't already know this about me, I am a sucker for smells.  I think I have sniffed every single vintage book I have ever bought.  Too much information?  Sorry... I just like all things old and with history, and most importantly with a story, and sometimes smells tell us a story - or they at least help us to come up with one!

Truthfully this little box could have stayed exactly the way it was, but I wanted to spice it up a bit.  I kept seeing these beautiful wooden boxes at Chapters, so I had a bigger vision for this lovely $1.25 treasure.Here is an example of the boxes I was lusting over at Chapters but did not want to pay $34.50 for (the one I really liked had a grey and white chevron pattern, but they don't seem to have that one anymore):Now for the pièce de résistance:

I did a rough measure, taped it all up and made sure all ends of the tape were down really well.  I thought about taping the edges to make sure they were all perfect also, but perfection is overrated, right?I started with just the blue and put on about 4-5 coats of it.  Yep... that many!  I used Martha Stewart paint in a Satin finish.  If I decide to have a shiny finish I might add a coat of clear shiny something to it...?  I don't know yet.  We'll see.  The paint colours were kind of Alex's idea and it was a total coincidence that they both have "summer" in the name.  So that's that... There are no real instructions per-say - like almost everything else I make these days, I just sort of went with it.  Hope you enjoy, and maybe this will inspire someone to paint an old wooden box somewhere!Linking up at these awesome places plus Cheerios and Lattes, The 36th Avenue, The Shabby Creek Cottage, House of Hepworths, WhipperBerry, Savvy Southern Style, and My Repurposed Life.Woo Hoo!  This post got featured!! :)