Mod Podge FURNITURE tutorial (gasp!)

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 

 It was the {almost} the perfect gift for her upcoming Fancy Tea Party!

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)

Heavy Grit Sand Paper

Primer

Paint brush or Sponges (I used 3 paint sponges)

Mod Podge

Cute Paper

Wax Paper

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,