All this little shabby lovely needed was some dressing up!
DIY TIME
I filled that ridge with wood filler and sanded it smooth with my sander. I also add a piece of wood corner round to recreate the surface edge. Originally, it is a cut-out meant to receive the mirror. Last, I use my favorite Dremel tool to rebuild it. You can also see the veneer was lifting at the bottom of the side. An easy repair by taking a utility knife making a straight slit. Gently lift and add some wood glue, clamp, and let dry. Now, I could have just painted and been done, but I wanted to add a touch of pizazz. Have you seen the textured paintable wallpaper that looks like pressed tin?
I love that stuff and have used it to do our ceilings, our kitchen, and even in this tea cart makeover. It is so versatile and can be painted copper, zinc, any metallic finish or leave as is.
Another one of my favorite things to do is hand paint. I wanted to give it a try on a smaller piece of furniture with a pretty detailed graphic.
THE REVEAL
Here she is...my shabby little makeover.
I first tried using a Modge Podge method with a homemade version and it worked, but wasn't quite dark enough, so I used the same method I used in my pallet clock and repurposed painted sign tutorial.
My go-to method is oil pastels for the varied colors, but you can also use chalk. You could even use graphite paper or transfer paper too. I just used what I had on hand. I have used the pastels for very large graphics as well as small and I use Photoshop to enlarge it.
For extra durability, I used a layer of wallpaper paste and placed two pieces of scrap wallpaper on the sides.
A couple coats of white homemade chalk paint, some distressing, and a couple coats of wax.
Once this little beauty was listed in my online shop, it sold within 3 hours. Yippee!!
One more look...
So next time you're in a thrift store or garage sale, even, don't do a quick look, but take your time and have fun reinventing items in your head. What could that certain item be in another form? Have fun!
Do pin and share to see past the shabby and see the potential that lies. ♥
More makeover fun like this shabby chic makeover:
