Look What I Made: A Mod Podge Dresser

More than a year ago, I saw a fun picture of a mod-podged dresser on Pinterest (of course).  I just knew that Corrie would love to have a dresser like that one!  

Unfortunately, at the time, we didn't really have any old dressers that I wanted to paint.  I started keeping an eye on craigslist, and finally found just the thing: a big, 9 drawer dresser with mirror for $25.  I dispatched Emmett and his dad to purchase the dresser and bring it home to the garage ... where it sat for about a year.

Emmett got excited about cleaning up the garage over Christmas, and after he did, I suddenly felt the urge to do something about that dresser.   I asked Emmett to remove all the hardware, then I waited.  By March, I had purchased some scrapbook paper and spray paint.  Finally, I started.

This is the only "before" picture that I took.

 

You'll notice the mirror on the right.  I separated the two pieces because I wanted to use the mirror in the living room for Ben.  I didn't take any close ups, but the dresser was kind of beaten up, someone had written on it with marker, and the drawers had some icky stains and spills on the inside.

My friend Robert has done a lot of work with furniture, and he recommended sanding it  first, then using the Valspar spray paint from Lowe's.  I had never spray painted anything before, so there was a bit of a learning curve.  

See the spots?  Thanks to my neighbor, I learned that I should spray with the garage door down, so that the wind wouldn't blow half the paint away.  (I would raise the door after spraying to get rid of all the fumes).  I also got better at gauging the distance - holding the can too close resulted in those little white spots.

I worked on the sanding and painting for a month - in 15 minute increments here and there.  Once I had all the drawers and edges painted, I was ready to break out my trusty Mod Podge.  

*** This is the part where any tutorial-ish writing breaks down - because I completely stopped taking pictures.  ***

Hobby Lobby had several books of scrapbook paper for sale, and I picked one with colors and images that Corrie would like.  Basically, it had lots of pink and butterflies.

I cut the 6*6 sheets into more of a 6*5 or so size - I just folded the paper and cut along the fold - and I didn't measure, so the pieces I used are not all sized the same.  I figured that any sizing imperfections would just give more of a "shabby chic" look - and I'm just not that into details.  Spread Mod Podge over the drawer, then put the paper on.  Then brush more Mod Podge on top.

I used 6*6 scrapbook sheets - overlapping a little - to cover the ends of the dresser.

At that point, things were just about finished - except for the dresser pulls.  

Here you can see what the original dresser pulls looked like.  I didn't want to put them back on - partly because they are so big - I wanted more of the paper to show.  Hobby Lobby had a great selection of fun knobs.  Because the scrapbook paper blocked the old holes, I wasn't limited to using a 3" pull for each drawer.  Instead, I opted for small glass knobs for the colored drawers, and I splurged on "seaside" spray paint for the drawers that I left white.

I found an old board in the garage and laid six dresser pulls on it (I only needed four, but I was counting on some mistakes).  I stuck a toothpick in the handle, so the handle would stand up, and I did my spraying.  This pictures shows the two extra handles - they didn't turn out as nice.  I didn't prime or sand the handles, so I'll let you know later if this paint job holds up.

 Here's a close up of the drawers with the glass knobs:

 And here are some shots of the finished product (and my delighted daughter):

 

Approximate cost (because I can't remember):
Old Dresser                                $ 25
4 cans of white spray paint           15
Mod Podge                                     8  (I finished my old bottle and had to buy a new one)
7 Glass Knobs                               14
book of scrapbook paper               10 (I can't remember)
blue spray paint                             4
                                Total          $76

I'm hoping to do one more art project with the rest of the scrapbook paper.  Canvases were on sale at Hobby Lobby ($8 for 2), and I think Corrie and I can make some fun Mod Podged art for the wall. 


This was a fun and easy project, once I got started.  I'm glad I finally followed through!