Recipe Box Makeover

I promised I’d start sharing more of my crafts and projects here on my site and this one was a quick but fun one. My mom picked up this cool little vintage recipe box at a flea market or estate sale and gifted it to me with the intent of me giving it a nice makeover. I think I did it justice but you can let me know. 🙂

As you can see, the interior was in pretty good shape but the exterior had some serious rough spots on it. That just tells me that this was often-used and much loved which inspired me even more, knowing that someone at one time really enjoyed this piece.

I initially tried to start sanding it with 100 grit sandpaper but after just a few swipes discovered that the wood on this was much too soft and fragile for such a coarse grit. I switched to 180 grit, which was much better, and proceeded in lightly sanding the entire box, going from 180 (lightly) to 240 to 400.

The front “Recipes” detailing was already worn down in a couple of spots so I had to sand over this very lightly to ensure I didn’t sand anymore of it away.

Once I was satisfied with the sanding, I then wiped the box down well inside and out with a soft cloth dampened with denatured alcohol and let it dry overnight.

Day 2 I examined the box thoroughly, to ensure there weren’t any spots that needed more attention. There were still a few dings in the wood but I knew that trying to sand them completely out would be next to impossible without over-sanding the entire piece so I left them as is; thus is the beauty of real wood.

Though not entirely necessary, I’ve gotten into the habit of using wood conditioner prior to staining and have always had great results with it. If you’re wondering what the purpose of a wood conditioner is, it’s to help condition the wood which helps it take stain more evenly. I felt like this piece really needed it; soft woods often do, so I conditioned it, applying it with a soft cloth, and waited about 45 minutes.

Once the wood conditioner had set, I set about staining it. The color I used is Minwax Dark Walnut and I used a simple, inexpensive small foam brush to apply it. I was originally thinking of a lighter stain but realized with the already darker grain of the box, plus the knicks and dings, that a darker stain would work better.

I applied it first to just the very lightest spots and let it sit a few minutes before wiping with a soft cloth. Then I stained the entire piece, again letting it sit a couple of minutes before wiping off the stain.

I’m more than pleased with the final result.

I honestly love that you can still see some of the lighter spots on the front edge where the box is opened; again this just tells me this box was often-used and I wanted to keep that memory that’s ingrained here.

People often tell me they don’t know how I find time to do these types of projects but this was an easy one. All in all, it took me 2 days to do this from start to finish and in hours, it took me less than 3. The biggest lag of time is letting the piece dry well after wiping it down with denatured alcohol.

I’ve not yet decided just how I want to showcase this cool little box but I have a few ideas. One of them is to line up some pretty little painted 1/2 pint Ball jars in them and use them as little vases. All I know is that I want to display it somewhere and let it know it’s still much-loved and appreciated.

I hope you enjoy my latest refinishing project as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by and your comments are always welcome.