DIY Remodelled Old Box

So as promised, here is my post of the project I was talking about.

When my mom was a kid she didn't have big almirahs and walk-in closets to keep her clothes. She had this iron-box where she would keep all her belongings. 

A few months back, when my house was getting painted I fumbled across this box which had all our photos in it. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia when I saw the photos. Something amazing about them. I could HOLD memories.
And then my mom told me about this story... and she gave me a task... she said "Repaint this, I have always wanted to do that" And at that moment I said "no mom, I am too busy" 

But recently this DIY contest by TheFilmyOwl gave me the opportunity to redo this beautiful box :') 
What I have done here is that taken elements of TheFilmyOwl's style (one of my favorite artists, check her out) and mixed it with my own. As this box contained photos of my family, I decided to make all my family members in the TheFilmyOwl style. I have also added witty and humorous lines or jokes attached to the specific family members in my doodle.

Here is a BEFORE and AFTER picture

Okay Step 1! I googled - "how to paint a steel box". Followed half the steps. -_- *guilty* 

I took sandpaper first and rubbed off all the rust, till it was smooth like silk! ^_^ And I could see shiny metal spaces. (FYI this was really really old and painted black before, so being able to see even a little bit of metal means JOB DONE!)

(Caution: In case you don't want to sneeze brown mucus, do put a towel around your face!) 

After that I bought Asian Paint Off White color. This was I think approximately180 Rupees. I painted it all white. One can double coat it too, but single coat worked for me! And if you are painting a new box, you might wanna apply primer so that the steel doesnt soak the paint and you get a smooth effect)

 Next I drafted the key characters on paper and wrote some funny jokes and taglines attached to the characters.
I took up each side separately. First drew the base structures with pencil and then painted them with acrylic. Pencils are the best to use because sketch pens tend to merge with the acrylic paint and make it all messy.
After I completed filling my characters with color, I outlined them with Black Acrylic Paint. This was one tedious job! You can even use marker if you are comfortable with that! :)

This is the front side with an orange handle. Its is my Masi's (Aunt- Mothers sister)side of the family.

This is my Dad's side of the family. Both my cousin chef brothers and my beautiful sister. It has all the quirky Punjabi quotes all around which are a part of our daily lives.

Here is a side view of the box! All the colors! ^_^

This is the top view! "Meri Yaadon ka Pitaara" means My Box of Happiness in Hindi. This part covers my Mom, Dad, my Brother, my Grandparents and my pet dog! He is a lab-adore! :P

This is the right side of my mom's brother's family. I call them mamu-mami. They are one of the hottest and the most young looking couple! 

This is my dad's elder brother and his family. I call them Taya ji and Tai ji out of respect and here is a doodle expressing my love towards them! :D 

This box is an ode to my family who have showered so much love upon me and cared so much for me and to thefilmyowl who inspires me.

Its really easy! you can DIY!