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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Restored Rustic Box w/French Graphic

Thursday, September 26, 2013

What is it about 
Boxes 
that is so appealing? 


I can't walk by one without looking it over, 
often picking it up, thinking about how it can be used. 
For what can I use this box? 
Fourteen inches wide and thirteen and a half inches tall... 
Scrapbook paper? Remote TV/DVD/xBox/Computer controls? 


Always trying to organize my life, making order out of the disorder, 
making things better tomorrow than they are today... 

Unexpected treasures without going on a treasure hunt 
are often in plain sight... 
Just opening my eyes to see what is right in front of me all along... 

Older wooden boxes or drawers surely have 
a second life... a third life...  
Dovetail joints, carvings, rare wood, beautiful images... 
all reasons to salvage a box, a drawer. 

But this box?

No dovetail joints, no carvings, 


No precious wood, no beautiful image... 


But this box?
The inside is not even finished at all. 

Sure, it is a great size, has a good feel to it, easy to carry... 
Sturdy, no loose joints... 
and inside, one small piece of fluted molding... 
Maybe... it has potential. 


What a little Valspar sample paint can do! 
Honeymilk on the outside and Navy #5 on the inside... 


Still rustic with nicks and scrapes, and some deep gouges from living, 
but with tender loving care inside and out, this little box still has hope for a new use. 



The Graphics Fairy French flower seller label paired with 


A hydrangea stem tied with a bow from the Etsy shop Graphicals 


Gives the tired, old unloved box a fresh look to face the world anew. 


A Hobby Lobby porcelain blue and white knob is just the 
finishing touch for the rejuvenated little box to lift its lid. 



So, what will this restored box hold? 


Perhaps a new life in the garden shed to hold bulb and flower catalogs? 


Or, to hold magazines filled with inspiration and beauty?



A new life filled with inspiration and beauty that makes order out of disorder... 



Salvaged shards of a previous life that were shattered and discarded 
can hold the beginnings of a restored life with beauty and purpose. 
~~~~~~~~~~