My Grandma Claire was a glamorous woman with a pair of big colorful clip-on earrings to match every outfit. She kept them in this jewelry box on top of her dresser.

grandma jewelry box_before1

The jewelry box now sits on top of my sister Colleen’s dresser, but it doesn’t really match. Colleen’s bedroom is crazy-big-huge (like bigger than your entire first apartment huge). It is also modern and sleek with black furniture, a plush red sofa and awesome black-and-white chevron draperies.

We decided the jewelry box needed a makeover.

* * *

This isn’t the first makeover I’ve done on something that belonged to our grandmother. I painted and decoupaged a picture of our kids onto the top of one of Grandma Claire’s tables for Colleen’s birthday present a few years ago. It sits in the entryway of her house now and makes me happy every time I walk through her front door and see it. I also painted a table for my living room—another piece that I love.

Grandma Claire’s jewelry box was a simple project—no fancy new techniques to share here today. Colleen wanted it black to match the furniture in her bedroom. I couldn’t resist adding a stencil down the sides of the drawers and on the drawer fronts for a surprise pop of gold when you open the doors. I used metallic gold craft paint.

DSC_0005I didn’t want to wax the jewelry box because it will be opened and closed every day and may start to look smudgy after awhile. Instead, I used Low Sheen Burnishing Paste from Real Milk Paint Company, which we sell in our shop All Things New Again in Leesburg, Virginia.DSC_0008

I LOVE THIS STUFF! Here’s a link for more information on Real Milk Paint Company’s Burnishing Paste. It is an environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, NO VOC top coat that provides great protection for high traffic areas like kitchen cabinets without harsh chemicals. It looks like lotion and can be applied with a brush, sponge or clean rag. I brushed on the outside of the jewelry box and used an old t-shirt on tight spots like the trim on the bottom. It works perfectly with Real Milk Paint, of course, but it is also compatible with most brands of chalk/mineral paints.

Burnishing Paste makes the paint color a shade darker, which was perfect to make the black jewelry box even blacker. It also helps hide imperfections in your paint job. Check out this side-by-side shot:

Burnishing Paste_before and after

And here’s the finished jewelry box:

grandma jewelry box makeover1

grandma jewelry box makeover2grandma jewelry box makeover_inside

grandma jewelry box makeover3Those pictures were taken in MY bedroom. I deliver it to Colleen tomorrow. I know she will love it—and I know Grandma Claire would love it too.

~ Courtney

All Things New Again is a family-owned furniture and paint boutique in Leesburg, Virginia (about an hour or so west of Washington, D.C.) We sell hand-painted furniture and several lines of paint for your next DIY project, including Real Milk Paint Company environmentally-friendly products. We also offer painting classes and workshops. Click here for more information about our Intro to Milk Paint Class.

6 thoughts on “Grandma Claire’s Jewelry Box

    1. Thank you LaDonna! She did like it a lot! We both like having a few of our grandmother’s things around our homes. It makes us happy. 🙂 ~ Courtney

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