Whimsical Wednesday - Unique Drawer Silhouette Shelf

Doesn't it drive you crazy when you have a good idea or something you want to say and you forget what it is?  I had something I wanted to talk about for this WW post, and for the life of me, can't remember what it is.
Bummer.  Isn't it even more annoying when someone tells you they had something great to tell you, but can't remember what it is? Sorry about that.
So anyway...instead, I thought I'd show you this shelf that my husband helped me put together. My mom brought me these 4 drawers (yes this IS my 3rd drawer-related project in the last 30 days...and yes, my mom is responsible for finding all of the drawers) and they were scattered in random places throughout my garage, so I kind of forgot about them because I had no idea what to do with random, unmatched drawers.
Once I put them in the same area, I realized that they were all the same drawer, just painted different colors...I arranged them in a couple shapes until I came up with this:

My husband attached them to one another for me before I painted them gray.

I then found some silhouettes on The Graphics Fairy blog, and edited them to the size I wanted. I love the picture of the baby (who is so much cuter in person than the pictures below)...so I decided to do a little "family".

I did my little tracing trick like my first drawer project:

I used black craft paint to do the silhouettes before sanding/distressing and then slopping applying a generous amount of a stain + glaze mixture on it.  After I wiped away the excess, I allowed it to dry for a couple days before sanding and distressing it again.

These pictures are icky, but as I mentioned in my booth post, some of the other dealers were watching me, and I felt a little weird about taking pictures in front of them.

I wanted to put another coat of the stain on them before taking them to the store, but I ran out of time.

It seems I'm going through furniture phases...first the chests/trunks (and I still have 2 more in my garage), and now all these drawers:

Project #1

Project #2

and this makes Project #3.

Would you be surprised if I told you that I have ANOTHER set also sitting in my garage.  They are pretty fun "as is" though, so I think I'll just be cleaning those up.

I'm still trying to figure out what my original post idea was, but to no avail....if it hits me at 3am tonight, I'll be sure to write it down this time.

I shared this project at The Graphics Fairy. and most of these link parties:

MONDAY:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

The Girl Creative
Boogieboard Cottage
C.R.A.F.T.
Thrifty Decor Chick (1st Monday of Each Month)

TUESDAY: 

Home Stories A2Z

Coastal Charm

Homework
At Home With K
My UnCommon Slice of Suburbia
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)
WEDNESDAY:
The Thrifty Home
Restore Interiors
Blue Cricket Design
Savvy Southern Style
Very Merry Vintage Style
Domestically Speaking (Paint Projects)

{primp}

Momma Hen's Coop

THURSDAY:

The Brambleberry Cottage

No Minimalist Here

the shabby creek cottage

House of Hepworths

Momnivore's Dilemma

FRIDAY:

Remodelaholic

The Charm of Home

kojo designs

The Shabby Nest

Serenity Now

Miss Mustard Seed
Release Me Creations
SATURDAY:
I Can't Stop Crafting
Lolly Jane Boutique
Funky Junk
Be Different, Act Normal
Imperfectly Perfect
SUNDAY:
I Heart Naptime
LambAround
Petite Hermine

take care -



Two Drawers Repurposed into a "Basket"

I woke up too early on Wednesday, 11/16, to a wonderful surprise....my little drawer project was featured by Savvy Southern Style.  I imagine you're aware of Kim's Wow us Wednesday link-up party, but if for some reason you've missed it...you should definitely check it out.  I can't thank Kim enough for featuring my drawers!

This project was also featured by Amanda at Serenity Now (I LOVE the name of this blog)



Amanda has a link party each Friday called "Weekend Bloggy Reading" where you link up your favorite post each week.  Another MUST attend event! Thanks to Amanda for featuring my project!



So on with my post....

It seems lately that I've been getting into furniture ruts...first my whole chest/trunk thing, and now drawers.  I just posted a couple weeks ago about another repurposed drawer idea, and now here I am again...I also have ANOTHER drawer project I'm working on now. huh, I really don't plan it this way.

So, here's another set of sewing machine drawers my mom (she's my "picker" teehee!! I think she just likes to shop, and now she has a reason to do it) found for me. 

I had my husband attach them to one another (and they will NEVER, EVER come apart) and I added the handle, which I made from jute wrapped with twine.

The old finish was pretty thick, so I sanded some of it for a more natural look.  Aren't the little pulls so cute?

I think I might replace the hooks I used to attach the handle as these ones have little hinges, so the handle doesn't stand up on its own.

It's a unique storage idea...I thought for crafting supplies, books/papers, a catchall...or it could be used as a decor item if filled with shells, candles, dried lavender, plants, Christmas ornaments and the like.

I have so much left to do to get everything ready for my booth.  Last night I was trying to print out tags and a couple things for another project...only to find that one (or both - they've recently started joining forces against me...I wanted them to be close, but I didn't mean like this) had jammed Max's toothbrush in the paper feeder.  I was.not.happy. to say the least.  My husband managed to get it out around midnight, but I'm not sure if the printer still works....we'll see! Is this what "they" were referring to as the "joys of motherhood"?

If I'm not around for a couple days, I have a busy few days coming up...a printer repair, a barn sale, Emme's first birthday, Ohio State football, the booth and TONS of projects to finish. TONS.

Any fun stories of "help" from pets, kids, spouses....etc?

Have a great weekend...I'm sharing this at these fantastic link parties:

MONDAY:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

The Girl Creative
Boogieboard Cottage
Thrifty Decor Chick

TUESDAY: 

Home Stories A2Z

Coastal Charm

Homework
At Home With K
Kammy's Korner

WEDNESDAY:
The Thrifty Home
Restore Interiors
Blue Cricket Design
Savy Southern Style
Very Merry Vintage Style

{primp}

Momma Hen's Coop

THURSDAY:

The Brambleberry Cottage

No Minimalist Here

the shabby creek cottage
Between U & Me

FRIDAY: 

Remodelaholic
The Charm of Home
kojo designs
The Shabby Nest
Serenity Now
LaurieAnna's Vintage Home

SATURDAY:

I Can't Stop Crafting

take care -

 



Repurposed Drawers Project

My mom found these drawers  for me at a thrift shop- I think they were $3 each?  I love the carving on the front, as well as the hardware.  Because I like the way they look when they are stacked, I decided to play off of that, and add words to the sides.

If you can trace, you can do this.  I decided I wanted my words to relate to one another...so I chose faith, hope, and love.  I also considered doing numbers with numerals on one side and the spelled out numbers on the other side of the drawers.....Numbering things is so popular right now, I decided to stay away from that option.

Once I decided on my words, I typed them out and played with fonts and sizes.  When I found something I liked, I'd print out the first page to make sure it would fit on the side of my drawer.

Then, I raided Max's crayon stash for a light color, which I used to color on the opposite side of the page.

After doing this, in order to find the middle of the word, I folded the page in half so the outer edge of the first letter and the outer edge of the last letter meet.

After finding the center point of the drawer side, I lined them up and  taped them to the side of the drawers. 

I then used an ink pen to trace the letters, making sure that the crayon was transferring onto the wood.  This is the method I used in our old house to paint the Emily Dickinson quote in the sunroom.

I then used white craft paint and a small paint brush (use smaller than you think you'll need, I also think brushes with stiffer bristles make it easier to control the paint) to color in the lines.  I bet you could use a paint pen, but I haven't tried it and actually, I prefer paint/brush method.  Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of the drawers before I distressed them.  I distressed all of the sides of the drawer using a hand sander and coarse sand paper.   I accidentally over-distressed some of the letters, so I just touched up the light areas.  Once dry, I sanded with a little piece of fine sand paper.

I was trying to wrangle toddlers and keep them from destroying anything, as well as take pictures, so needless to say, they are a little rough.

I decided to have the fronts of the drawers alternate ends, thinking it would make it more interesting looking.

  

I also thought some dried flowers sticking out might be pretty- like maybe some lavender.  And instead of jars on top, I thought of doing candles, a pile of pine cones or evens some little books.  I think it's something that could be changed with the season. 

If you can't tell from the pictures, I staggered the drawers so they could be stacked without falling over.

I also think that anything that you could stack could be substituted...boxes, books, chunks of wood.

Right now, I'm also in the middle of painting a chest, which I can hopefully share later this week.  I'm also working on this chest of drawers- I got all of the spray paint sanded off today, but it will be a couple weeks before it will be finished because it needs some love....and a new top. 

I'd love for you to check back in a couple days to see how my chest turns out (I'm pretty interested to find out myself!)

I linked to these wonderful blogs:

Remodaholic

Sugar Bee Crafts

Reason to Skip the Housework

          
                  

take care -