DIY Old Book Dresser Makeover

Been a minute since I have posted. Been a pretty busy couple months. My computer had to spend some time in the shop as it was ATE UP with viruses. I haven’t been doing many projects but I have quite a few in the works and finally completed one last night. So I present you now with

Easy Dresser Makeover

First let me start by saying, This is the second makeover this particular dresser has went through. I don’t have a picture of  it originally but the below photo is as close as I could find to its original state via Google

It looked a lot like this. Even had a mirror. That mirror has since been removed, repainted, and hung on the wall.

The dresser went through its first makeover for the girls room a couple yeas ago. It looked fabulous, wish I could find a photo 😦 It still looked great before this project but I’m moving the dresser to our room and pink zebra and fashion magazine modge podge just wouldn’t cut it. After stripping off all I could this is what I ended up with.

We had painted the dresser black already before the last makeover so we got to skip that step this go round.

Supplies: Modge Podge, Old book, Black acrylic paint, Brown acrylic paint (optional), box cutter or exacto knife,  Paint to paint your piece whatever color you choose.

Project cost me around $8 if I include acrylic paint and modge podge. Our local book store always has FREE books bins outside, YAY!!! So the book was even free!  The dresser was given to us a few years back FREE

Step 1: Remove Hardware (handles and knobs) then paint entire visible surface whatever color you choose. I actually used black spray paint when I redid it for the girls the first time. Was able to spot paint a few scratches using my black acrylic this go around.

step 2: Tear your book apart. I find it easier to remove the spine and cover. The pages will be much easier to peel away with minimal fraying.

Step 3: Modge Podge paper onto each drawer. In my impatience I did not have actual modge podge. I used a elmers glue and water mix… I would not suggest that method as I had to go back and do a LOT of touch up gluing. Should have just went to the damn store for modge podge. Do not worry about over hang right now, we’ll get to that.

Notice the bubble? Modge podge will help to avoid these and create a much cleaner look. I did not like the straight edge look so I tore paper randomly into rough edged shaped and covered part of the blank margin area.

Step 4: You may like the slightly off white color. I wanted a more aged look however. Using the brown acrylic mix it with equal parts water. It will make a really runny brown stain (that sounded gross!). Brush this mix onto each drawer. I would suggest layering it as it tends to lighten as it dries.

See the difference? The white was pretty but just not quite right for our bedroom.

Step 5: Once everything had dried, trim the edges of your excess paper using a box cutter or Exacto knife. Wait till all glue or stain is COMPLETELY dry. It will slice right off without tearing this way. As you are doing this check your edges and be sure they are securely glued to the drawer. constant sliding will cause any unattached pieces to began to tear over time.

You may want to seal it with a extra layer of modge podge once it is all done to completely seal all your pages together.

Step 6: Put it all back together. Pick a design or free hand a design onto drawers. Think of drawers as one complete piece.

Here is each side of mine. I free handed a simple swirly line then just began adding elements to it. I originally wanted to do a deer silhouette but the spacing between drawers would have made it look deformed.

Last step: reattach all your hardware. (This dresser has been through the ringer so I will actually have to replace most the knobs) I was in such a hurry to get this posted though I’m showing it pre-new-knob. Don’t judge me!

VOILA!!!! One of a kind Dresser!

Check out this beautiful dresser upcycle from Suburban Musing http://kathi.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/chalk-painting-an-awesome-vintage-dresser/

A Month of Toddler clothes in ONE Drawer!

I don’t hang my toddler’s clothes… ooooh how dare I?! I hate children’s hangers and I hate hanging clothes. He’s a toddler; I don’t think he cares if he has a wrinkle or 2 or 7. The only things we hang are bulky items such as coats, sweaters, hoodies, and dress or special occasion clothes. This does cause a clutter in the storage of other clothes but I have found a system I love and is pretty easy to stick to.

I saw a post at the dawn of Pinterest that suggested packing infant clothes in zip-lock bags when traveling. I thought “Hmm.. pretty simple yet effective, but how about all the time?” ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!!! The husband can no longer say “but I cant put together outfits like you” when asked to dress the kid. They are all preplanned. Storage is sooooo easy because entire outfits will no longer take up nearly as much space.

Supplies: Box of SLIDER gallon zip-lock storage bags. That’s it!

Note: I usually slack on this in winter as pants and winter clothes are more bulky and a pain in the tit. PERFECT for summer however.

All this in one dresser drawer! You can even switch to shelf storing with this easy trick.

Start by trying to gather all you child’s clothes that they actually wear, wash them, and have all together.

Set aside about an hour, give or take depending on how much clothes your child has, to do this. It’s actually kind of fun and once you get it done the first time it will be a snap to keep it going.

Start by sorting clothes accordingly. I like to separate mine into shorts, collared shirts, and t-shirts. If you have a daughter you may want to do dresses, shirts, skirts, leggings/stocking. I do not like to do pants because of the bulk so I usually store them all together to just grab whenever I need a pair. Here in Louisiana summer we won’t be needing them anytime soon.

Start sorting into outfits. You will most likely have a LOT more shirts than shorts so I usually pair one collared shirt and one or 2 t-shirts with each pair of shorts. Kids are messy and having a backup shirt is always nice. This is also like having more than one outfit in one bag, saving space! Once you have all your outfits together get ready to bag

Note: I always end up with a couple of extra t-shirts that don’t match anything; these become sleep and play shirts.

One pair of shorts & 2 shirts.

Try to put into bag as flat as possible. This usually mean only folding shorts over once. Use slider bags because they make this step so much easier. Close bag leaving about a 3″ gap open and squeeze out excess air. Once you have done about 8 or 9 bags, stack them on one another, each being slightly opened, then sit on em or squish them. This will push out even more air making them even smaller to store. After pushing out air seal bag.

Voila!

If you have a bow wearing daughter you can include bows that are exclusive to a certain outfit into it’s bag so you always have it together. You can also add socks to the bags so you always have a pair handy when getting your little one dressed.

The Math: I ended up with 17 bags. 14 of these bags had 2 or more shirt options in them. (We’ll say they all had 2 for maths sake) That’s 31 outfits in  a 7″x19″ space. Can’t beat that. Nothing better than walking into your child’s room and grabbing a bag and having an instant outfit with backup clothes to throw in the diaper bag. Even better when we’re going away for a few days. I grab a handful and throw them in the suitcase and he’s set.

To keep this up, keep a box of zip-lock bags in the drawer with their clothes or where-ever you sort laundry.

Hope this was helpful. I promise you this is super easy. I am…well… I wouldn’t call it lazy so much as “unmotivated” and even I keep this up.