DIY Lacquer Lookalike Boxes

Here's an annoying thing about apartment life: the note on the door.  The irritating note on the door that let's you know that maintenance will be in your apartment sometime.  This apartment complex notifies you of the week they'll enter your apartment rather than our last place which told us the day.  


That way, you could plan to be dressed and out of bed when they knocked on your door to invade your apartment. But no... here I've got to expect them to be in my place any time this week.  So... I have to hurry up and get showered and dressed after working out or make sure I'm not in the middle of working out when they arrive.  And if I'm not working out, I have to make sure I have a bra on and am out of my pajamas because, let's face it, I do not look hot after waking up.  There's hair issues and mascara issues and... yeah. 


Anyways... 


In just about every home decor store that I've been in I've seen these cute lacquer boxes.  And I've wanted one but couldn't bring myself to spend the money for... a box.  And for a box I don't need nor have any where to put it. 


Like Target... for $20, too much!

Or these from Amazon.com for a staggering $119.  Who would pay over a hundred dollars for a goofy box? 

Then a few days ago I stumbled upon on of my regular websites, Centsational Girl, who recently completed a DIY lacquer box lookalike project.  Using a wooden box from Michael's she made her own inexpensive DIY version of these popular lacquer boxes.

Five dollars later, I was ready to try my hand at making my own!

I took off the hardware and tried to fill the holes with wood glue because I am that cheap and didn't buy wood putty (because... when else would I really use the stuff?).  If the holes were bigger I would have been screwed but after some sanding it worked out fine.  Not perfect but decent. 

 I wanted to paint the inside a fun color and chose purple because it's my favorite color and I don't use it nearly enough.  I just used some basic acrylic paint on the inside and because the wood soaked it up so easily, I had to do about two to three coats to have it be even. 

Per the instructions, I made sure to put masking tape around the lid to keep from painting it shut.  That would have looked no bueno. 

I did sand the outside a little bit to make sure it was going to feel and look smooth. 

Coat numero uno (don't know why I'm speaking Spanish... must be because I've been working on my Rosetta Stone?).

I put about two more coats on because I wanted a good, even finish.  After an hour or so of drying I taped off where I wanted to paint on my white stripes.  (I can't even type those two words without thinking of the band, weird.)

Make sure to pull the tape off when the paint is still wet so the lines come out straight before drying. 

Despite my best efforts, I had some imperfections. 

But nothing a little patience and a small paintbrush couldn't fix. 

I gave the inside edges a minimal coat of gray paint to give it a more finished look.  And, since it was only one coat I won't have to worry about the paint sticking together when the box closes. 

Not bad for an afternoon and $5, right? :D