Do
you ever see something at thrift store or even by the side of the
road and think to yourself, “Gee, that could be really neat
with a fresh coat of paint”? For some reason, that happens to
me all the time. I have one too many unfinished projects in my garage
at the moment!
Coming
right up is my daughter’s first birthday. A few months ago I
found a sad little play cupboard sitting outside of an antique shop.
It was just as weather-worn and dirty as could be — but only
$14! So I slicked on some paint and added some accents and it made a
total 360! My little girl is going to love it!
Here’s
what you’ll need for a similar project:
Acrylic
paint, in color of choice
Paintbrush
Coordinating
fabric (about 1 yard total)
Decoupage
Glue
gun with glue
1. Since
the cupboard was so dirty, I just started out by wiping it down and
cleaning it up. There were quite a few coats of paint on it already,
but sometimes you just don’t have the time or energy to scrape
it all off. Know what I mean? I just chipped off what was loose and
started painting away. The original color was a medium blue (see
photo), but I had to do about four coats of paint to cover it
completely.
The sad little cupboard in its shabby coat of blue paint.
A fresh coat of paint shows the potential of this piece.
2. Once
the paint was completely dry, I decided to add some fabric. At one
point there must have been something adhered to the wood because
there was a bunch of bumpy old adhesive. There is no way that was
coming off and it didn’t look very good even when painted over.
So what do we do? Just cover it up!
Take
one of your pieces of fabric and lay it on one of the shelves. (I
just took a pencil and marked where the fabric needed to be cut.)
After trimming the fabric to size, set it aside. Take your decoupage
and a sponge brush (I used matte finish Modge Podge) and spread a
layer on the surface of where you’ll be adding the fabric.
Gently place the fabric on top of the decoupage and smooth out any
wrinkles. No need to let it dry before painting on another layer of
decoupage. Make sure you get around the edges of the fabric so they
don’t lift once the decoupage is dry. Repeat this on all the
shelves.
We’re starting to see some personality in this piece.
3. Once
the decoupage is dry, move on to the next step. If you’re
tricky, you don’t even need to let it dry!
I
just added a couple of ruffles to the front of the cupboard. My
ruffles were left over from another project, but you can find plenty
of other tutorials online if you need to learn how to make a ruffle.
Measure
out your ruffle and then attach it to the front of the cupboard with
hot glue.
Jenni Bowman, also known as "Jenni B," first delved into her creativity when decorating her
new home as a young bride on a small budget. Bit by bit, her skills improved. She appeared on
"The Martha Stewart Show" in December 2007, where she demonstrated some of her products
on live national television. She has also appeared on "Good Things Utah" and even had her own
television show, "Crafting with Jenni B," in rural Virginia.
She has been featured on Make Mine Pink in "Women Who
Inspire," an online marketplace designed especially for women. In the Spring of 2009, Jenni was
featured in "Artful Blogging" and "Marie", which are Stampington & Company and Somerset Studio publications. She was also listed in Utah Valley Magazine's "50 Most Fabulous People".
Jenni is currently the president of Jenni B Charmed, LLC and enjoys designing jewelry,
computer graphics and home accessories. She lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and
young daughter.
Jenni serves as a Relief Society instructor in her home ward.