Mod Podge Project - My Unique Spin on a Chest of Drawers

Meet Lil' Missy

She's sporting a new do!

 Around the shop we're always trying to take our furniture one step further than the basics. This little chest of drawers is no exception. We get pieces painted and then start looking around the shop for other things to add a unique spin to each piece. We've come up with some winners.............and some losers. lol. It's most always a win-win, well, unless you include the dresser I glued a bird's nest on top of and actually put in the shop for sale. lol (I did end up changing it though......eventually.)

It's very rare that we get in a piece of furniture that's already base painted.

I scored this one at an auction, and thought I could turn it around without having to put too much work in it. I don't know why I EVER think that - it's never been that simple. :)

Here's what it looked like when I bought it.

I have an unnatural love of brown and white polka dots, and I knew I wanted to add some to this little cutie somewhere. 

So, off to my craft supplies to gather some paper and Mod Podge because I

knew I had a few sheets of polka paper I could use to dress her up.

After a lot of playing and laying it out, I decided to follow the lines of the piece because it would look like a blouse in the end. But before I added anything to the chest, I took a 50 grit sand paper to it to rough it up some. It had VERY thick latex gloss paint on it, so it took a little muscle to take that look away. 4 layers of paint, but luckily they were colors that worked well with what I envisioned for it. I also applied a clear wax on the parts that weren't getting paper.

I used 6 mil poly sheeting to make a template of each section, and then I laid the templates onto the papers and cut them out. (I always use clear poly for templates because it takes the guess work out of it.) Better to be safe than sorry.

Once I got it all cut out, I painted the drawers with a heavy coat of Mod Podge and applied the paper while it was wet.

After it dried for about 4 hours (I wanted to play it safe), I coated the fronts of the paper with another (heavy) layer of MP.

(Note: I'm often asked how to get bubbles out of the paper as it dries. I just use a needle and poke holes in it and then flatten it with my finger. If it's a large bubble, i use a razor and put a small slit in it. Always works.)

  For the knobs, I cut 6" circles of fabric, wrapped them around the knob, and tied them on with jute string. Simple and quick.......(and I didn't have any knobs that I just loved in the shop that day. ) For a little extra pizazz, I added a grosgrain ribbon down the center of the drawers, and glued buttons on it so that it looked more like a blouse.   Here it is all finished!

This was VERY popular around the shop. It sold months ago and I still have people asking me if I'm going to make another one. The answer is yes - just as soon as I find another one like this.   Here's a close up of the bottom skirt.   

  Just a small punch of color really stood out. To make a piece successful and interesting, I personally feel like you need to use a mix of patterns...but that's just my opinion because I'm all about patterns and texture.    What do you think? Yay or nay? I can take it. :)   ________________________________________________________________ Be sure to click that "Follow" button over there on the right so you'll be sure to get our projects in your blog feeds.   Linking to: Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday    Next up, I'll tell you about my spin on a chalkboard dresser. It's not what you think!