Hello! My Name is Amy and I'm a Garbage Picker!

Amy Ogden-Paparone
by Amy Ogden-Paparone
If you ever see anyone throwing away any boxes made of wood, grab them!! You will not be sorry. There are so many things you can make out of them, and they seem to cost more and more money every day in the stores. This one I found I made a toy box out of, please let me know what you think!!
I Found this old beat-up wooden box on the curb, and decided to give it a new life, with a new lid! First I painted the whole thing blue using Americana Decor' Chalky paint from home depot. A little goes a really long way!
Then I drilled holes on either side for the handles. And painted 2 white stripes in the middle.
I took wooden letters that I spray painted gold and glued/nailed them onto the front. Yes I know the D and the L are a little crooked and we won't go into why that is at the moment, lets just say I laughed really hard ~ and had to leave them like that! :)
I hand painted an anchor and a ships wheel onto the front. I'm not very good at drawing but I did it anyway. HA! I crack myself up sometimes!
A pail on one side.....
and a life preserver on the other.... I made a lid for it, but forgot to take pictures of it! I ALWAYS forget to take pictures of at least one thing per project! Sorry about that!
and a compass rose on the lid... that came out really good if I do say so myself!
I hammered nail heads along the top...
Added brass washers to the outside and inside for a more finished look to the rope handles and used a gloss polyurethane to finish it off....
And Voila! A toy box for Daniel!! Now don't forget, if it's wooden, and being thrown away, grab it! Yes, I admit, I'm a garbage picker! And I don't want to stop! LOL
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  • ArgentSol ArgentSol on Oct 01, 2016
    I'm a Trash Day Treasure Hunter. Every Trash Day I get in my car and slowly drive around the area. I live in an area where old homes are constantly being renovated. I am not shy about opening trash can lids, going through piles of 'junk' and right now, I have 7 old wood boxes, a ton of scrap lumber and molding, copper pipe, an old central heat grate, (table top sized!) three hinged panels that are two panels each, four 8' doors, two with windows, an old window, a box of antique bottles, and much more. I found an old record player case that someone had converted into a case to hold boxes of slides in the 50's and the slides were still in it; I'm covering this in leather scraps, and will use for storage. I rescued two small dressers, an entertainment center that was mostly particle board, but the top and drawers are wood, an old metal court reporter's steno cart on wheels, two antique metal tool boxes, and the list goes on. Now I have to get to work!!
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    • Amy Ogden-Paparone Amy Ogden-Paparone on Oct 18, 2016
      I love it! You have really good garbage by you, and now that i've moved I have even better garbage then I did before lol. I hope your posting some of your wonderful finds on here! I'd love to see them!
  • Karen Hurst Karen Hurst on Aug 07, 2018

    Cute toy chest. I love it. I'm not so lucky to find wood boxes and such. But I've moved recently so maybe my new neighborhood will provide better finds for my projects.

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