A 25th Wedding Anniversary Gift to Me

Grace
by Grace
6 Materials
$200
2 Weeks
Easy
Right off the bat, I need to tell you that this may not be the most frugal make over you have seen. Yes, I spent money over time. I did collect things little by little, and some of the things I bought can be used over and over again, but....yes, I spent money on this project, but it was all worth it. WHY?
Well, here is why. :)
I have been milking our 25th wedding anniversary year this year.
We went through some tough stuff. I will just simply say I received my husband from the dead, literally. I know some may not be as free as I am to share something like this, but I am just grateful for every moment we are together and I have been trying to make everything meaningful, and this project was one of them.
The dresser you see is my husband's boyhood dresser. My husband already had it when we got married, and all our 3 boys went through it.
Quite honestly, my MIL calls it "not so great a piece" to put it mildly. XP
This project was also inspired by a project done by "Artsy chicks rule" who used the French Love Poem stencil I used here. It turned out that Nancy @ Artsy Chicks Rule also used Modern Master's metallic paint which inspired me as well. My friend, Larissa @ prodigal pieces has been my ever so faithful furniture flip fairy godmother who always takes time to answer my questions and supports me.
I wanted something elegant and something different from its original plain pine finish. I am afraid of colors, lol, so the only choice I wanted to go was "white", sorry. But this time I wanted to go with a bit different white, so I turned to Modern Master's shimmering metallic paint in "snow flake" and their Acrylic polyurethane top coat. Well, right there, they weren't cheap duo either, gulp. Sorry, again....but I hope to get more mileage out of them. I have another curb side find awaiting for a makeover and I am going to use this paint again, hehe.
First, I cleaned them and sanded it all the way down. I also put holes for the new hardware.
down to its bare bones
I then filled all the holes and indents with wood putty, but I don't think I did a good job.
After sanding those down again, I was too anxious to see what it would like, so I put new hardwares just to have something to look forward to.
I wasn't sure how I would finish the top: Dark with light stencil or Light top with dark stencil. My fairy godmother told me to go with Dark stain, so I obey, heehee. I was worried about those pine knots bleeding so I gave a coat of oil based primer only to find out that Moder Master's shimmering paints do not like oil based primer, so I had to put another coat of water based latex primer. I am glad that I called the company and asked their tech. I also used Minwax Jacobean stain for the top. I think I gave 2 coats of stain for the top.
Next was my favorite part. I used French Poem stencil by Cutting Edge stencils. This was big...and pricey.


This was my first major stencil project and when I lifted the stencil off, it was so beautiful and I was beside myself, LOL!
I decided not to distress the letters, but when I applied some polyurethane, the stain color sorta transferred to the letters and it gave that worn and warm look, so I decided to go as it is. I think I gave at least 3 or 4 coats of fast drying Polyurethane and waited for many days to cure it.
You can see that I didn't do a good job of filling pr-existing holes. Nonetheless, I think it is okay. The shimmer effect wasn't as strong as I expected. It is recommended to put at least 2 coats of both shimmer paint and clear top coat.


I staged this up for the final pics. Coincidentally, the day before this pic, my student's mother(I am a violin instructor) gave me this simple flower arrangement from her garden. I also found that lamp shade and the lamp separately from Goodwill. What are the chances? both looking so Frenchy? The whole ensemble probably cost me only $5 to $6, not bad, huh? Since I spent a lot of money on the stencil and the paint, well...something's got to give.
Finally, I lined inside the drawers with some contact paper from Dollar Tree. I needed only 3 rolls to line all the drawers.
Here is before and after pic.
Suggested materials:
  • Modern Master's Shimmering metalic paint   (search your local dealer)
  • Modern Master's Acrylic Polyurethane   (search your local dealer)
  • French Poem Stencil   (Cutting Edge Stencils)
See all materials
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