Thrift Store Eyesore Transformed Into Romantic Jewelry Armoire

by Donna

5 Materials

$10

2 Days

Medium

I love all the jewelry chest makeovers that I see all over the web and wanted to do my own. However, when I went to the thrift store, the only option I could find was this weird Christmas-themed box. Yikes! I was a bit disappointed, but I decided to turn this old box into a romantic jewelry armoire. Using some paint, stencils, scrapbook paper, and some vintage postcards, I gave this old box a new look and a new purpose.

thrift store eyesore transformed into romantic jewelry armoire

Yep, it's certainly a unique box. Who knows what it was meant for? But it didn't matter. It was in good condition and the price was right at $2.99. And I had a plan.

First, some basic prep. You can find my preparation steps on my blog, including how I removed the pesky Christmas tree drawer pulls and knobs.

Then I painted the whole box with a few coats of Craftsmart chalk paint. I had never used chalk paint before, but I liked this color and it worked fine for this project.

I wanted to give my box a vintage look, so I did a wash with acrylic paint (more details on my blog.) and added a stencil design. Stencils are an easy way to add decoration and color to any box or armoire, particularly if it has doors or glass panels.

To continue the vintage look on my box, I glued two old postcards to the front or my drawers. I used Modge Podge to glue the postcards in place, with some extra stenciling down the sides. You could also use photographs or scrapbook paper to decorate your drawer fronts.

To finish my box, I made some mini-postcards using smaller valentine and bird images and some scrapbook paper. I placed these small images on the doors and sides of my jewelry case like they were pinned in place on a bulletin board. You can find all the steps on my blog below.

When done, this crazy Christmas box was transformed into a romantic case for keeping jewelry and treasures in. I'm really happy with how my box came out.

I still have a little work to do on it. I want to line the drawers and inner doors with decorative paper, but it's usable for now.