Frightful to Fabulous...

I'm taking a little break from telling you all about Ireland to show you this "Frightful to Fabulous" transformation.

I was asked by my mother-in-law to update this haggard sewing cabinet for my niece's birthday. She got my niece a new sewing machine since she has been teaching her granddaughters how to sew. My mother-in-law can work miracles with a sewing machine! It really is a lost art. I took the required sewing class in Jr. high, but I never developed a passion for it. I am so very grateful my daughters will have this skill (and that they enjoy it)!

I started this project by taking the cabinet apart. I removed all of the hardware, door, and flip-top. 

I spray painted the hardware with Rust-o-leum's Hammered Copper.

I removed the legs of the cabinet because at some point in time, they were shortened. The easiest way for me to fix that was to make new legs out of 1" x 1" wood strips. I measured my mom's sewing machine to find out how tall the legs should be.

When the front door to the cabinet is open, there is a small hole that allowed for a hand to go in and make adjustments to the machine. It was obsolete for this cabinet's purpose, so Hubby suggested I make it a cubby. I found some scrap wood in the perfect sizes to make a box. I glued and clamped it to the underside of the cabinet. 

This cabinet was old, so it was made for the machine to "hide" inside the cabinet. Way cool, in my opinion, but sewing machines aren't made to do that anymore. Thus, I had a large hole in the top of the cabinet. I solved the problem by attaching some "braces" underneath the hole to give some support to the large piece of wood I added to the top. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the wood I nestled into the hole. 

I didn't like how the surface looked, so I ended up cutting some thin plywood to attach to the top for a new surface. That was stressful! The cabinet top has a slight decorative curve to it. It is lovely, but not fun to replicate. I glued the plywood to the top and then used my jigsaw to cut along the curves. I clamped the plywood while the glue dried.

I gave the whole cabinet a good sanding before painting it. I used Valspar's Color Radiance in flat black. This paint is a little more expensive than other spray paint, but it is soooo worth it! It is paint and primer and nice and thick. It covered the cabinet with one coat and it dried quickly. It saved me so much time and it looked beautiful!

I could have just used the paint, but I was worried about the durability. Just as a precaution, I used some Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane spray on top of the dried spray paint. Unfortunately, it was a semi-gloss. While I love the look of shiny black, I was really attached to the flat black look this cabinet had. And it took forever for the poly to dry. But, I had to finish what I started, or else the whole sewing cabinet would look very strange! 

I found my niece's initials in bright pink metal magnets at the dollar store, so I painted them with the hammered copper paint and added them to the door. 

The plywood top I added makes it so the flip-top doesn't sit flush, but it won't lay down once the sewing machine is on top anyway. 

The sewing cabinet has become classy and will hopefully be timeless. Now my niece is ready to start her fashion empire!

Old Drawer Turns Into...

I love to find new uses for things! I envy those creative enough to look at an object and re-imagine it for a whole new purpose. I had a drawer leftover from a night stand re-do that has been sitting in the garage for a looong time. It has been taunting me, waiting for a purpose. Inspiration struck when Hubby asked me to make a place to store his keys (and whatever else came out of his pockets at the end of the day). So, I ended up with this:

 

I forgot to take a picture of the drawer before, but it was a drawer from this night stand:

First, I painted the drawer black. I wanted it to have a weathered layer look. I also attached some wood to the "back" of the piece to give it stability and so it could possibly hang on the wall. When the black paint was dry, I rubbed some wax in areas that I wanted the black to peek through. Then I painted the whole thing gray. When that paint was dry, I used a razor scraper to scrape off the wax.

I cut some thin cedar wood for a new "top" and some cedar fence board for a door. I stained both in Minwax Jacobean. 

I glued the thin wood to the top, (weighed down with various tools). I also screwed a piece of scrap to the inside for hanging hooks.

Obviously, I stopped taking pictures of my progress on this one, but I added hinges and hardware cloth painted hammered copper to the door. I also added a magnetic latch to the cabinet. 

I attached an old leather belt to the side of the cabinet to give it a "closer" and character.

I added some other details also painted in hammered copper to give it even more character.

Not too shabby for an old drawer!

Please, Can I Keep It...?

My latest project was taking an old and tired small secretarial desk and giving it new life. My wonderful mother-in-law gave me this piece. She got it from a neighbor, who got it from a local Deseret Industries. It still had the $10 price tag on it. Oh, and it came with some bonus pens! 

I was given this piece last fall, but finally made time to give it a makeover. Deseret Industries is doing a contest to win a gorgeous piano. You just submit a photo of a before and after of something you have given new life to in order to enter. The contest was the perfect incentive to get this piece done! I really wanted this piece for my master bedroom, so I decorated it with that in mind. However, it won't fit. I just can't make it work and have room for a dresser. Guess I'll have to sell it. Sigh

First, I took the piece apart where I could.

Then I gave it a good sanding and cleaning. My Lilly Loo-hoo was the perfect little helper for this part!

Next, I stained and painted. I used Minwax Java stain and a gray paint I got for $2 at Home Depot in the mis-tint section. Score!

I knew I wanted to replace the door insert with hardware cloth. I have been itching to try it! It is similar to chicken wire. I also knew I wanted to use copper accents, so I spray painted the hardware cloth with Hammered Copper.

Apparently, I decided not to take more photos of the whole process. That, or I simply forgot. I even kept the camera near me to remind me. I must have needed the space in my brain for something more important. Unfortunately, I don't remember what.

Anyhoo, I ended up building a new door for this piece. The original one had already been fixed multiple times, and it was just easier to make a new one. I used the old door to mark where the hinges should go. I attached the hardware cloth with a staple gun.

As I was staging for photos, my 17 year old son handed me one of my pigs. (Yes, ONE of my pigs. I have three. Piggly, Pigglier, and Piggliest.) Since he was trying to be involved and helpful, Piggly is clearly visible. See if you can spot him again in another pic!

I added more copper accents, such as the knobs and corner protectors. Gray, brown and copper may not be every one's tastes, but I love it. Some of the old green shows behind the gray. I think it is perfect, because when copper tarnishes, it turns green. See, it's all tied together!

Isn't it gorgeous! I am trying to convince Hubby that we don't need a dresser in our room so I can keep this beauty. It would look so perfect in the corner with our gray tub chair. Fingers crossed!