... and an Upcycled Make Up Storage Box

This box was originally a charity shop purchase... Although when I bought it I had no idea what I was going to do with it! The box then sat on the side for months, looking at me forlornly, until I finally got round to giving it a makeover!!

Here's what it looked like originally,,,, 

It was much too dark for my taste, so I started off by lightly sanding and then painting it with a layer of white primer.

I wanted to give the box a Moroccan, ornate chest sort of feel (if you know what I mean?!?). So I had a rifle through my collection of paint tester pots and chose an orange for the outside and purple for the inside.

The paint looked a bit 'flat', so I thought I'd experiment and give it a distressed look. I've never actually tried this before, so used a variety of random carefully selected tools and began 'distressing'!

The sandpaper worked well to bring out the gold detailing and to also take the shine off the paint. I used the scraper and file to make deeper scratches and bring through the black colour. To finish off, I used a clear varnish to seal and protect. 

Ta da!!

Even once it was finished, I still hadn't actually worked out what I was going to use it for. Then I realised it was perfect size to store my make up.....

This was a really fun project and a great way for me to experiment with different ways of using paint and then getting a distressed look. As a bonus, I now have a place to keep all my make up nice and tidy!!

I'm definitely going to try some more 'distressed paint' projects, so would love to hear your hints and tips please!

We are linking up to these parties!