Transformation of a Boiler Tub

Long ago, my mom snagged this old boiler tub from my grandma. She just thought it was too neat to let my grandma throw it away. Fast forward several years to the early 90's, and my mom redecorated her family room. My sister, in all her craftiness glory, decided to make this old ugly boiler tub something cute and fabulous for the new room. So she painstakingly painted and stenciled away and then filled it with a beautiful eucalyptus and floral arrangement. That lasted quite a few years until the grandkids had thrown one too many footballs or other toys into the arrangement (and dug in after them), and it was looking pretty sad.  So my mom took all the floral stuff out and used it to stack wood for their fireplace in it. Fast forward another few years and when my parents replaced their wood burning stove for a gas fireplace, no need for wood anymore, this cute old thing got shoved into a corner waiting for its new life.  So this winter, when I getting really tired of my kids constantly leaving blankets strewn about the room, I asked her if I could have it. It was perfect for blankets!  But since we had just redecorated our family room, it couldn't stay in this shape. I really wished it was in its old dingy metal state for that vintage feel. I thought about stripping it down to see if I could uncover that, but didn't know if I'd ever get all that pretty blue off or what condition it would be in when I did, if I would really like it that way, and finally decided it was too much work. So I decided to try my hand at spray painting and use up some paint I had left from a shelf I painted a while ago. I primed the whole thing, then started in on the real painting, finding that painting the inside was very tricky.  (Anyone have any tips for that?)  It was supposed to be a copper hammered finish, but it never really got that hammered look to it, but I still like it.  It's the perfect addition to our room to hold blankets, my magazines, my cross-stitch project that someday I'll finish, and anything else that get stuffed in there. Now if I could just get my kids to remember to put their blankets back in it I'd be doing great!

Linking up to:
Lil' Luna
House of Hepworths
Somewhat Simple
Thrifty 101