Saturday Step by Step - Old Ledger Box

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest edition of our Saturday Step by Step tutorial posts here at Frilly and Funkie. I'll be honest, with so many projects on the go recently I was completely at a loss with what to do for this, but then I read Paula Cheney's recent posts on Facebook about her 'hauls' from trips to antique yards, including some fabulous old, worn boxes. And then there's an image I saved some time ago (I'm pretty sure it came from Savvy City Farmer)...

The cogs started to whir, I reached for some Distress Paints and Tim Holtz' Ledger Script stamp set, and came up with this...

So how did I do it? Start with a cheap box (I got a papier-mâché one from a craft shop). Cover it in an initial layer of Ground Espresso Distress Paint.

Add Industrious Frames strips to the edge of the lid and cover with more of the paint allowing it to dry.

Rub a wax candle over every surface, working in one direction (apply plenty of wax).

Paint a light coat of white gesso over every surface and allow to dry naturally - don't use a heat tool as you will disturb the wax.

Rub over the dry gesso with a paper towel to remove some of the white layer, paying particular attention to the edges. You can use a sanding block to remove more if you want to.

Add more wax before dry brushing a little Walnut Stain Distress Paint over random parts and allow it to dry naturally again.

Once again rub over the surface to remove some of the fresh paint.

Use the Ledger Script stamps with black archival ink to apply some random stamping to the surfaces of the box.

Apply Ground Espresso Distress Paint to the brass clasp and allow it to dry.

Rub over the clasp with the wax candle again before applying a coat of Weathered Wood Distress Paint.

When dry, rub over the clasp with a paper towel to remove some of the paint layers, then stamp with the Ledger Script stamp as before.

Finally splash some Picket Fence Distress Paint over the sides of the box and the clasp. When dry attach the clasp to the side of the box and lid with Long Fasteners.

And it's done!!! Here's a couple of close ups so you can see more of the finished look...

Now you've got something special to give a gift in (or to keep for yourself!) Hope you'll give it a try.

That's it for this weekend. We'll be back on Monday with our latest challenge winners and on Wednesday you'll get to see more projects from the Funkie side of the team for our current challenge 'Autumn Splendor!' Hope you can join us for those and in the meantime have a great weekend.

Jenny x