DIY: Type Case Simple Upgrade

 Everyone has little keepsakes, from travels, family, impulse buys, that are small and tend to get lost on a shelf. In Brimfield last week, I bought this type set box. They are relatively easy to find at antique fairs, they used to hold block type for letter presses. I bought that and a bunch of letters to spell out all our family members names. Yet when I hung it on the wall, the type and darker little keepsakes I had were getting lost (see top picture). So, I pulled out the trusty paint brush and some gold paint and painted the back off the tray so that all my little pieces would pop. I chose gold because it's a similar tone so the contrast is not that great. Now it's a perfect piece of my new gallery wall in the guest room. Sometimes little changes and edits make something that was good into something GREAT. My grandfather was the king of edits, he would never leave ANYTHING as he bought it, he always had to put his own personal touch on everything (sometimes to the detriment of the design! But you always had to appreciate the effort!)