Little Sister was asking for
this vanity
way before this last Christmas. I didn't know at first whether or not to take her seriously. She has been my rough and tough tom boy for the last 4 years...but all of a sudden she wanted to venture into the world of girly things. Of course I waited too long, and couldn't find one that was cute enough OR the right price, until about a month ago.
Craigslist...$20.00
I know what you are thinking...
Why did they paint weird cabbages in the corners?!?! And why does it have the initials for California Pizza Kitchen?!?! I just kidding, I am sure it was part of the Cabbage Patch Kid Movement. Well, that can be (and was) changed! This project shows the stool. I also applied the same techniques to the front drawer, mirror, and I painted the vanity desk surface pink.
What you will need:
Cute furniture you want to make cuter (solid wood is best)
Primer
Polyurethane or varnish
Step 1: Sand It
Sand down the surface you want to paint and/or Mod Podge! I used heavy grit sand paper and just made sure that the shiny finish was gone. Bye bye weird little cabbages!
Step 2: Prime it
As you can see in the picture below, I primed over the surface I wanted to Mod Podge.
Two thin coats should do the trick. Now you can get your cute paper and Mod Podge supplies ready!
Step 3: Adhere Your Cute Paper
A: I thought about tracing the top of the stool onto paper, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make it match up very well on all sides. So I invented a new little trick. First I wanted to see if one piece of 12 x 12 paper would cover the whole stool. It was just right. If your project is too large for one piece of paper, you can easily piece it together.
B: I slathered Mod Podge all over the stop of the primed stool.
C: Then I smoothed my 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper onto the stool.
Smooth from the center out to minimize bubbling.
D: I then smoothed and bent the paper over the edges of the stool.
E: I used my same heavy grit sand paper to "saw" off the paper over the edge.
Seems like it would take forever, but it actually went quick.
Can you see where I sanded? This was 3-4 strokes over the edge of the stool.
Once you "saw" all the way through, the paper will start remove itself.
Voila! Can you see how cute it will be!!!
Step 4: Check all edges
I made sure my edges weren't all loose like this one below.
If they are, simply apply more Mod Podge and smooth down.
Step 5: Mod Podge Edges and Surface
Make sure you allow 20 minutes between coats if you apply more than one coat.
Step 6: Let Dry Overnight
I allowed my project to dry overnight. I placed the stool face down onto wax paper.
Then I applied weight (full paint can) so that any bubbles would disappear by morning.
Step 7: Apply Polyurethane
I applied 3 thin coats for durability, letting dry 20-30 minutes between each coat.
One more night of drying and then my weird cabbage vanity turned into this...
I can't wait to see your projects if this post inspires you...
Please send pictures of them to me!
Cheers,
below are my best friend when I am stressed...I can cut some off without it looking like it. But I wouldn't recommend it as stress relief.
.
, bright blue, 
, cream, bright lime, "crate and barrel" green, 
, lighter grayish purple, 
, black/brownish mix, silvery-cream color, brown with cream color blocking at the bottom, orange print, purple black and white print...is that it? 14 yes. But I still want a 
one, and maybe 
(I used 3 paint sponges)
