Give an Old Suitcase a New Lease of Life.

Sandra Crosbie
by Sandra Crosbie
2 Materials
2 Hours
Easy
This old suitcase belonged to my Mum. She passed away 10 years ago. When my youngest daughter was 7 my Mum gave her the suitcase. It has stayed in my attics for 20 years.
My daughter was pregnant when I did this project. My little granddaughter was born on September 25th 2017@8.42am.
Back to the suitcase. I washed and scrubbed all the years of grime away
Clean and ready to go
I removed all of the interior paper using warm soapy water and a scrubby sponge. I also removed the straps from inside. They were too grubby to reuse.
For some reason this pic won't turn around
This is the bits I used to redo it. I didn't buy anything I had it all in my stash.
Paper scraped, wet and yucky
While the inside dried I painted the outside.
I did three coats of paint to get the colour I wanted
The wallpaper I used I have in my bedroom. I love butterflies.The wallpaper part was a little trickier than I thought it would be. No amount of glue would tidy up the edges. So I used ribbon and duct tape.It would have been better if the duct tape didn't run out before I got all of the edges done. But no problem, it's on the inside.
Almost done.
I sealed the outside with varnish. Now my daughter is using it to keep all of the babies nappies ( diapers ) wipes and other bits inside. She has it on a shelf under a table in her sitting too. Which is really handy because she doesn't need to keep running upstairs to get supplies every time the baby needs changing.
All done. She is delighted with it. My daughters name is Aoife, it's an Irish name. My Mum couldn't quite get her tongue around it so she called her Eva for about 2 years. My hubby would give her grief, in a humorous way about it. He wrote E FA. on a piece of paper and told her that's how you say it. My Mums name is Jane, now Aoife has named her baby Eva Jane after my Mum. And for tradition it's spelled the Irish way, Eabha. Lol!!
Eabha Jane. Born September 25th.
Suggested materials:
  • PVA glue, spray glue, duct tape   (I had them here)
  • Wallpaper, scissors, paint sample, varnish.
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 5 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Oct 03, 2017

    Looks great! Wonderful job!

  • Barbara Knott Speidel Barbara Knott Speidel on Oct 03, 2017

    Such a special, wonderful gift for your daughter and granddaughter. Your mother is very proud of you.....she knows what you have done. As of now, it has passed on to the next generations.....the 3rd and 4th. It looks wonderful. You did an excellent upgrade. What you did for your daughter and granddaughter is a special gift of love. (BTW, I love your wallpaper pattern. Like you, I love butterflies. My hall bathroom wallpaper has colored butterflies. Please share what wallpaper you used for the suitcase and your bathroom walls. I would love to use it in my bathroom remodel.) Super kudos for you!


    • See 1 previous
    • Sandra Crosbie Sandra Crosbie on Oct 23, 2017
      Sorry I took so long getting back to you with the brand name. It is Design house. I didn't check to see where else stocks it , I bought it in a home wares store. Hope this is a help. 👍👍
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