Mama's Vintage Bread Box

We are still cleaning out Mama's house and what an adventure it has been! Lots of hard work, sprinkled with a few tears, memories and rewards.  I feel like this labor of love is something we are doing for our Mama.  She's right there with us.

Saturday, one brother was cleaning out an old wooden cabinet located under the carport and ran across another treasure. I don't remember this bread box at all and I am estimating that it is from the late 1940s to 1950s. The lid was pretty beat up and rusty, but the rest of it was in good condition. 

Beside it in this picture is a vintage metal sand bucket, found in the attic.
 

Before picture of vintage breadbox.

And what else would a mother store in an old bread box?  Of course!  Sewing patterns!

Yes, I did wear clothes like these and in fact remember wearing two of these outfits to school in the 5th grade.

I think the flowers on the front are beautiful.

Yesterday afternoon, after emptying the box, I decided to work on the lid.  I sanded it and wiped off the rust dust with a soft cloth.  Then I taped newspaper sheets on the floral sections to protect them from paint.  I already had a can of red spray paint.  It looks much better, but still retains that chippy, rusty, vintage look.

After the lid was painted.

I am planning to incorporate it into our farmhouse décor, along with some other vintage items that belonged to Mama.  I've been studying blogs and Pinterest for ideas.  Some other things of Mama's that will work with it are her flour sifter, rolling pins, small wooden bowl, wooden handled kitchen utensils, her biscuit cutter, iron frying pans and some vintage bowls. A future post!

I'm linking to NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY at Coastal Charm.