Friday, December 28, 2012

A Map of the World

Finally I have finished the project I previewed some time ago. I know you all thought I had disappeared. Here I bring you my Map of the World Chest!

This is a piece I bought at Goodwill for $20. It was in rough shape when I bought it but I just fell in love with its size. It was nice and petit. Definitely an older piece. (It also smelled like an older piece!) I had to drag it outside for many days to let it air out in the sun. Finally once it lost the musky smell I started working on it. First thing I did was fill in the missing veneer pieces with wood putty. One drawer had 4 pulls while the others only had two so I went ahead and filled those in with wood putty while I was at it. Then I got out the sander and went to work.






It was around this time that I decided that I wanted to turn this piece into a Christmas present for a special someone. I needed it to be manly, something a guy would be proud to display. I brainstormed ideas for quite a while and finally decided to decoupage a world map on the drawer fronts. I had no Mod Podge experience so I had to take yet another break and practice on some coasters.

Lining up the maps and trimming around the drawers was a tedious project. Actually the process of applying the Mod Podge was tedious.


I added a non-slip product to the paint to give it texture. It is made by Rustoleum, it is a very fine, sand like substance, giving the paint a subtle texture. I will admit, adding this product made the piece harder to glaze. The glaze didn't want to come out off all the little microscopic grooves. It is worth it though for the texture. Before I glazed the paint sort of looked like chocolate milk but the glaze gave it that little extra something.

Without further ado here is the final product. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Oh, and the recipient loved his Christmas present!








I'm partying here:
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life
Fridays at Redoux
Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking
Winter Blues Wednesday Party at DIY By Design
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
If It's Not Baroque Tuesday Link Party
Transformation Thursday at Shabby Creek Cottage

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Christmas Decorations

I have a very exciting project that I'll be sharing with you in the next few weeks. But for now I wanted to show you my Christmas decorations. I'm afraid to put up a tree with the cats, I have nightmares of coming home to a tree crashed in the middle of the living room. Instead I decorate with Christmas ornaments. Lots and lots of bowls filled with Christmas ornaments.



















Friday, December 7, 2012

A Sneak Peek

I have not been good about posting here lately and I do apologize. It's just that time of year where other obligations take up much of your free time! I have been working on a project for -- I'm embarrassed to admit it's taken me this long -- almost two months now. Yikes! I plan to have this finished soon as it is a Christmas gift.  Here is a sneak peek for you.


Stay tuned for the finished product :-)