Skip to main content

DIY Princess Wardrobe

 
Everyone knows I'm a sucker for FREE stuff. I just can't help myself. So when a post on a local Facebook Swap page said there was a free dresser on the curb, and gave the address, Annaliese and I jumped in the car still in our pjs and headed out! We were the first ones there so I snagged it up! 
I was hoping to actually use it as a dresser. But the drawers were in much worse shape than I thought. So Plan B kicked in. I've seen lots of Dress Up/Play clothes storage systems online and on Pinterest lately. So I knew I could make my own. Determined not to spend money on this project, I definitely cut some corners and it's not exactly 'pretty' in some spots. Lol. My biggest thing was there were a few spots with pretty nasty mildew. So I wiped it all down with bleach, then warm water and let it dry in the sun. Then I sprayed it down with white vinegar and let it dry again. Once it was all clean and dry, I started trying to reinforce it. It was a bit wobbly and I knew once I started sawing off bits and pieces it would get worse if I didn't brace it. This is where I cut a few corners... I didn't want to go buy wood and have it cut all pretty to fit. So I rigged it all myself with stuff I had leftover from other projects...
Once I had braces on both sides I started to give the whole thing a once over with a sanding block to make sure the paint would stick really well. On the sides, the wood venneer panelling started peeling off, I tried to get most of it off but some pieces were too stubborn and I decided I wasn't that concerned. So I took what I could off and then sanded the edges really well to blend it. Again, one of the many ghetto aspects of this project. Lol
Then I started removing 2 of the bars with the jigsaw. I left the bottom bar because I knew I wanted to use one drawer. Once I removed all the pieces I no longer needed, it really hit me how rough this thing looked. So I caved and went to Home Depot. I spent $8 on a large piece of hardboard and had it cut down into pieces to line the inside walls, make a bottom shelf and a new back for the whole thing. I screwed in the wall liners to cover up where I braced it. 
Then added a large wooden rod for hanging the clothes. I used wood glue to hold it in place while I drilled in a really really big screw. 
I took a small piece of the hard board and laid it on top of the drawer bar, traced under it and added small braces on the sides to help support the shelf. I used pieces cut from the drawer bars I already removed (told ya I didn't want to spend money!) Wood glued the shelf into place and added some random screws too. Then screwed on the back panel!,
I let it sit for a day so all the glue could dry everywhere. Then gave it a good wipe down to remove all the saw dust and started painting. I had a quart of "Pink Petal White" paint I had purchased for another project that I never ended up doing. It needed 2 really good coats, 3 would have been better but I ran out of paint. This was after the first coat, looked aweful. 
After the second coat of white, it started looking great! I pulled out the pink paint I used for the inside of the drawer on my Vanity Revamp! I used it for the inside top, shelf and hanging rod. I also plan on using it for the inside if the drawer. I added a few knobs I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby ($2) and decided to attach a princess mirror she had. I got it a while back on clearance at Wal Mart, it's motion activated and talks when you walk by! She loves it!
So I did end up spending some money on this project, but less than $25 including the mirror!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Easy, edible bath paints!

I am all for my toddler exploring her creative side, just not the mess that goes with it. I've seen a lot of articles and blogs boasting about bath tub paint or crayons. I love the idea but they get pretty pricey! So I did a quick google search and found this genius idea! Take some vanilla pudding, divide it up and add food coloring. That's it! Quick, easy, fun, no worries if your kid eats it, like mine did. And it easily washes right down the drain!  SUCCESS!!
Post a Comment
Read more

Bakers rack saved from certain death!

So maybe that's a bit dramatic! But I did find this Bakers Rack sitting at the dumpster at our apartments... I didn't get the greatest before pic, but it was a pretty basic black metal bakers rack with a wood shelf. It looked like it had been attacked with yellow spray paint. It was pretty ugly. But nothing a $5 can of spray paint and some stencils couldn't fix!! I taped off the shelf and spray painted the metal with a silver 'hammered' look paint. It took 2 coats to really cover up some of that yellow!      Then after it dried I set off to beautify the shelf! I recently got new curtains for the living room, which are actually shower curtains but that's not the point. Lol. They have a really pretty floral pattern and I love the colors. So I figured why not make the rack match! Here are the new curtains, AKA my inspiration!  I used a sample size of a cream colored paint I had and some stencils I got for $4 at AC Moore. The stencils definite...
Post a Comment
Read more

Best applesauce EVER!!

Today I realized I had forgotten about a bag of apples at the bottom of my fridge, knowing I needed to use them all ASAP I figured applesauce was the way to go. Having never made it before I started browsing for recipes. I was amazed how simple it seemed to be!! Apples, sugar and cinnamon in my handy dandy crock pot... That's it!!! So I peeled and sliced my apples, we'll my awesome $2 yard sale find did it for me... I used about 10 apples, 1/2 cup of sugar and just a good sprinkle of cinnamon, I didn't want the flavor to be too strong.  Set the crock pot on high for 4 hours and the result was amazing! I actually don't have a picture of the final product because my little princess and I devoured it, straight from the pot... For lunch. It was THAT good!! Enjoy!
Post a Comment
Read more