Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Dumpster DIVE to Dumpster DIVA etched "LILY" DRESSER





(featured on Apartment Therapy)
I can't believe that I worked on the dresser over 2 weeks ago. It has taken me
that long to get a bunch of projects all together..This was one of them that seemed to be
in with the other 5 in some kind of hormonal, back to school, gotta fill a new booth sort
of CRAZINESS!!! 

THIS Is how it looked BEFORE!
This was a dumpster dive from my Father In Law.
He pulled it out of the trash for me and threw it into the back of his truck. (thanks Dad)
I was ecstatic when I got it; even with the rough shape it was in.
BUT then it sat...and sat....and sat...waiting for inspiration to strike.

Well, sometimes inspiration comes in the form of you Hubby throwing the same ole same ole TIRADE about cleaning out the garage....YADA YADA YADA!! I am sure you all know the DRILL!  :)

So in my motivated state....I started stripping the dresser..(I would call it more peeling than stripping)
and lots and lots of scraping and sanding..
 

Doesn't that look like FUN to you?????   :)
Now I got to paint. I slapped on some Ce Ce Caldwell's Vermont Slate and she was good to go.

This is where INSPIRATION actually did strike..by the time I got to this point with the dresser
it was our 19th wedding anniversary.  Our wedding flowers were Lily's so I thought;
what better flower for this dresser than a Lily.
I got out my chalk and started to draw on a Lily.

Then once I got my placement where I wanted it, I slowly wiped off the chalk and
drew on the outline with My KRINK permanent paint pen.
Well, at this point, I still wasn't "lovin it" so I had to figure if I was going to paint in the flowers or paint over the flowers. 

Instead I decided to sand off the paint. I wanted to give it an etched feeling and let the deepness of the wood grain give the feeling of paint lines. If I wanted the Lily darker I only sanded a little, to keep the darker finish of the wood underneath. If I wanted it lighter I SANDED THE CRAP OUT OF IT! LOL~!

That's how I got the feeling  of the texture of the flower.
I tell you; it was basically by playing around. There was no "I know what I am doing"
But purely..."OH CRAP, I HATE THIS! WHAT CAN I DO TO FIX IT"
:)
Its how I roll.....:)

And lucky for me...it worked....I think!!
I hope you like it...!!
Have a BEAUTIFUL day!!!!!!
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28 comments:

Cheryl said...

Beautiful! I love the idea of sanding the flower to get this look ! Good job!!

ANNE said...

Too funny! I go through that whole process all the time! Particularly the I hate this what am I gonna do? part. lol

Love your dresser, love your painting, it's perfection xox

Shannon Fox said...

hahaha. Love you girl. And your super tech way of working. "Oh crap, how can I fix this?" Love it :)))

Well, you pull it off every time. Another winner!!

Tami Michel said...

Excellent! I love how you had the vision to even attempt to touch that ugly duckling!

Cassie Bustamante said...

holy moly!!!!! what a difference! it is stunning now!

Kathryn J Cain said...

So do you think the masters had those moments...I wonder how O Crap sounds in Italian...love the post. love the process but love the end results the best....you nailed it...

Unknown said...

Gorgeous makeover - love the colors you chose!

Full Circle Creations said...

This looks gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party!

Holly

Unknown said...

What a great vision you have, fab finished project and greatly appreciated at our pin'inspiration party.

Bliss said...

Dive to Diva is right!

~Bliss~

Kristi said...

This is so pretty!! Great job & I love that the 'color' of the flowers is really where you just sanded it--genius! Thanks so much for linking up to Workin On It Wednesday!
-Kristi
@ Creative Kristi

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

That is so pretty! I'm inspired to look for an ugly dresser! Thank you!

Unknown said...

This turned out beautiful!
I love the orange.
Jennifer @bloomingwithburlap

Anonymous said...

What a transformation! Wow! I'd love for you to share this at my blog party, Twirl & Take a Bow at www.houseontheway.com. It's every Tuesday through Sunday. This would be a great addition! Hope you can stop by!
Leslie

Athena at Minervas Garden said...

Just beautiful, Karin--I can't believe how far that dresser came from it's before state--wow! You are an amazing artist, because the lily is really nicely done. I feel better knowing that I am not the only seat of my pants project person!

Jen Lossing, Artistic Abode Designs said...

I think it turned out great. I love the color scheme too. Gotta love those happy accidents. I swear I never know what I am doing until the project is complete as well. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Stopping by and following from BlogTalk. Wow, this is the most amazing transformation I have ever seen! It's a great piece now! You're so talented and brave!

thistlewoodfarm said...

I can't believe your before! The dresser looks amazing! I love the detail on the flowers.

blessings,
karianne

Carol, The Answer Is Chocolate said...

Another incredible transformation. No one would guess that the before would ever look like the after!

Meg said...

Wow, wow, WOW!!! Stunning transformation.


Thanks for sharing on The All Star Block Party!

Karen at Bargain-ista.com said...

This is incredible! So beautiful, and your lily is amazing, you are so talented! Hard to believe it was a dumpster dive ;)

Sophie said...

what a great idea to sand OFF the paint on the petals!

Cathy @ My 1929 Charmer said...

WOW, an incredible transformation, my oh my! Love the lily on the front, can't believe this was a dumpster dive find. Seeming what you did you were meant to have this dresser. Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

Meg said...

Featuring your dresser on this weeks All Star Block Party!

http://www.nutmegplace.com/2012/08/all-star-block-party-13.html

Tauni said...

Wow. This is a serious transformation! Impressive. Thanks so much for sharing on Show & Tell at SNAP!

xoxo

Unknown said...

Very beautiful! What a great idea to sand the inside to create the texture and color of the lilies. I'm so impressed, as always. I will be featuring this one tomorrow. Thanks for linking up at Doodles & Stitches.

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Wow, it really looked pretty bad in the before photo. But you worked some real magic and created a beauty!

Jackie Toye said...

WoW! Love, love, love