Makeovers

I wish I could take total credit for this beauty, but in truth, I am not a carpenter.  I barely have the time to do the projects that I know how to do.  My tiny brain has very little room left for learnings.  That being said, “I have a guy”, lol.  He is amazing and rarely thinks my ideas are crazy anymore. Anywho…just in case you can’t tell, the back to the bookcase is an actual oak headboard.  I had the carpenter add the shelves/bookcase part and wheels.  The wheels are a huge plus since this thing weighs a ton.  It is a whole lotta wood so why wouldn’t it be? It was never my intention to paint this beauty green.  I am a huge fan of green, especially this shade, it just wasn’t the first color to cross my mind. I was originally thinking white, with maybe some distressing and antiquing.  I had even prepped it to be painted white.  But… I wasn’t completely sold on it. Red briefly crossed my mind.  Then black and distressed.  Several ideas were thrown at me from my followers.   My sweet, sweet friend Ana suggested green.  Hmmmmmm.  That kind of lit me up!  But did see if I have enough green on hand? Of course, I didn’t.  So I kind of had to make a custom color.  I love that kind of old vintage green…know what I mean? That was the look I was going for! This custom concoction started with ‘Kudzu’ by Dixie Belle.  I only had one container of it and I just knew that would not be enough to finish this beast.  So…I took the ‘Kudzu’ and added a bunch of things to it.  I am not sure if this is the complete list, but I think so. I had my heart set on ‘Kudzu’, so I poured 8 ounces of the Kudzu, 8 ounces of ‘Frog Green’ by Dixie Belle and a few more ounces of the”Frog Green’ and some ‘Greystone’ from Miss Lillian’s and some ‘Moss Green’ from Miss Lillian’s and some ‘French Roast’ from Miss Lillian’s and ‘Lichen’ by Fusion Paint. LOL. I guess it would be safe to say it’s a custom color but the closest would be ‘Kudzu’ by Dixie Belle ? After giving it two coats of paint, it was all marrying together very well!  The headboard to the shelves.  And mixture of paint colors!  Folks, I think we have a winner! I added some antiquing glaze also.  Did you see that detail on the headboard? (swoon)  I started with a black walnut glaze and that just wasn’t doing it for me so I ended up using a dark brown, ‘Truffle’ by Miss Lillian’s.  In case you can’t tell, I fell head over heels in love with this piece.  Especially after hubby came out and looked at it and said he liked it too!  All I had to do was figure out what piece or pieces I would have to get rid of to make it fit in my house! Supplies Kudzu by Dixie Belle – https://amzn.to/32MXbu7 Frog Green by Dixie Belle – https://amzn.to/3fVctkv Greystone by Miss Lillians – https://misslillianspaint.net/not-just-fifty-shades-of-gray-chalk-paints/ French Roast by Miss Lillians – https://misslillianspaint.net/not-so-boring-black-and-brown-chalk-paints/ Lichen by Miss Lillians – https://misslillianspaint.net/gorgeous-green-chalk-paints/ Truffle Glaze by Miss Lillians – https://misslillianspaint.net/miss-lillians-antiquing-glaze/ Dixie Belle Clear Coat Satin – https://amzn.to/2CFM7UY Let me know what you think in the comments! .

So one day I was fixin to work on this desk.  I was born in Missouri and I have a ton of southern friends so yes, I can say “fixin”, lol. Anyway…I took a picture of this naked little desk, prepped and ready to be painted.  I posted it to Facebook and asked for color suggestion. My impatient nature took hold and I started painting it gray. Almost immediately, my friend Brooke posted that she wanted it.  I didn’t take it too seriously.  People SAY they want things all the time. Then she’s texting me, “I’m serious about desk!” I proceeded to tell her that it wasn’t anything special and that it was small.  And I had other, more significant desks waiting in the wings. I gave her measurements, and she measured her spot and said the size was perfect!  She wanted the desk to be a fun pop of color.  Gray isn’t very “poppy.”  So I mentioned painting over it with her favorite aqua color and then distressing a little to let some of the gray show through.  And we talked about whitewashing it. I mentioned maybe some fun scrapbook paper or fabric on the drawer fronts to add some fun.  It just needed to have some hot pink in it to match her desk chair. That was our answer. She picked out some fabric from the Hobby Lobby and mailed it to me.  We live about 5 ½ hours away from each other. I will admit, when it arrived, it did not excite me, lol.  I don’t know how she figured this out through texting, but she could tell I didn’t love it.  And that’s fine.  I don’t have to love it.  It wasn’t for me.  That is perhaps one of the hardest things about doing customs.  I have a hard time doing a project that I don’t like.  Not that I didn’t like this one, it just didn’t light me up…at first. But I picked the pieces that had the most pink in them and it all came together for me.? And in case you were wondering about the color of gray?  Let’s just call it a custom color, lol.  I know it was a mix of a few grays I was using up at the time. And the fabric was put on with mod podge.  Mod podge on the drawer front, then the fabric, then mod podged over and then sealed with polycrylic also. In the end, I think it is adorable, just like my friend.  It fits her. Since this was for a personal friend of mine that I know fairly well, I wanted to add a special touch somewhere.  I did paint the insides of the drawers pink.  But that wasn’t quite enough. She is a big Randy Travis fan and loves his song “I Told You So”.  So…I printed off some pictures of him from the internet.  And the song lyrics.  And mod podged them into the top drawer. She will most likely never see them again after putting stuff in the drawer, but she will know “he” is there. It was so fun to do that extra special little touch for her. Brooke did a blog post about her office and it totally suits her and her personality! Go to: https://www.re-fabbed.com/office-gallery-wall/ And now that song is playing in my head. Have you ever made a piece extra special for someone? How did you do it? I would love to see a picture of it! Heck, I might even feature it here in my blog, if given permission 😉 Show me!!! Feel free to send to tammy@flippinfurniturebytammy.com  Is that not the most ridiculous email address ever or what?

If I were keeping this piece for me, I would probably have just sealed it at this point.  I had already sanded it.  I really love the way it looked here. But, do you have any idea how much paint I have on hand? And I am a painter after all!  And it was such a cute little piece that I couldn’t wait to tackle it! And I had a new paint brand to try! So painted it would be! Like I said, it was already sanded at this point.  I cleaned it up again and put on a coat of Fusion mineral paint in the color Putty.  I love this color.  It is very similar to Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage, a favorite of mine. Fusion Paint claims that you do not need to seal it, but I have also seen other brands claim that, and I did not find that to be true.  For one thing, when I use a chalk type paint, I do not like the chalky way it feels before I seal it. I see fingerprints, and it looks dusty.  I just don’t like it. So far, I am in love with the Fusion Mineral Paint.  I love the creamy texture of it.  It goes on beautifully.  Not too thick and not too thin.  And it has a self-leveling agent that helps alleviate brush strokes. All in all, I am giving it two thumbs up! 👍👍 But I don’t think that is what this blog post was meant to be about, lol. Anyway…I used two coats of the color Putty.. Once that was dry, I used some of Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze in “Truffle” and “Black Walnut.” I did a side at a time.  The louvered doors with the track were not the best time of my life, but I got through it! For each side, I used a foam brush and put on the truffle glaze first. Then I came back with the walnut glaze with a small brush and put it on top of the first glaze. And that is basically it.  That is where I stopped. It still feels a little unfinished to me because I still feel like I need to seal it, but I am going with it and leaving it! Fusion claims that it is formulated with a built-in topcoat.  I am going to take their word for it!  So far, I am in love! I actually went ahead and ordered another color.  Not sure what piece I will use it on.  I have so much other paint on hand that I SHOULD NOT be buying any more paint of any kind until I get all the other used up. Oh well, I like to try new things and this one definitely did not disappoint! Supplies: Fusion Mineral Paint in Putty – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/putty-fusion-mineral-paint DeWalt Sander – https://amzn.to/2xwy1Tg

I think this is my second and third set of these types of side tables. And yes, you guessed it, they used to be vanities. For one reason or another, the vanity as a whole was no longer working out very well. I can’t remember the exact reasons why now that they didn’t remain vanities. Vanity’s are usually a good seller, so I try to save them if at all possible. But since it made sense for them to be separated, here we go! The Blue Set In all honesty, I probably should have dropped these in the ditch. They turn out awesome, but getting there can be a battle. As you can see, they had lots of veneer issues. I’m sure they were stored in damp conditions or in a wet garage, and the moisture starts at the bottom and starts infiltrating its way up. It’s so sad. I beg of you, please don’t store furniture in a damp garage or basement, lol. For this blue set, I chose to peel off the loose veneer, and then wood putty to fill it back in. There was a lot to be puttied. Which, in turn, meant there would be lots to sand down. With waiting time for the putty to dry. Ugh. Moving on, once I had them puttied and sanded and cleaned up, I set forth painting them Bunker Hill Blue by Dixie Belle. I had asked on Facebook what color everyone wanted them to be, and blue was the winner. They even sold to someone during that post, before they even knew what color I was going with and/or how they would turn out! I love it when that happens! Someone has so much faith in you that they call dibs long before they are complete!! And of course, I told her that if she did not love how they turned out that she did not have to take them. But thankfully, she did! A couple coats of blue, and then I distressed them with my orbital sander. Now when I sanded them, the wood shows through in places. Unless there is wood putty below the paint. Which, in this case, in some areas, there was. And that meant it didn’t match the wood, so I just took some stain or glaze and on my finger and put it where I need it to be. Then I cleaned them up and sealed them with Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin. I replaced the hardware with these vintage copper knobs. They looked awesome with the distressing. They just seemed meant for each other, in my opinion. The new owner’s opinion was that she would like to have the original vintage plastic knobs, lol, but she didn’t tell me that until she picked these up. Good thing I didn’t throw them away! The Gray Set I think the only thing different besides the color choice was that I removed a lot of the veneer instead of just filling in with putty. You can watch me remove veneer with an iron here. The color is a dark gray called Prohibition Gray by Plum City Paints. I also distressed and sealed the same way as the other set. I think I have at least one, possibly two, vanity’s out in the carport. Fingers crossed they can stay together as one unit! I really, really, really do not care to tackle another project like this any time soon! Supplies: Elmer’s Wood Putty – https://amzn.to/2WXIpOv Dixie Belle Bunker Hill Blue – https://amzn.to/343iCGa DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/3awkuJH Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/2UxL2oz Dixie Belle Clear Coat Satin – https://amzn.to/2WSTdNM

Bringing this family heirloom back to life was no easy task. This was a 1947 model after all! It had veneer coming up, drawers coming apart, and one drawer already apart. I had my work cut out for me. This sweet little lady had asked me to redo this desk for her grandson a year or so earlier but had never gotten it to me. In the meantime, I had announced that I was no longer doing custom orders, but she didn’t know that. So when she approached me about it again in October, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no. Add to that the fact that her grandson is one of my son’s best friends, so I just had to work it in somewhere! This was probably the most gluing and clamping I had ever done to a desk, but I knew it would be worth it in the end. After taking off the hardware and doing all the gluing and clamping, I sanded the whole piece. Then washed it all down with water and an old rag and let dry completely. While it was drying, I washed the hardware and spray painted it black. Then I stained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut Stain. Since I was going with a lighter color that meant extra prep! Boss by Dixie Belle is my go-to for stain blocking. I put on one good coverage coat on all the drawers and the mainframe. (Everywhere I would be painting.) Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage is the color I went with. It is one of my favorite colors. It is a tan/taupe color. Two coats of that, waiting at least 30 minutes between coats and let dry again, preferably overnight. Then I got out the antiquing glaze, Miss Lillian’s in Black Walnut. Using a chip brush, I loaded just a little bit of the glaze and then offloaded it. You don’t need very much at all. Then I very carefully drug the brush across the drawers to get the look I wanted. And then I used the side of the brush to get the edges of the desk and around the drawers. Then let the glaze cure overnight. For sealing it, I used Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin. For the top of the desk, I used a mixture of brown, cream, and gray paints and glaze. And sealed with Minwax Fast-drying Polyurethane. I LOVE how it turned out! I hope you do, too!!! Supplies Wood Glue – https://amzn.to/2Vc2ks0 Bar Clamp – https://amzn.to/39PTqEy DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/32iI0Xj Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/2Vgb2p4 Bowl of Water Old Rag Tools to Remove Hardware Minwax Dark Walnut Stain – https://amzn.to/2HNQKvi Painter’s Touch 2x Black Spray Paint – https://amzn.to/2SQwlw4 Dixie Belle Boss Stain Blocker Dixie Belle Dried Sage Paint Paint Brushes – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/search?q=brush&options%5Bprefix%5D=last Chip Brushes – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/2-synthetic-flat-brush-fusion Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze in Black Walnut Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin

I used to adore doing anything pink and girly!  Somehow I seem to have gotten away from those lately, but here is one of the last, sweet dressers I made over.  This inspires me to do another one though, and soon! Let’s Get Started! For the prep, I took off the hardware and set it aside.  I recommend keeping it altogether with the screws attached to them like they came out.  I cannot tell you how many hours I have wasted either looking for the hardware or trying to find the right screws.  Sometimes the screws are not all the same length.  By keeping them together you will save yourself a lot of frustration, trust me.  Learn from my stupidity, lol. I spray painted the hardware silver and let dry while I worked on the rest of the dresser.  For the main frame of the dresser, I chose a dark gray called Prohibition by Plum City Paint.  It is my favorite dark gray.    I applied two coats, letting the first coat dry overnight before applying the second coat.  I then let the second coat dry at least 8 hours and then sealed it with Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin.    Now the main frame was done. The drawers were more fun!  Well, after you put a coat of Boss on them.  Boss is a Stain Blocker and is necessary under lighter colors to prevent bleed through. Unfortunately though, I cannot remember what shade of pink I started with?  I started with the bottom color and just added some white to make the middle drawer shade, and more white for the top drawer, palest shade.  I hope that makes sense! I did two coats on each drawer. For the top drawer, I used a Martha Stewart Pouncer to make the polka dots.  They are so fun to make.  I just used the same pink paint that I used on the bottom drawer for the dots.  I would practice them on a paper plate or something first.  Just to make sure you have the right amount of paint coverage and that you have the technique down before you do it on the actual drawer front. The middle drawer I kept plain.  It didn’t want it to be “too much”. For the bottom drawer, I used the pale pink from the top drawer for the stencil.  I do not know where I got my stencil because I have had it so long, but I did put in some others that you may like in the supply list. After letting it all sit for several hours, I sealed it with Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin.  One coat on the drawers and two on the top. Once the drawers were completely dry, I put them back in the dresser and put the hardware back on. This dresser sold quickly.  I had people messaging me and calling the store.  The buyer ended up paying for it over the phone to make sure no one got it before they could get there.   I need to do a girly dresser again one of these days!!! Supplies This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. Screwdriver (To Remove Hardware) Silver Spray Paint – https://amzn.to/2ujBmnk DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/37G4geR Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/3bTcPWW Paint Brushes – https://amzn.to/2P7kU0n Dixie Belle Boss Stain Blocker – https://amzn.to/2uPYWbD Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Satin – https://amzn.to/2SYEhKw Martha Stewart Pouncers – https://amzn.to/2T4u2UM Plum City Paint in ‘Prohibition’ – http://plumcitypaint.com/product/plum-city-paint-half-pint/ Your Choice of Color Pink(s) Deco Art Old French Script Stencil – https://amzn.to/38WdHbm French Script – https://amzn.to/2SKpkwH

This old cabinet had seen waaaayyyyyy better days.  Like way, way better.  But I’m not one to give up easily.  I found it on a pick.  I’m pretty sure the guy threw it in just to get rid of it.  It was definitely weathered, more from the ground up AND the top down.  But I saw potential.  Lots of people have room for a cabinet this size.  Whether it’s for a bedroom or front entryway or extra space in the kitchen, this size can go just about anywhere. I don’t think I had the blogging bug yet when I tackled this piece, otherwise there would have been more pictures.  Pictures of the warped and broken down top.  Pictures of the rotted bottom shelf.  Pictures of the backing that I had fun kicking out, lol.  You get the idea.  It was a hot mess. Let’s Get Started! So, to start with, I had my builder replace the rotten bottom shelf and put corrugated tin on the back.  I think he thought I had lost my mind when I brought him this piece.  But he has learned to just go with it and tell me later how crazy he thought I was. After the new pieces were on, I sanded the whole thing and even had to use a little wood putty on the top (I would show you what that looked like, but again, I did not think to take enough pictures.) Once the wood putty was dry, and then sanded smooth, I washed the whole piece.  Once completely dry, I put on the first coat of Dixie Belle’s Barn Red.  If I had it to do over, I would have waited to put the tin on the back until after it was painted.  That would have made things a lot easier.  But I didn’t, so it was very tedious trying not to get paint on the tin.  Please learn from my mistakes. ? It took two coats of the red paint.  After letting the paint sit overnight, I came back the next day with  Miss Lillian’s antiquing glaze in Black Walnut.  I applied it with an old, soft rag.  Load the rag with a little glaze and then wipe it back off.  Then you can lightly start wiping it on the cabinet.  Go gently.  You can always add more.  If you get it on heavier than you would like, just take a wet rag or cleaning wipe and take it off and start again.  Just know that if you need to take it back off, it needs to be done sooner than later or you may not be able to.  Once the glazing step had dried completely, it was ready to be sealed.  I used Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin.  I truly wish you could have seen what a heap this was!  It is definitely living it’s best life now! Supplies This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. Tin DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/38x0vK7 Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/2wkKWqG Wood Putty – https://amzn.to/2SNPzkE Dixie Belle “Barn Red” – https://amzn.to/31YnFXp Paint Brushes – https://amzn.to/2OXrgQ3 Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze “Black Walnut” – https://misslillianspaint.net/miss-lillians-antiquing-glaze/ Old Soft Rag Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat Satin – https://amzn.to/2SuoHqV

I rarely pass up a cedar chest in good shape and I have had several through the years.  I love to get a hold of them and it’s super fun if I can actually personalize it just a little bit, also! As with most projects, I start by cleaning up the piece and getting up close and personal, looking for any areas that need extra help.  Sometimes the piece might need extra reinforcements or putty or any number of things.  Luckily this one did not. My next step was to sand the whole piece just enough to give the paint something to grab onto. Next, clean it all up with again and let dry completely. Since I was going with white, I needed to use a stain blocker first.  My go-to is always Dixie Belle’s “Boss”.  I only used one coat.  But please read the instructions on the container if you have any questions!  They suggest you do a test spot of paint and if it bleeds through then you need a second coat, blah, blah, blah. Anywho, after the stain blocker was dry, I was ready to paint.  I used two coats of Dixie Belle’s Cotton (my favorite white paint), using a 2” angled brush.  The brush I used was from Miss Lillian’s.   And of course I waited for the first coat to dry completely before I did the second coat. Now is the funnest part for me!  Adding something that makes it unique.  The cherry on top.  The personalization.  I chose this stencil.  It just happened to be the right size and sentiment for the look I wanted.  I’ve had my stencil for years and I can’t remember where I purchased it, so I found a few on Amazon that you may like instead. To do the stencil, I laid down an old blanket and then tipped the whole chest backwards so that that front of the chest was now facing up.  I hope that makes sense!  It’s just easier to stencil in that position for me.  You can use painters tape to hold the stencil in place if that makes you more comfortable.  I generally do not, but sometimes wish I had. Once you have the stencil where you want it, taped down or not, and have your paint for the stencil ready, grab your paint dabber and load it.  I used Dixie Belle’s Caviar for the lettering. Just gently get a little of the paint on the surface of your dabber and then off load just a little.  Then you can try it on a paper plate or whatever you choose, just to check the coverage.  When you are happy with that, start dabbing over your stencil!  Go lightly, but get it all covered.  Don’t press too hard or you can risk squishing the paint up under the stencil and you definitely do not want that!  You can remove the stencil once you have the whole stencil covered.  While the stencil paint was drying, I went ahead and got the antiquing glaze out.  I used Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze in Truffle.  I put my finger inside a rag and then got just a little bit of the glaze on the rag, and then wiped it back off, leaving just a little of the glaze on the rag.  Then I just rubbed in on everywhere I wanted it to go.  I also took a cheap little chip brush with just a tiny bit of the glaze on it to get in the cracks that I couldn’t reach with my finger.  If you get too much glaze on and need to take it back off, you can use a damp rag, paper towel, or cleaning wipe.  Once the glaze was dry, it was ready to be sealed.  Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin is my favorite.  It doesn’t yellow with age, which is super important when you are painting light colors.  One coat of the clear coat and done.  This chest now has a beautiful new face-lift and should be enjoyed for many, many years to come!!! Supplies This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. Dewalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/39lK2s4 Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/39nEqgT Dixie Belle’s Paint in “Cotton” Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze in “Truffle” – https://misslillianspaint.net/miss-lillians-antiquing-glaze/ Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat in Satin – https://amzn.to/2SzJQ1K Miss Lillian’s 2” Angled Brush – Stencil – https://www.thestencilsmith.com/products/3233-home-is-where-your-story-begins?_pos=14&_sid=8c745b4f3&_ss=r&aff=6 Paint Daubers – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/jumbo-daubers-pack-of-6-notions Sanding Sponge – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/paint-sticks-fusion Paint Brush – https://amzn.to/2OKo8H0

This sweet little vanity… I have had the pleasure of redoing it twice now! It was bought on an auction several years ago for 5 whole dollars!!! I used to be able to get three whole truck loads for $100! Unfortunately, those days came and went in a hurry.  Luckily I had the foresight or hoarder tendencies, potato, pototo, and managed to stockpile quite a bit. The first time I redid it was for my best friend’s daughter. As you can see, she was into all things hot pink, black, and zebra! We all found it terribly adorable at the time.  Fast forward 6 years and the little girl was no longer little and no longer in the pink, black, and zebra.  Thankfully they asked me if I wanted it back.   Vanities in good shape are a hot commodity! Come to Momma!!! Let’s Get Started! First of all, I cleaned it up to see what I was dealing with.  Next, I sanded the whole piece, including as much around the mirror as I could.  Nothing aggressive.  Just enough to give the next coat of paint something to grab onto.  Be careful around the mirror!  I have scratched a mirror or two with the sanding sponge or electric sander and I don’t know that there is a way to fix that! Next, came the stain blocker.  I use Dixie Belle’s “Boss” and it always does the trick.  You must use a stain block when using a lighter color, otherwise, you may just be wasting your time.  Without the block, the wood tannin’s have a tendency to react with most sealers and will bleed through which will ruining all of your hard work.  And I don’t want that for you!!  I use one coat of the stain blocker but a lot of people use two. After the “Boss” has completely dried, I brush on my first coat of paint, in Miss Lillian’s “Vintage Storm”.  It is a super pale gray that almost looks white in photos and is even very pale in person.  This shade of paint is so pretty!  Two coats of paint were brushed on. I could have left it alone, but I felt it was too blah, just my opinion. I couldn’t leave it like it was! This is where the antiquing glaze came in.  My favorite dark glaze is Miss Lillian’s Black Walnut Antiquing Glaze.  It is my go-to.  The glaze can be applied several different ways.  It mainly depends on what you want it to look like in the end.  I used a rag, wiping it on with a very light pressure.  You can always add more if it’s not dark enough.  And if you get too much on, you can wipe it off with a cleaning wipe.  I have used Clorox wipes and Great Value wipes with success.  A wet paper towel would even work, I just happen to have the wipes near me most of the time.  But if you need to pull some glaze back off, it needs to be done sooner rather than later or it isn’t going anywhere.    Then I allowed the glaze to cure overnight before I applied a top coat. I use different top coats for different reasons.  I used Dixie Belle’s clear coat in Satin for this one.  Mostly, this is my favorite top coat. In the past, I’ve used Polycrylic. I then was introduced to Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat.  Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat is a little thicker and helps avoid having as many runs. I went with black, all new hardware. And that’s it!  Vanities are always in demand.  This vanity was sold before I had it finished!    Supplies This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. Sanding Sponge – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/paint-sticks-fusion DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/2OJxNxx Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/2SxUuWP Dixie Belle’s Boss Stain Blocker – https://amzn.to/2HcjPjI Miss Lillian’s 2” Angle Brush Miss Lillian’s Paint – Vintage Storm – https://misslillianspaint.net/not-just-fifty-shades-of-gray-chalk-paints/ Miss Lillian’s Antiquing Glaze – Black Walnut – https://misslillianspaint.net/miss-lillians-antiquing-glaze/ Dixie Belle’s Clear Coat – Satin – https://amzn.to/39psGe2 Old Rag (To Apply Glaze) Paint Brush – https://amzn.to/2Sd6ldR

A lady left a message saying she had several pieces in storage that she wants to get rid of.…free and cheap.  Hmmmm…  I’ve heard this one before. Then you get there and it’s either really junky or their version of cheap differs greatly from mine.  But…I had her send me some pictures and prices and she was definitely on the same chapter, in the same book! This is just one of the many pieces I picked up from her in the two trailer loads that I picked from her! Let’s Get Started! To start with, this one was all white.  It was painted years ago so as a result it got lots of dings and scrapes but it was very well made so, of course, very heavy but I didn’t care for the decorative pulls.  Luckily they came off with just a couple screws! Sometimes, when a piece comes to me already painted white, I will just sand off anything loose, add more distressing, and just seal it.  White chippy, distressed goodness.  But…this one had these big beautiful boxy drawers that were just like a blank canvas begging me to do something special! I had been wanting to try out these furniture transfers for a while and this seems like was the perfect piece to use them on! After removing the decorative pieces on the front, I got busy sanding the paint off. I just wanted to sand enough paint off for the paint to grab onto but it sanded off so easily!  Down to the bare wood. The decorative pulls left two holes so I filled them in with wood putty and sanded them level once it was dry.  Then I just drilled new holes where I wanted the new knobs to go. After looking at the colors of the transfer, I chose Miss Lillian’s paint in Statesboro and got busy painting it.  I put on one coat and let it sit overnight, applying the second coat the next day.  Then came the fun part! I have always loved florals.  Floral shirts, floral jeans, flowers in general.  I remember my mom one time commenting that I looked like a “blooming idiot”!  All in good fun!  Not sure that it even had anything to do with my outfit actually! ? I painted it with two coats of Statesboro, and let it dry completely. I grabbed my transfer and decided what parts I wanted to use. The transfers come with a little wooden stick to press/rub the transfers onto the furniture.  You could also tape it down to help keep it in place while rubbing.  I generally do not because I am scared of pulling up the paint with the tape. (You also do not want to be too aggressive.)  I have and that caused the image to move which kind of messed up the image, (not on this project though).  But there are ways around that, too.  There are no mistakes in the paint world, lol.  I rubbed the transfers on and all that was left was to seal the whole piece.  I brushed on Dixie Belle’s Top Coat in Satin for the finish.  My mom ended up with this dresser for Christmas.  She told me to hold it for her and she would come pay for it but that helped me decide what to do for a Christmas gift, so win, win!  ? Supplies This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. DeWalt Orbital Sander – https://amzn.to/2OJGtnD Sanding Discs – https://amzn.to/2Sd4GF9 Wood Putty – https://amzn.to/3bnFgfH Bowl of Water/Rag Miss Lillian’s Paint – Statesboro – https://misslillianspaint.net/gorgeous-green-chalk-paints/ Fuchsia Sunset Prima Transfer – https://flippinfurnitureshop.com/products/fuchsia-sunset-redesign-decor-transfer Dixie Belle Top Coat Satin – https://amzn.to/2UGHila New Knobs These transfers are so fun and different.  There are several in my stash that I want to try sometime in the near future!  I actually have quite a bit of this transfer left.  I could easily do another dresser with what is left, but I don’t want to overdo it.  Stay tuned!  And as always, I would love to see what you are working on!

Hey!  This is one of my favorite makeovers!  I don’t normally make time to go chasing after furniture or any items anymore however these were a different story. I think I saw them pop up in my Facebook feed and about fell out of my chair.  They were cheap.  $20 EACH.  And they had three of them!!!  SOLD  Yes, please…I’ll take them all!!!!  We got really lucky that I could fit them all into my SUV or I would have had to go back for my trailer.  I was not going to let these slip through my fingers.  We set up the time to meet and it was a done deal.  I absolutely love lockers in all shapes and sizes! My daughter and I picked them up from a local school from their Shop Class. They had been using the cabinets for storage and had recently gotten new, so they no longer needed these.  SCORE!!! The vision for this cabinet was mine, but I have to give my builder credit for the hard parts!  First, I had my builder put on low profile casters so it could roll easily because they have some weight to them so I felt it would be a definite bonus for whoever was lucky enough to snatch them up. Second, I had him add the thick lumber on top. The thick lumber added 2″ to the height of the piece. So, once he put on the casters and the wood top, it was back to my workshop… Unfortunately, I do not have hardly any pictures of project in progress.  This was before I started blogging so I did not realize at the time that pictures along the journey are a great thing to have!  Learning as I go! I actually did not do a whole lot to the cabinets themselves.  I’m usually about the path of least resistance.  To start, I sanded the whole locker with my little mouse sander.  I went pretty aggressively except for where the numbers were.  I pushed gently there, just enough to sand off the paint so you could see the numbers again.  If you sanded too hard, you could sand the number completely off and I did not want that!  The numbers add to the cool factor, for me anyway! After I sanded the whole thing and washed it all down, I was in love with how it looked.  I thought about painting it, but I just felt it was perfect and I wasn’t going to mess with perfection.  Once dry, I sprayed a couple coats of Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane, letting dry between coats.  Afterwards, it was time to work on the wood top.  I stained it with Minwax Stain in dark walnut.  I let the stain dry overnight and then sealed it.  You could use any number of sealers on there.  I used Minwax Polycrylic in Satin and brushed it on, letting dry a couple hours between coats.  I think I ended up putting on 3 coats. Supplies: This list contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I make a commission, your price stays the same. Tool Shop Mouse Sander (Menards) Minwax Spray Polyurethane Satin – https://amzn.to/2w9iw2V Minwax Polycrylic Satin – https://amzn.to/2UEzSi3 Minwax Stain – Dark Walnut – https://amzn.to/2UIqOc2 Paint Brush – https://amzn.to/2SCPJLq And that’s all folks!  I did all 3 cabinets the same way and all three found homes right away!  I wish I could have kept one, but I already have a full house! ?