Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Mini Suitcase Make Over

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I woke up this morning, opened my eyes, and staring at my dresser, decided our little TV we got for Christmas needed a stand under it.  I was thinking of things I could use to raise it a little higher to make it easier to watch, and give more room on the dresser top.
The idea of using a vintage suitcase popped in my head.
So I snuck off to the thrift store amid my morning errands.
I found this mini suitcase for $2.00
Pretty sturdy and in good condition--until you opened it.
It was NASTY and smelled like elderly woman perfume.  There were Alka Seltzer tablets in there I swear were at least 25 years old.
So I gutted the interior, I had to anyway to remove the handle on top.
Removed the handle and threw it in the suitcase, in case I ever want to use it in the future.
Next I cleaned it really well, having to use a toothpick and q-tips to get in the cracks and folds on the corners.  Next, I covered the metal I wanted to preserve with masking tape.
So at this point you could:
-Prime and spray paint
-Prime and paint
-I chose to glaze this bad boy.

GLAZING the SUITCASE
I almost kept the original electric blue, but it didn't really match the color palette of the bedroom, as determined by fabric I bought.  I also had aqua glaze already mixed and needing to be used on something in the garage, so I decided to paint the suitcase during nap time.
My glaze was 3 parts Behr glaze to 1 part robin's egg blue paint from the entry bench.
You can buy cheap craft glaze from Michaels or JoAnn's instead too.

So I painted a coat right on the suitcase.  You can see the brush strokes, which I didn't like.
So I used a paper towel to lightly blot (just like your lipstick) to give the glaze some texture, allowing a smidgen of the original electric blue to come through.
Next I pulled out the real paint and, with a detail brush, painted the top and bottom cording/ sewn trims.
I let it dry and sprayed it down with a sealer, basically clear spray paint.
Now it holds up the TV and adds vintage charm to the top of the dresser.
{Still deciding on what to keep up there before it's over-run with our junk.  The only thing I'm set on is the old photo of my mom on the bridge when she was 18}


Pretty cute for $2.00!
I was going to replace the lining, but since this will pretty much never be opened, I decided not to waste the fabric or time right now.
But I did buy another suitcase the same size but green, so I will be replacing the guts of that one in the near future if you're interested to come back for that.
But for now I have to go load the dishwasher.

2 comments:

  1. CLEVER. My goodness I'm glad I "met" you. I appreciate you sharing so many fun ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks fabulous! Love it!! I found one of these too! And I am excited about transforming it!!

    ReplyDelete

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