Operation Shoeshine: my first DIY project

Bonjour, mes amies. Thanks so much for your warm responses to my last post. I had a break from the thankyou note writing today - it was too hard to concentrate with certain pixies' exploits going on around me! Here's the promised post about the birthday present I gave my lovely sister the other day. 

Here it is, all wrapped up in its fluttery glory

It's my first ever DIY reno - something I never would have dreamed about, let alone done, before I started blogging. However, the fabulous handiwork of my sweet friend Melissa and her constant encouragement to 'give it a go' myself, gave me the courage to spruce up this old girl. I bought her at an auction house for a very reasonable price. It reminded me of our Dad and how as children we were always encouraged to polish our shoes, both the front and the back. No half-measures allowed. I thought it might make my sister smile.

Hmm, not much to look at, is it? Worn, unloved, stained and rough to the touch - it needed some TLC.

After a good working over with sandpaper, I varnished it with a dark stain. Hmm, looking better already, don't you think?

Then I whipped out the pretty little French stencil number set Melissa had encouraged me to buy from here (do treat yourself - you won't regret it!) and set to with a gold gel pen to mark my sister's house number. That wasn't really the right tool as it didn't like the grooves of the wood.

A quick trip into town later and I had the answer - an Artline 990XF gold pen with a soft, thick 1.2 mm nib. And that, lovely Planetarians, did the business beautifully. Voila!

And see that little groove there? Well, open it up and what do we have inside?

Some vintage brushes to shine your shoes! There's plenty of room to store all your polishes and creams, too.

And then, my friends, comes my demonstration of how you use this fancy little box - I present my booted foot as Exhibit A!

Nifty, don't you think? Here is is from another angle, as I'm sitting down, ready to start a-polishing.

And the verdict? Well, the birthday girl seemed suitably impressed which pleased me no end. Now I just have to set to on its ugly duckling sister I also bought - bring on the DIY work on Planet Baby ☺. 

Tell me, have any of you ever used such a thing? I have only ever seen them in the QVB and The Strand Arcade in Sydney where gentlemen polish your shoes for a fee while you wait. I wonder if these little beauties were commonplace in the 1930s and 1940s in Australia? Let me know if you have any snippets to add!