Grandpeanut's Toy Box

[ken hatch]

Is in the short rows. I've maybe one more coat of the 'Brick Red' undercoat before I start on the 'Federal Blue' final coats.


I love the look and feel of milk paint. Both Art (with a capital 'A') and craft need to show the hand of the maker. When it does not, is too perfect, it loses its soul and no mater how beautifully made I lose interest in it very quickly. A OF's cultural reference....It is like looking at Sandra Dee vs. Sophia Loren. Ms Dee was very pretty but....Ms Loren moved your soul. Or maybe, if you are not a DOM of a certain age, it is like looking at an Ansel Adams photograph vs. a Roy DeCarava photograph. One you think is very nice the other you can come back to forever. Art is like that, it should grab you and never let go.


Damn that was a tasty rabbit...As I was saying, Milk paint feels organic, it invites touch to feel the surface of the wood under it and as it wears, which it will, it exposes the paint and wood underneath. With milk paint the piece of work becomes more as it ages and is used.


A couple more days of painting, putting on the lid hinge and I can do the Omni, Omni, VOR over the toy box and move on to something else.



ken

[Christopher Charles]

Art is a slippery beast for sure and, oddly, perfection seems to detract. Perfectly timed music is the same way, a bit of variation imparted by a master moves the soul.

Box looks great, sure to be treasured for a generation or more.

Best,
Chris

[Michael J Evans]

Looks great ken.
I still want to build my boys a toy box, but at the rate I'm going with the bench build they may be grown up before then =')

What did you build yours out of? I was just thinking pine and after seeing your paint job, maybe trying my hand at milk paint.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks like a fun project.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

NEATO!!!!! Paw Paw, could you make one for meeee?

[ken hatch]

Thanks guys,

The box started life as carrying box for a charcoal cooker so we could use the cooker during the motorhome trips. As normal I over did it, instead of just a simple box I had to over think the build. A week or so ago I noticed the box was a perfect size to fit at the end of a twin bed, The peanut will soon be sleeping in a twin bed....twin, box....Yep time to re-purpose. Hello toy box.

The timing was perfect, we are meeting the girl child, hubby, and peanut in Balmorhea, TX weekend week for a couple of days of camping. The box will be finished by then and I can send MsBubba and the box on to Houston with the kids.

ken

[ken hatch]

Looks great ken.
I still want to build my boys a toy box, but at the rate I'm going with the bench build they may be grown up before then =')

What did you build yours out of? I was just thinking pine and after seeing your paint job, maybe trying my hand at milk paint.

Michael,

As it was going to be a utility box I made it out of pre-dimensioned pine, the same kind you can find in Home Depot. Almost any wood would work, just pine is lighter than some others. BTW several woods like Tulip Poplar would have been cheaper and almost as light.

ken

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Looks great Ken. I am sure he will enjoy that a lot.

[Stew Denton]

Ken,

I like the box, and for what it's worth, I think it was absolutely neat that you decided to convert it to a toy box for your grandchild. Good decision, and some of the rest of us grandpas are with you 100%. Charcoal cookers come and go, but grandkids are beyond putting a value on, there isn't that much money.

One more +1 on the milk paint.

Neat story and project.

Thanks and regards,

Stew

[Jerry Olexa]

Is in the short rows. I've maybe one more coat of the 'Brick Red' undercoat before I start on the 'Federal Blue' final coats.


I love the look and feel of milk paint. Both Art (with a capital 'A') and craft need to show the hand of the maker. When it does not, is too perfect, it loses its soul and no mater how beautifully made I lose interest in it very quickly. A OF's cultural reference....It is like looking at Sandra Dee vs. Sophia Loren. Ms Dee was very pretty but....Ms Loren moved your soul. Or maybe, if you are not a DOM of a certain age, it is like looking at an Ansel Adams photograph vs. a Roy DeCarava photograph. One you think is very nice the other you can come back to forever. Art is like that, it should grab you and never let go.


Damn that was a tasty rabbit...As I was saying, Milk paint feels organic, it invites touch to feel the surface of the wood under it and as it wears, which it will, it exposes the paint and wood underneath. With milk paint the piece of work becomes more as it ages and is used.


A couple more days of painting, putting on the lid hinge and I can do the Omni, Omni, VOR over the toy box and move on to something else.



ken

Ken, you are an artist, a poet and a good grandpa...Well spoken...Good for you..

[Brian Holcombe]

Beautiful work Ken!

[William Fretwell]

Classic look & proportions. I've always regarded milk paint as more of a stain and only applied two coats followed by a coat of Tung oil but I do really like it. I will have to give your method a try sometime.

[David Eisenhauer]

Good stuff all the way around Ken.

[ken hatch]

Thanks again guys, The box is finished....kinda. I started doing the mortises for the hinges late this afternoon. I didn't get too far, the back was yelling "one more move like that buster and you're on the floor". I decided maybe whisky and the computer chair was where I needed to be instead of the shop. Tomorrow I have to spend 6 or so hours sitting in a black box so I expect it will be the weekend before the FSM does her blessing on the toy box. It is painted Federal Blue over Brick Red and the inside has a coat of shellac. If you squint it looks pretty good.

ken

[Christopher Charles]

Will look best with toys spilling out!