Sunshiny Stenciled Dresser

Thanks to those who came and visited me at A Lived in Home's Makeover Monday yesterday.  While you were there I gave you a little sneak peak of my newest piece.  Here are the details.

Here's what I started with, a $10 garage sale find:

 Someone along the way put on these tiny, little casters.  It was missing one.  See the sad, lopsided way the dresser is sitting?  See the sad, splotchy garage floor I've created?  Oops.

 A missing caster did not deter us.  A quick trip to Home Depot and I was home with these cute little table legs.  HD had lots of different styles of legs.  I had no idea stores carried these, but I'm glad I know now!  They were only about $1.25 each and screwed right into the bottom of the dresser after Big K drilled some holes in it.

Next up was a coat of my favorite Kilz primer.  I was using spray primer on all of my projects, but it's so much cheaper to buy a can and paint it on.  The problem is that oil-based primer can only be cleaned off of brushes with mineral spirits.  I found a great tip from Cassie at Primitive and Proper: instead of cleaning your paint brush after using primer, just wrap it in a plastic bag and pop it in the freezer until you need it again.

 I have been wanting paint something yellow and I was happy when I found this oops paint at the hardware store.  I painted the drawers white and then stenciled on the design.  I used a Martha Stewart stencil that I found at Michael's.  Of course, I used the 40% off coupon that is available on my blog.

Let's talk stencils for a minute.  I LOVE the look of a stenciled wall.  There are so many great examples of this in blogland.  So, this spring I thought I would try it myself.  I stenciled a wall in my dining room.  It turned out horrendously!  I don't even have any pics it was so bad.  I couldn't get the stencil to line up, paint bled through everywhere, etc.  It was basically a HUGE mess and a HUGE waste of time.  I ended up painting over the wall the next day. 

Needless to say, I have tons of respect for all of you bloggers that can stencil a wall.  It is not easy!

After my failed stencil experience, I wanted to try to redeem myself.  I'm never ever going to try a wall again, but I thought a small dresser would be a good place to give stenciling a second chance.

Here's the result:

See the new legs?

 Stencil success!

I kind of love the yellow and turquoise combo.

More on stenciling...I used this little foam roller (also from Michael's).  I made sure the roller was almost dry when I rolled on the paint.  I also used very light pressure when rolling.  Pressing too hard leads to the paint bleeding underneath the stencil.

If you want to give stenciling a try, but are intimidated, I say "go for it!"  It makes a big impact.  What's the worst that can happen?  You might have to paint over it?  But you also might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, and love the result!



Here's a cost breakdown in-case you are interested:

Dresser           $10

Legs               $5

Yellow paint   $5

White paint     already owned

Primer            already  owned

Stencil           $9 (40% off)

Foam Roller   $2

Grand Total  = $31

Not bad!  Especially since the stencil came in a pack of many stencils and I will be able to use them on future projects.

Linking up to some of these great sites:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Bella Before and After, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Junker Newbie