Blending in unsightly storage

Ever wish you had something other than what you had? (Who am I kidding?)

I've been recently motivated to clean and organize by some posts at maya*made - and things are looking much better! Problem is, I find myself wanting things I don't have available to me. *shakes finger at self*

Like when I took a look at my cat food storage.

Blahhhhhh.

Functional, sure! But does it have to stick out like a sore thumb and be so....ugly?

Well actually, no it doesn't!

Now I have motivation from maya*made and inspiration from The Steampunk Home (where they bring innovation and Victoriana into the 21st century) - how to apply that to modern plastic?...

I have tons of acrylic craft paint at my disposal as well as tons of wrinkled and crinkled tissue paper left over from Christmas, so I gathered those items and set to changing my storage from sterile to steampunk.

Using decoupage glue I tore the super-wrinkled tissue paper into workable pieces and glued them haphazardly onto the container in layers. Overlap? Who cares! Bubbles and wrinkles? Who cares! It will look better with those "flaws" in the long run.

While I waited for that to dry I took the lid outside and masked off the handle and side flaps which lock the lid in place. Then I painted the lid with my little can of gold spraypaint which amazingle still had some left after...two, three? projects I've already used it on recently. Once that was dry I dug out some bronze metallic craft paint and sponged it over the gold to add a patina. Once both layers were dry I applied a clear coat sealant making sure all the while that none of this paint gets onto the inside of the container (it is going to be food storage after all).

With the bottom half dry I mixed Burnt Umber and the metallic bronze acrylic paint and sponged onto the lid using a wet sponge. The wet sponge will allow a little more movement to the paint and a lot less thickness. If it doesn't come out as dark as you like (like mine did at first) simply apply another coat!

I also applied a layer of clear sealant to the bottom - it is just paper after all.

The finished product blends in nicely with the existing decor and is still just as functional as it was previously.

It's still lacking a little steampunk style though, so I'm toying with the idea of adding some brass "tacks" or some kind of decorative flourish to add a little elegance. We'll see!