I should have taken a picture of this before I started so you could see how ugly it was, but you can trust me....it was an ordinary ugly drawer divorced from it's dresser. For that matter, if you're not into shabby chic decor, you may still think it's ugly, but I love the transformation of an old junk drawer to a new display piece.

You can find old drawers at thrift stores and curbsides, but I got my for $3 at Habitat for Humanity. What a fun day that was. Ran into a writer friend of mine and we stopped and yacked for a half an hour on the hardware isle. Last weekend was perfect weather for a small painting project in the garage.

It was really fun distressing this piece! I found an awesome youtube video with step by step instructions on how to master the art of destruction. Now that I've leaned how to do a small project, I'm trying to talk myself into doing my kitchen. I might need some help for that project though. There's LOTS of drawers in my kitchen.

Here's another piece of junk I wished I had taken a picture of before its transformation. Found it at a garage sale at the Norman fairgrounds a couple of weeks ago. It had a pair of gargoyles encapsulated by an aztec-ish pattern of bronze circles. Yuk! But after a little sandpaper, primer and paint, check it out now.



I love the touch of crackled paint.

Crackling is fairly simple. I used Folkart Crackle Medium. After the primer, (I had to prime this project because the tray is metal. Without a primer, the paint would scratch off) I painted a bronze base coat. When that dried, I painted on a think coat of crackle medium. When that was dry, I painted a top coat of black and watched the crackling begin. 

I used this stencil and then misted bronze spray paint over it. I didn't want harsh coverage because I wanted a vintage finish. When the bronze spray paint was dry (just took a minute) I lightly brushed some black paint over the design and wiped off the excess with a wet paper towel to make it even look more aged.


My new tray makes a great new place to display some of my coffee table favorites.

After I packed away my Christmas stuff...(I'm embarrassed to say this just occured last weekend. It's hard to get in the mood for all that strenuous packing. I't so much more fun to put it up!) Anyway, I couldn't bear to bannish all that glitter and bling to the shed. It doesn't all scream "Christmas". I think keeping out a few choice ornaments through February won't brand me as a redneck decorator. 

Oops! Just noticed there's a strand of lights I missed. I better get back to packing!