Weeks 30 & 31...

I'm elbow deep in projects here, literally, as the latest one landed me flat on my butt and bleeding in the hydrangea. 

But enough about that.

A while back I found a trunk for Youngest to restore that would eventually house all his keepsakes from childhood. After a bit of searching, I came across the deals of deals on Marketplace and for $20 came home with this beauty...

It was in remarkable shape.  Unlike the trunks I usually grab, this had the original key with working lock, a copy of the Boston Herald from New Year's Eve 1939 in the bottom, and the last transfer tag from when it was shipped, with a portage cost of a whopping $1.50.

Wanting to be able to save as much as I could, I happened to find that the case for the screen protectors at the dollar store was just the right size.  The trunk sat for quite a while, as I've had quite a bit of things come up, and not enough money honestly. As I picked away at it, Youngest got more and more interested, choosing stain colors, insisting on cedar lining the inside, and deciding to line the lid with the old newspaper. Truthfully it killed me to have to strip off the near perfect paper lining that was already inside the trunk but that is the only way to get rid of the mildew smell, so it had to go. I'll spare you the progress photos, mainly because my computer isn't cooperating and I can't find them at the moment, but here's the gist....

After painstakingly removing the oil cloth, we went with dark honey on the bands and light honey stain on the plywood box. Then I taped off all the metal work and sprayed it all a hammered black texture. Youngest decided it needed something special, so I went back and gold leafed the lock and clasps, as well as the end caps for the new handles.  The secret to replacing the handles by the way, is to use a belt.  This black/brown reversible one was donated from The Hubs collection, and Youngest decided that brown was the way to go. I also got a black chain to secure the key to the trunk as that's just not a thing you can get at the hardware store if it gets lost.

We also did some gold leaf in the deep cracks and crevices because that's where the good memories are. We hung the transfer tag from the handle in it's protective case with some craft twine, and I also found some old trinket dog tags we made at the amusement park when he was little with his name and address, so we hung that too. He insisted that it be lined with cedar, and since the lid gets too heavy when wood lined, we opted to line the top with the 1939 newspaper. Fun Fact: The Boston Herald is still in existence, someone left one in the Post Office today, a daily paper costs $4.50 today. We selected some of the more fun articles to highlight, stocks of course since Youngest has an extensive stock portfolio, the "drug of the year" article, a rental advertisement for Becon Hill Apts. starting at $35 and up (currently $3,200 and up), and an obituary for Abe Lincoln's cousin, she was 84.

Youngest insisted we not cover the staining on the paper, as it's part of the history.  I should mention we also added casters to the bottom for convivence of moving it around.  We went with antique brass in keeping with the theme. The one thing that was missing from the trunk was the tray and as luck would have it, I scored some free mahogany from my Buy Nothing group here in town.

I took the smaller, wider pieces, and after a lot of sanding, some pressure washing, and a bit of stain, I crafted a tray to display all of his awards and metals...

The tray is quite dark, but Youngest doesn't seem to mind. There's still room to add metals as getting back into Spartan Races is something he wants to do.  I added a clear piece of plexi to the tray and filled it to the brim with personalized scrapbooks, Scout stuff, karate belts, wrestling gear, Championship sweatshirts, Trophies, his cap and gown, awards, diploma, stuff from his father, you name it it's in there. Truthfully, there's still more, but I'm hoping to reconfigure some things and get it all in there.

Twenty-One years of life in one portable, albeit insanely heavy, container. 

It sits next to his bed.  

He loves it.

I love that he embraced my crafty craziness, and we made it as unique and amazing as he is. 

Ed Note: As per his request, I sent the seller the finished pictures so he could show his grandmother.  She was thrilled, and said it looked just as she remembered from her childhood, as it was her father's.  We're estimating the trunk is 90-100 years old, and worth every second of my time to give it a new life.