Monday, May 11, 2015

Designing a Vintage Glove Box

Happy Month of May Blog Friends


This month is beginning beautifully and I hope for you as well. 
The flowers are all in bloom here in my little Texas town and the weather warmer each day.
 Today I want to share how to paint and decorate a vintage glove box.


When I was growing up, my mother, grandmother and myself all wore pretty gloves to church.
These wonderful glove boxes were designed to hold and store gloves when not in use.

Today they are getting harder to find and when you do they are fairly expensive.


Over the years,
I have hand painted these boxes to reuse for keepsake boxes, wedding
treasures or old love letters.
Here are the steps to give them a makeover.


Starting out with the original light green satin fabric, 
I could see this treasure in a soft cottage creamy white 
with crocheted roses I made using bits and pieces of old crocheted lace.


With several coats of my signature white paint or chalk paint inside and out, the transformation begins.
I want to say, if you are ever painting on fabric to be worn, like a shirt for example, it is advisable to mix textile medium with your paint first using equal parts, medium and paint before painting on the fabric. 
This gives a soft movable feel to the finish. If not, the painted area would be like cardboard and not comfortable. 
Years ago, in the early 80's, when I started in business, I painted lots of clothing for customers on sweatshirts, denim shirts and the like. 
This step was important.
 It also makes the item washable which you would want.

Now moving along here is the box completely painted with several coats of paint.


Both inside and out are painted.

I usually speed up the drying time with a hair dryer. Can't wait to get to the real fun.


Now moving on, here is the progression of the vintage glove box.

Once dry inside and out.
I add a nice coat of brush on water based varnish to seal the paint
and make it easy to wipe clean and protect the surface from scratches etc.

 This is where the fun begins when embellishments are added.
I happened to create this one all in shades of white and creams, but the skies the limit here to what you can create with color and paint.

 For the leaves, I hand painted silk leaves in the same cottage cream. 
All the crocheted accents are vintage along with the lace ribbon.
 The vintage lace edging was used to form crocheted roses.







What do you think?
 Pretty? 
Remember you can do a lot with paint over fabric. 
With several coats of paint, drying time and patience, you can decorate a vintage glove box.
Next time you see one on a junkin trip and the price is right, don't pass it up.
It can be such a fun project.

Have a great weekend!

See you next time.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will be on the lookout for one of these boxes. Yours turned out beautifully, Celeste. I keep my grandma's Bible in a box that I purchased similar to this. It would be fun to make one myself! Wishing you a great day. Enjoy the pretty flowers!

Creations By Cindy said...

WOW! Beautiful. I did not even know such existed! I too will be on the lookout now! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

Valerie-Jael said...

So beautiful! I have lots of vintage gloves, but no boxes, this is a great inspiration! Hugs, Valerie

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Good morni g dear friend, I remember these boxes for there was time whe ee at least wore gloves on easter...what a darling box to hold the dainty memories. Have a super monday!

Sherry @ Thrift My House said...

I've never seen a glove box... now I'll definitely be looking for one. So pretty Celestina! I love the crocheted roses. And thank you for the tip on painting fabric. I have a chair I want to paint and I want it to be soft. I'll look for the textile medium. Have a good week friend!

Dee said...

What a lovely glove box. You did such a beautiful job recreating it with paint, pretty vintage lace and roses.

Have a wonderful day... :)

Kim said...

I am always afraid to paint on fabric, I am never sure it will hold up or be soft. Your tips are excellent and very thorough. I think I could apply them to a lot of fabric projects. I need to pin this to keep it handy, thanks! The box is lovely!

1CardCreator said...

This is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing the process to make one of these beautiful treasures! ~Diane

Crissi said...

Fantastic, so lovely, my dear Celestina-Marie, I've never seen!
Hug and a blessed week
Crissi

Nancy said...

Hi Celeste,
Been thinking of you a lot and with the recent weather I pray you are out of harms way!! The Box Transformation is just Beautiful!! We use only ASCP in the Studio and we spray water right onto the fabric piece and then paint with the chalk paint and the sealer. I have never used a Medium mixed in but will try it. Any Brand you can recommend? I have quite a collection of the Glove and Hankie fabric covered boxes and it would be so nice to do them in the different colors!!
I hope your Mothers Day was Grand Celsete!!
Huggs, Nancy

Debbie said...

Oh my goodness, Celestina! This is just beautiful! What a wonderful keepsake you've created.
You have an eye for lovely things.
Debbie
xo

Stacey said...

How pretty. I forgot all about glove boxes. :)

Gypsy Heart said...

So beautiful! You are so creative!

xo
Pat

TexWisGirl said...

really pretty!

Okio B Designs said...

What a beautiful makeover! I'm intrigued by these boxes. I've never seen them before! Thanks for sharing.

Jeanine

chateau chic said...

You painted and embellished the vintage glove box beautifully! What a treasure!
Mary Alice

Row homes and Cobblestones said...

Dear sweet Celeste,
OMGoodness, Yes, Yes, Yes... I do remember them. What a fun trip down memory lane. I remember the Sunday church gloves and keeping them pristine! Enjoy a delightful day with the sun kissing your face.
xoxo,
Vera

Cynthia said...

Oh my Celeste this is so pretty. You crochet too. Is there anything you can't do? You're a talent friend

Cindy

2amscrapper said...

beautiful! I would love to find such boxes as I have the vintage gloves to put in them!

Alessandra said...

Pretty??...just gorgeous!!! This is one of the most romantic box i' ve ever seen.I love the croquet roses and all the romantic details.
HUgs
Alessandra

suziqu's thread works said...

Like many women I too have the beautiful gloves but have never seen a box to house them in.
Thank you dear Celeste for sharing your step by step guide in transforming such a box into a gorgeous keepsake embellishing with those sweet roses on top.
Have a lovely week!
Hugs,
Suzy

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

I have never seen a glove box. yours is beautiful. I have so many lovely leather gloves and I never wear them anymore as we certainly don't need them in SO CA. When I traveled a lot for work and it was in the Midwest or East Coast I would always take my gloves to go with my outfits. Now going to church there are no hats, gloves and most of the people are in jeans. Times sure have changed. I guess I am giving my age away, but I loved getting all dressed up to go to church.
Have a wonderful week.
Mary

cynthia lee designs said...

Wow...it's beautiful!!
hugs,
Cindy

Stephanie said...

Sweet Celeste, what a beautiful makeover! I have never seen one of the delightful boxes, but now I will be on the lookout :)

Thanks, dear friend, for the wonderful inspiration. Love to you!

Claudia said...

Hi Celeste,
this is such a great work, a wonderful Glovebox you created!
Wishing you a wonderful week,
sending love and hugs and blessings,
Claudia

http://deezie-sunshinedeezines.blogspot.com/ said...

Beautiful Glove Box!!!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Celeste, what a beautiful makeover. The accents are just lovely.. Well done, thanks for sharing. Have a happy day!

Anonymous said...

Hi Celeste! Oh, here you are showing off your beautiful talent again. The glove box turned out so pretty! You are just so good at everything! I too wore little gloves to church, especially on Easter with my new Easter hat! :) Thanks for popping in to see me.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely glove box, Celeste! I have a wooden one that could use a makeover. You created a treasure out of this small box! Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas and talent with us!

Feral Turtle said...

I have never seen a real glove box. I am pretty sure our Canadian glove boxes are much bigger. You need to be able to fit massive amounts of fabric and down and even more stuffing into them. Haha I am just kidding. This is just gorgeous. Thanks for the awesome tip on fabric painting too.

Dorthe said...

I think: so very pretty and beautiful, dear Celestina Marie.
The painted satin looks fantastic, and decorated with your roses it is all so lovely .
Hugs and love
Dorthe

Createology said...

Sweet memories and treasures indeed. I loved wearing gloves to church when I was in high school. Now it is sad that so many people just don't dress up much. Your glove box is beautiful and thank you for sharing your tips. I can paint a box however achieving your level of decorating excellence is not my specialty. Creative Glove Bliss Dear...

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

What a great little box to makeover, Celeste. I can believe they are getting harder to find. I love the idea of using it to hold letters. I use an old cigar box that I painted and decoupaged years ago that holds notes my kids wrote me when they were little.

Jill said...

So beautiful! This would be fun to do with my girls :-)
Have a great night.

Blessings,
Jill

Kathy said...

I LOVE this idea and thank you so much for the inspiration! I have a huge collection of these boxes and I have many that fit in to a custom cabinet and are used to store my bits I use for inspiration kits. My plan was for the boxes to be the color of what is inside but some colors are hard to come by. I never even thought of painting them. I'm so excited to try it!

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

It came out really beautiful, and I didn't know about glove boxes. xoox

Art and Sand said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

You are so talented!

Julie's Lifestyle said...

Wow I am amazed at how you transformed the box to look so beautiful. Thank you for sharing how to make one too. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Julie xo

Donna said...

What a gorgeous glove box, Celestina! I never would have thought to paint over the fabric! The creamy colors and embellishments you've used are just dreamy and oh so romantic:) When I was cleaning out some of my mom's things, I came across several pair of vintage cotton gloves, including child size, which I am sure I wore to Sunday school when I was a little girl. Times sure have changed, haven't they? Thank you for sharing your beautiful work with us!

living from glory to glory said...

Hello, What a lovely gift and treasure this will be for someone! I would like to imagine a beautiful box like this one you created, just filled with love letters! God loves it when we use our talents to bring beauty into our homes and to give as gifts and also a unique item to buy and give as gifts that are real keepsakes!
Just Lovely...
Hugs, Roxy

Conniecrafter said...

Beautiful work on this!!

handmade by amalia said...

This really is beautifully done. What a wonderful treasure.
Amalia
xo

Tete said...

I love it! Could you spray it with a clear acrylic sealer instead of the varnish?
I love the colors and I am going to start painting those stupid silk leaves, too. Looks much better painted.
I so remember wearing those little white gloves to Sunday School, with my lace bobbie socks and patent leathers. I also had little flowers on my hats.
;)

Rue said...

The glove box turned out beautiful! It reminds me of something that would be in Victoria magazine :)

xo,
rue

Kelly-Anne said...

Oh Celestina! How beautiful your glove box is and so elegantly decorated! I have always imagined how delightful it must have been to have worn gloves... I am an old fashioned kind of girl:)
Blessings and hugs to you!
Kelly-Anne

Red Rose Alley said...

Oh my, this glove box is so pretty. I really like the colors, very vintage looking. You did a fantastic job, Celestina.

~Sheri

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Celestina Marie
Celestina Marie

Welcome To Rose Garden Market from Celestina Marie Design. It is so nice to meet you. My name is Celestina Marie named after my grandmother and my friends call me Celeste.My creative journey extends over 30 years enjoying the love of painting and redesigning vintage and new treasures. I love to go treasure hunting and the fun of finding great vintage pieces to redesign..