Miniature Sewing Chest

For the past couple of days I have been slowly transforming my guest bedroom into a craft room. I have always wanted a designated area to work on things and decided that keeping the room primarily as a guest bedroom just wasn't practical for my needs. I have an area for my sewing machine and a bookcase that has all of my sewing items. A couple of months ago I found a miniature sewing chest at Hancock Fabrics on clearance for $5.00. The sewing chest was unfinished wood and came with many supplies such as scissors, needles, and pins. Today I finally took the time to finish it and I am extremely happy with how it turned out!

I wanted to use some fun colors since it was a small item. I already had everything on hand so this project only cost as much as what I paid for the actual sewing chest.

Before!

Supplies:

• Sewing chest
• Paint
• Stain
• Water
• Plaster of Paris
• Finishing wax
• Scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge
• Glue
• Glitter
• Scissors
• Sandpaper

Directions:

1. First, I stained the top of the sewing chest. This process was a bit difficult due to the rods that hold the spools of thread. I also had to sand it a bit first to get the stain to adhere better (The top was very smooth and had some kind of clear finish on it).
   
2. Secondly, I mixed up my paint. I decided to use homemade chalk paint for this project since it worked well for my Microwave Cart Makeover. The recipe I used was 3 parts paint, 1 part Plaster of Paris, and 1 part water. You can add more or less water to get the consistency you want. I first mix up the water and Plaster of Paris to get a nice paste and then add the paint. Make sure it is smooth before applying to your project. 
3. Remove the drawers from the chest and paint all the surfaces except the fronts and insides of the drawers. I decided to paint the sides of the drawers because they kind of stick out a little from the chest when inserted so you would be able to see unfinished wood if I hadn't.
4. Let dry and apply additional coats if necessary. I did two coats total. 
5. Once your painted surface is completely dry, take a rag and apply the finishing wax over the entire surface. This helps protect and seal your paint job.
6. Next step is the front of the drawers. I cut out two pieces of scrapbook paper (this does not have to be perfect. Just make sure the pieces are slightly bigger than the fronts of the drawers). I then cut a hole in the center where the knobs went and slid the paper of the knobs (The knobs were glued on otherwise I would have removed them to make this process easier).
7. Use your Mod Podge to glue the scrapbook paper to the fronts of the drawers. Smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles and let dry. 

   

   Paper on drawer fronts before sanding.

8. Next, take your sandpaper and sand the edges of the drawers where the scrapbook paper sticks out from the edge. This will help you get a clean line from the scrapbook paper that matches perfectly with the edges of the drawer fronts.
9. Seal the paper with Mod Podge and let dry.
10. Once it is completely dry, coat the knobs in a thin layer of Mod Podge and sprinkle glitter onto them. You want to make sure the drawers are completely dry so that the glitter will only stick to the knobs and not the entire drawer.
11. Let dry and you're done!

I think it looks perfect in its spot with all my sewing supplies. It is the perfect size for on top of the bookcase. Next to it I keep a basket with my sewing scissors and sewing patterns for quick access. Early next week I am going to do a post on how to do that mason jar vase so keep a look out!

Also, I just linked my Banana Muffins to the What We Eat Wednesday linky party hosted by Laugh. Eat. Learn. and Orchard Girls. They both have some pretty awesome recipes that I am just dying to try. Go check it out!