Treasure Facelift

I rescued this charming Japanese treasure recently, and knew I could give it a new life.  When I found this box, it had been partially stripped inside. It was once a music box, but the musical piece had been removed, leaving open holes where the mechanism fit. 

I filled and glued the holes with cork, then painted them. The previous owner must have had visions of grandeur for the interior, but ran out of steam, since they started to remove the faded orange corduroy lining, but didn't finish. I certainly found out why. I want the glue recipe that was used in this box, as removing the rest of the lining was incredibly difficult. 

I sanded the interior, but left much of the wood flaws alone, to maintain the vintage appearance, and then painted the inside a glossy black. I decided that rather than the obvious choice of lining it with Japanese paper, I would give it more of a Paris apartment vibe with my own Fleur de lis art paper. I inked up the paper to make it look aged and worn like the rest of the box, and triple-sealed it. Now she's ready for duty as a jewelry box or storage for crafty bits.

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