Goodwill Dresser Video Tutorial - Part 1

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I am still as in love with my Goodwill Dresser as the day I painted it. Above any other piece, this is the one I get the most questions about, so I decided to divulge my secret on how I created it using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® in Old White. Get your painting clothes on, roll up your sleeves and get ready to dive in to create your own heavily distressed beauty.

This tutorial will be broken up into three parts and will show you how to create a very heavily distressed piece just like my Goodwil Dresser. Think heavy brush strokes, lots of distressing with sandpaper and lots of dark wax. 

In part one, I show you how to prep and paint the piece and hardware. Make sure you check out the description on YouTube for links to the products I used in this tutorial.

Part two is in the works and should be up on the blog next week. Check back to learn how to distress and clear wax your piece, or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel and you will be able to view part two as soon as it goes live. Happy painting!

Another Goodwill Makeover...Drexel Heritage Shelf

Goodwill is one of my favorite spots to find furniture rescues. Their furniture is usually pretty reasonably priced, and they even help you load it in your car. I try to hit up Goodwill every other week even if I am not looking for something specific. Frequent trips give you the best chance of finding that diamond in the rough.

I found this shelf while my daughter and I were waiting on our van to get its scheduled maintenance at our local Toyota dealer. I paid $15 for it, and from what I researched my best guess is that this is a Drexel-Heritage piece from the 1950s or 1960s which is around the time Drexel purchased Heritage, since it only has a Heritage stamp.  The company changed its name to Drexel-Heritage in 1968. I haven't been able to pinpoint its exact value, but I know it is well over $15.

Get Your Chalk Paint® on at Carter's Cottage

It has been almost a month since I have painted. I am starting to lose my mind a little, but it was a much needed break. I am ready to jump into my new projects with a fresh perspective. 

In preparation for getting back into the swing of things, I was able to attend a painting class offered at my local stockist of Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan, Carter's Cottage. I have been using Chalk Paint since last November and have finished dozens of pieces for myself and clients, so I didn't really know what I was going to learn at the class. Let me tell you, it was definitely worth my time. 

Goodwill Dresser Upcycle Reveal

This post contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission from products purchased through these links.

Update (1-20-16): You guys love this makeover so much I have created a series of video tutorials to show you exactly how I achieved this look. Check out part 1 and part 2 on my YouTube channel. Part 3, the last video in the series, coming soon!

I am beyond excited to share this reveal with you. This is my first refinishing project with a piece I bought from a secondhand store. The hunting part was challenging, but also exciting.

I found this gem at Goodwill for $24.99. I hesitated to buy it at first because it had a couple of chipped drawers. Keep checking back for a post on how I fixed that problem. This thing was really banged up, too, with tons of dents and weird spills and stains. I almost walked away but my gut told me that at this price, I had to give it a chance. And I am so glad I did. It is the perfect piece for our front foyer.

I started off by sanding down all the spills and giving it a good scrubbing with some Murphy Clean and Shine Spray. This thing was dir-ty.

This is one of the corners I repaired. You can't even tell. Post coming on this technique soon. 

I removed all the hardware and sprayed it with Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint and primer in Hammered Black. This was my first time using this product, and let me tell you, it is amazing! This stuff looks like real metal. It costs around $7 at Home Depot, and it probably saved me about $50-80 in new hardware costs.

This look was created using two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. I tried a new technique and distressed it before I used my Annie Sloan Clear Wax. I used 100 grit sand paper to distress followed by a coat of clear wax and finished it off with a mix of clear and dark wax. I wanted this really shabby because of all the nicks and dents it has, so I used dark wax on the entire piece versus just in the spots I distressed.

With the great price I got for this piece, I am tempted to try and sell. But I think at this point, I am too in love with it. What do you think? Sell or keep?

Frenchy Country Wall Collage

While I tend to lean more toward country than french country in my decorating taste these days, this project definitely has some French influence so I am dubbing it Frenchy Country. 

I recently made a jute letter and wanted to incorporate it into a collage for our family room. We have two huge blank walls on either side of our massive television (thank you dear husband) and, I wanted something unique to hang there besides another picture. I was inspired by different arrangements I have seen on Pinterest and in a recent friend's home. After hours of wandering the aisles of Hobby Lobby, I came up with this.

Frenchy Country Wall Collage

This door handle I found in the cabinet hardware/pulls section. Honestly, I love this more than my jute "M." The best part- 50% off. Cost: $5.99

This fleur-de-lis I had in my last home. Like my jute letter, it needed to be lightened up. I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White, mildly distressed it and used both clear and dark wax to finish it off. I have two of these and originally purchased them from Hobby Lobby.

I found this key on a table they had set up with "Spring Collection" items. All priced at 30% off. This table was a jackpot. I also got two glass jars and a metal basket. I can't wait to show you how I use those. Cost:  $4.49

I found the frames back in the frame section if you can believe it. These unfortunately were not on sale and were the most expensive items in the collage. However, I always have my trusty Hobby Lobby app which normally always offers a 40% coupon for one full price item. Cost: $17.99 (oval frame after coupon) $14.99 (square)

The cross I found in the cross section (yes, they have a whole section of crosses). I don't think this piece is particular Frenchy, but I liked it. It is rustic and is a symbol of my family's deep love for Jesus. It will be a daily reminder of his redeeming love, so I went for it. I can be very eclectic at times, and that is okay. I don't claim to be an expert. I just do what I like. Another bargain at 50% off. Cost: $4.99

Here is a before and after just for fun so you can see how far we have come in this room. Still more work to do, but not too shabby.

Before

After

Disclaimer: This blog and post was not sponsored by Hobby Lobby. I hope maybe one day it will be. Wink, wink.

Jute- There It Is

Happy New Year! While I believe New Year's resolutions are a waste of time, I do believe in goals, and my new goal for 2014 is to start blogging all the creating, crafting and decorating I have been doing around our home. So here is my first tutorial- the jute letter.

I am a huge believer in "upcycling" these days. Reimagining things you already have is a great way to save money and keep clutter out of your home and landfills. We moved into a new home in September, and I have completely changed gears from our last home's style. I recently repainted our entire first floor in shades of gray and really wanted a lot of white and and natural wood toned pieces to really pop against the cool shades. The problem- all my accent pieces and furniture are dark from my contemporary/Arts and Crafts phase. The answer- paint and burlap.

Jute Letter

Items needed:
Letter (wood, plastic, cardboard, etc.)
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks
Jute
Scissors

I had this black "M" (for our last name), and I knew I wanted it to be the star of a collage in our family room. My initial thought was to paint it white, but I thought that was a little boring. I wanted it to have some texture and depth, so I decided to wrap it in jute.

If you don't have a letter, you can find them for pretty cheap at a craft store such as Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or JoAnne's. Since you will be covering it up you don't have to worry about buying one that is already finished. Mine just happened to be. Raw wood or a paper mache would actually work really well for this project.   

I bought a spool of 135ft and 4 ply natural jute at Hobby Lobby for around $3 after using a coupon. (Tip: Download the apps for all the major craft stores. Most of them have a 40% off coupon for a full price item. They also give you current sale price info.) Jute comes in different lengths and plies so pick the one that works best for your project. You can find jute in the string or yarn section of any craft store. I have heard they even sell jute at some hardware stores.

To start off, keep the wrapper on your spool and just find the loose end in the middle and pull. The string will pull out from the center and keep your spool of jute in tact which makes it a lot neater. Next, I covered up all the ends that I wouldn't be able to cover as I wrapped the jute around my letter. I cut pieces to length and glued them directly to the letter. 

Here is a picture of my letter after I covered all the non-wrappable (yes, I just made this word up) sides. Each letter will be different so make sure you plan before you start wrapping.

Now, it is time to wrap. Go across your letter with a single straight line of hot glue just thick enough for one string. Hot glue dries fast so only do one row at a time. Simply place your jute right on top of the letter and make sure to push it down well until it touches the row below. Flip it over, do the back side and keep repeating.

Keep wrapping...

 and wrapping...

You will use a LOT of glue so have plenty of sticks handy. I have heard there is a process where you can make a paste mixture and dip the jute in there. I opted for the glue gun because is seemed less messy and easier to control. I also wanted the jute to look raw. I thought the paste dip might make it look shellacked.

At some point you might need to make a cut and start a new row. Just make sure you hide your cuts on the back of the letter. Keep wrapping, and you will end up with this.  

I was really happy with how this turned out. It took a little longer than expected (around 4 hours) but I can be really meticulous about things like this. A normal person might be able to blow through it in a couple hours. I am going to hang mine on the wall as a part of a collage, but it would also work on the top of a dresser or shelf. Mine has holes to hang it. If your letter doesn't, you can drill your own or even glue a cute ribbon to the top to hang it. Be creative. Making a project your own is the best part of being crafty.

Before

After

Stay tuned to see my finished wall collage starring my jute "M."