Mini Suitcase Make Over

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.