That ol' Swedish Trunk

Awhile back I posted about this old trunk...

Our farmer neighbor asked us if we wanted it.  It was destined for 'the burn pile.'

Of course we took it!  He said it was from 1885.  Edith (a family member) had brought the trunk with her when she emmigrated from Sweden.

The trunk was super musty.

The interior was lined with old images... but not that old.  I think it had been relined in maybe the 60's???

I began by peeling off the pages glued inside.  They were adhered to the trunk with what seemed to be a homemade wheat-paste.  Most of it came off easily.

She was uber-grubby.  One person who commented on the trunk earlier suggested I use a mixture of veggie oil and vinegar to clean her up.  I did.  I also added hot water to the mix.

After just an eensy bit of scrubbing....

I was surprised at how well, and how quickly, she cleaned up!  The odor had also been eliminated.  Good ol' fashioned vinegar  ;)

I really thought about what to do next.  It came clean down to, what appeared to be, the original paint.

I know, I know.  The purists will be so angry.

But, I decided to paint her.  I didn't have any sentimental attachment to her, as she wasn't part of my own family history, and that is part of what factored into this decision.

Edith (that's the woman who crossed the Atlantic, and heretofore the trunk is named after) received a paint job in vanilla milkshake.

I really liked the hardware so I decided to leave it alone.

I wanted to do some writing on top of the trunk.  One commentor suggested I paint the year of arrival on her.  I thought it was an excellent idea.  I looked at some fonts online and then scripted them myself onto the trunk top.  I did modify them a bit.

Here is Edith with her script and nail heads painted black.  After this step, my husband commented that it would've been cooler to paint 'Sweden' in Swedish.  Yes, it would have.  But that would have been information that would have been useful to me prior to doing this step.

I then took the orbital sander to the surface and did some distressing.   I really liked the effect I was getting.

I started to lay on a black glaze.  However, this step was immediately halted to a complete stop.  I did not care for the look I was getting, AND it was stripping a lot of my white paint off.  I let it dry out and then repainted that area white and sanded again.

I finished with some MInwax and brought her in the house for some beauty shots.

And there she is folks, 1885, Edith Alexander!

Linking up with:

Savvy Homemade Monday at Erin's HomeSavvy A to Z

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

{PRIMP}  Primp's Wednesday Party

Debbie Doos Monday Newbie Party

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special

French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Show and Tell Friday- My Romantic Home