Cedar Chest Re-Do

A couple of months ago I purchased a cedar chest off of someone on FB.  It was in pretty bad condition and usually I would have passed on something like this, but I really liked the shape of it.  All of the legs were loose and the hinges on the lid were broken off.  When we unloaded it from the car at home, we dropped the lid and it broke into 3 pieces.   Louie was disgusted before we even got it into the garage and I was kicking myself for buying it in the first place.  It sat in the garage for over 3 months because neither one of us wanted to even look at it.

Finally Louie told me we should start working on it or he was going to throw it out.  Well, that was all the incentive I needed because I had him put it up on my work table and we stared at it.  First we removed all the broken hardware...

Reattached and reinforced all the legs....

Refitted all the panels for the lid and attached everything.....

We installed new hardware and gave the inside of the chest a light sanding to help bring out the cedar scent.  After a quick wash down, I pulled out my favorite Zibra paint brush and mixed up a couple different shades of gray paint....

First I painted the entire chest with a pale gray and then gradually dry brushed darker shades of gray as I moved down towards the bottom of the chest....

Here's the finished chest!

For sale in the Chicago area for $ 165.00.  Dimensions are 40" x 18" x 24" tall.

Linking up with.....
68th Sweet Inspiration Link Party

White Trunk Re-do

I can't help myself - I love re-doing antique trunks!  This is the latest one that I just refinished.  I bought it at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago and this is what it looked like when we brought it home...

This trunk was by far in the worst condition of any truck I've done yet.  I have no idea what that white crap was inside.  I vacuumed it out and then washed down the entire trunk with bleach water and let it sit out outside for a few days in the sun.  Then I ripped out most of the paper because it was in really bad shape.

The side handles disintegrated so Louie removed them and then cut new handles from an old black belt.  Once he finished that he turned his attention to the lock.  Originally we thought it was broken but it just needed to be oiled.  The trunk was missing its key but I happened to have a spare one that worked so we really lucked out!

The fabric covering on the outside bottom of the trunk was badly shredded and falling off so I took a couple sheets of paper and mod podged them over the bad areas.  Once they dried I painted the entire trunk with 2 coats of white paint, including the patched areas on the bottom.  It worked like a dream and you can barely even tell the bottom was patched.

Then I lightly distressed the entire trunk, paying extra attention to the brass rivets, and finished up with a good coat of wax.

The final thing I did was grab my favorite go-to for papering trunk interiors - vintage sheet music!  It took 2 nights to do while watching TV, but it turned out great!

Every trunk I do is my new favorite.

 Available at Antiques Et Cetera in Benton, Ky.

Linking up with...

Vintage Charm #81

Refinished Trunk - Music is Love Looking for Words

Two years ago I bought a vintage army foot locker/trunk at an estate sale.   I just fell in love with it.  But stupid me, I didn't buy it the first time I saw it, and I was so upset about it that I went back the next day and let out a big sigh of relief that it was still there....

This was the really fabulous thing about the trunk - it had the original owners name written inside and I think he may have used it in Viet Nam....

I didn't really have the room to keep it for myself so I listed it in my Etsy shop.  And guess what?  It didn't sell.  So after about 6 months I took down the listing and it's been sitting in my shop waiting for a make over ever since.  Then a couple weeks ago I got the itch to start working on it so I dragged it into the house.

First I painted the outside with black, gray and white and gave it a light distressing....

Then I papered the inside with vintage music sheets. 

That is absolutely my favorite thing to use on the inside of old trunks...

It took me the longest time to find a quote that I liked but I finally found the perfect one "Music is Love Looking for Words."  I stenciled the quote across the top of the trunk and it was done!

I'm glad I waited to refinish it until the right inspiration hit me because I listed it in my shop and it sold in just 2 weeks.  I think it waited until just the right person was ready to buy it.

Linking up with....

Simple Saturdays 3-11-17
Vintage Charm # 73

Party in your PJ's  #148
Talk of the Town 3-7-17

Vintage Trunk Re-do

Two weeks ago I found another vintage trunk at an estate sale so of course I snatched it up.  If you missed that post, you can read it here.

This is what I started with.  It was in pretty decent condition....

It was clean and didn't smell - always a bonus!

And it had its original tray...

It also had a working lock and key....

The worst thing was the deteriorated leather handles.  They were toast!

The first thing we Louie did, was to remove the damaged leather handles.  We cut up an old belt and used that to make new handles.  It worked out perfectly....

Then I painted the chest with white and gray....

I grabbed my vintage map book and tore out maps of the United States as well as State Fact Sheets and pasted them to the inside of both the trunk and tray using Mod Podge.  Tony snapped a couple pictures of me while I was working.  Does anyone else work on projects in the middle of their living room???

He said I looked like a little bird in a nest so I was peeping....  LOL!

Then I coated everything with 2 coats of polyurethane for a strong, durable finish...

Afterwards I applied a layer of wax to the outside and I was done!

I'm listing this baby for sale.  It will be perfect for storage or to use as a small table in a front room.  Now we're starting work on the trunk we picked up last week.  I think I am trunk drunk!

Linking up with...
Vintage Charm # 2

Let's Talk Vintage # 53

Party in Your PJ's #77
Vintage Inspiration Party # 210

Estate Sale Finds 10-06-15

We found some good stuff this weekend.  We only hit a couple of sales on Saturday but I was happy with what we found.

A new with tags Nebraska sweatshirt....

A practically new Chicago Bulls fleece pullover.  The lady told me her son only wore it once and I believe her....

Cute little pewter canister.  I think I'm keeping this for myself....

I can't believe the steal I got on this Great American Nut Machine.  I picked it up and told Louie I was going to paint and distress it.  Then I looked it up when I got home and almost fell off my chair when I saw what it goes for anywhere from $ 15.00 - $ 50.00.   I may be rethinking the distressing....

Did you spy what is behind the Nut Machine???  A printers tray.  This is the first one I've found that was painted, and an ugly green on top of it.  But they usually sell pretty good.  I may leave it that color or I may repaint it before I list it.  I'm undecided....

Love these pink cowgirl boots and I'm definitely not a pink kind of girl.  Louie found them in the back of a closet at the estate sale and they weren't even marked with a price.  I got them for a steal.  They need a really good cleaning and then I'll list them.  They are a size 8.5.  Good thing that's not my size or I'd be really tempted to keep them....

Check out this old Treasure Chest!  It needs some work because one of the side boards is cracked, but we can fix that.  Other than that, I'm not sure what color to paint it and whether or not to stay with the pirate theme.  Suggestions??

The inside is pretty beat up...

And last, but not least....Another trunk.  I need my head examined.  This one is really old and has the original material lining.  Both the leather handles are gone.  It's filthy and it has a smell.  And the lock doesn't work.  We had to actually drill out the top lock piece to even get the trunk open.  I hated to do that but we had no choice.  Plus, I was sort of hoping we'd find something really cool inside - like money.  Hey, I can dream, can't I?

I've been quite busy working on my other trunk that I bought last week.  It's almost finished.  Hopefully I can show it to you this week.