Have you ever wondered what to do with an old sewing cabinet, Sweet Friends?  Old Furniture, like sewing cabinets, record cabinets, old chests intrigue me.  I love taking something old and repurposing it into something new.  Today on the blog I am sharing with you about my “Sewing Cabinet Turned Desk Transformation!”  I shared a video on the transformation months back, but I thought i’d give you the full tutorial here today.

Watch the video here on You Tube:

Although I really loved the look of the Sewing Cabinet, in order to turn it into a desk it need to be painted.  My sewing cabinet did not come with a machine, so when I opened up the cabinet there was a big hole.  I used a piece of wood and some Dixie Belle Mud to fill in the whole.  Unfortunately, I was not able to stain the wood to match the cabinet and that’s when I turned to paint.

If you’ve been following me for more than a minute, you know I’m kind of a paint fanatic anyways. 

Pinterest Inspiration

I created a Pinterest Board when I was deciding on the transformation of the sewing cabinet that you can check out here.  Pinterest shows many ideas for a Sewing Cabinet Transformation.  A few  ideas are: beverages bars, ice chests, plant stands, and bedside tables.  Those were all great ideas but, I needed a new desk for our home.

Sewing Cabinet Transformation

The video shows the struggles I encountered painting the sewing cabinet.  I ran into the stain bleeding through my paint which is never a fun scenario on a makeover.  In the video I also tell a silly story.  

I’m recently divorced and enjoy dating every so often.  Sometimes the date plans don’t go as you expect and that’s what happened when I was working on the Sewing Cabinet Turned Desk Transformation.  Kinda coincidental, huh!

If you like my dating stories, you should check out the “Bad Date Furniture Make-over!’ That’s another one of my silly dating stories.

Here is the tutorial on how to transform a Vintage Sewing Cabinet into a Desk.

Materials needed for the Vintage Sewing Cabinet turned Desk Transformation.

• Old Sewing Cabinet
• DIY Paint and Brushes
• Dixie Belle Mud
• Dixies Belle Boss Stain Blocker
• Plywood

Links to the products used can be found at the bottom of the post.

Instructions for the Vintage Sewing Cabinet turned Desk Transformation.

Step one: Remove the sewing machine from the cabinet, if it’s not already missing.

Step two: Put a piece of plywood where the sewing machine sat – you may need to drill or glue this into the space.

Step three: Use Dixie Belle Mud around the edges of the plywood if there are gaps.

Step four: Use a stain blocker on the wood surfaces if needed.

Step five: Paint the wood surfaces. I used DIY Paint in the colors of White Swan, Crinolin and Sandy Blonde to create a one of a kind look.

Step six: Seal the wood surfaces. I used DIY Paint Big Top and applied two coats. It is a matte sealer and provides a durable finish.

A side observation: On this transformation, I struggled with bleed through. The stains from the cabinet bleed through my paint to create a splotchy look. I used Dixie Belle Boss Stain Blocker over and over to eliminate the bleed through. Watch my video and learn more about preventing bleed through.

The Sewing Cabinet Turned Desk Transformation provides a great space for writing, computer work or as bedside table. I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s been all over my home.

Do you have any dating stories???

I hope I’ve inspired you to take an old piece of furniture and make it functional again. Now go out there and Create Something.

Cynthia

DISCLOSURE

Many of the links on this blog are affiliate links. CreateWithCynthia.com receives a small commission when certain items are purchased, but the price is the same for you. Thank you for your help in supporting my little space on the internet.

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I love flowers, Sweet Friends. In fact, if I could wear flowers in my hair every day I probably would. I love having flowers in my home, so much so, I do at times, settle for faux. Are you a flower lover?

I love real flowers and faux flowers and I love incorporating them into my home decor. In today’s post I am going to show you one way to add flowers into your home decor.

Trash to Treasure Furniture Makeover!

Trash to treasure furniture makeover’s are my favorite and this dresser was such a mess. The picture above really doesn’t give the mess justice, but if you can imagine an old wood dresser that has been alive for probably 50 years, I am sure you understand what I mean.

Incorporating painted flowers on a dresser is the perfect way to include flowers in your home. Bringing flowers in from the garden is always bliss but if you don’t have a garden you may need to find other solutions.

Now, in years past when our home had a huge garden I spent most of my time out there. I’d plant sunflowers and peonies and dahlia’s and iris’s and morning glories and flowers in every color of the rainbow. I really love planting bulbs, as watching them emerge from the ground is always a fun and surprising thing.

With this furniture makeover, I originally painted it a two toned look where I left the drawers the wood color. I loved how it looked but then.

Then I got inspired by Josie and Sally, the Iron Orchid Designs Sisters to take it a step further.

You can watch how I completed this project on my You Tube Channel here.

Sallie and Josie inspired me with a project that they worked on. I thought that the dresser would look so beautiful with a vase full of flowers on the front of it.

On this project I used Iron Orchid Designs Air Dry Clay, Decor Stamps and Decor Transfers to create an image that looked like a vase full of flowers. I also used DIY Paint on the project. Here is the dresser at TreasureFest last year.

I hope this project has inspired you to go out and create something you love. Make it a Great Week!

The post Trash to Treasure Furniture Makeover and Adding Flowers into your Home Decor! appeared first on Create With Cynthia.

But in the case of this dresser, when something doesn’t look exactly how you want it to look, then you start over. This dresser was a makeover x 2. The video you can watch here and the full story “One Person’s Junk is Another Person’s Treasure,” I told about a month ago and you can read about it here.

Iron Orchid Designs

Some might say that I’m addicted to Iron Orchid Designs products. They have so many neat things you can use on furniture or crafts to really create a “One of a Kind” look. Who wouldn’t be addicted to that?

At least my junk addiction has subsided….. a little bit.

When it’s cold outside, I’m not as eager to go out and look for junk. Now, if I see something as I’m driving down the road….well that’s another story.

Earlier in the month I was on HomeTalk TV and I adhered a Decor Transfer to a Mirror. You can watch that video here. Don’t forget to follow me on HomeTalk TV here.

I also created a Mermaid Mobile using Iron Orchid Design moulds and clay and upcycled an old suitcase using Iron Orchid Design decor transfers and I upcycled a coffee table using Iron Orchid Design stamps. Visit my shop here to purchase Iron Orchid Design products.

For today, I’m going to be specifically give tips on using decor transfers on a furniture makeover, because every application is different.

So grab your favorite beverage and let’s get started.

Tips on using Iron Orchid Design Decor Transfers on Furniture!

Tip #1: Cut the decor transfers into pieces. You can even mix and match them on projects.

Tip #2: When working on furniture, only adhere decor transfers on a sealed surface. Use a top coat or wax on the furniture, then adhere the decor transfer. Be careful to choose a top coat or wax that is environmentally friendly, harsh chemicals will cause the decor transfer to lift and not adhere.

Tip #3: Use frog tape or blue tape to hold the decor transfer in place while you are scrapping.

Tip #4: When determining placement of decor transfer, don’t remove backing until you are certain of placement.

Tip #5: Decor transfers are sticky. Don’t let sticky sides touch.

CreateWithCynthiaShop.com

If you did not know I am a Retailer for Iron Orchid Designs and you can visit my shop page and purchase any of their products.

I am also providing a tutorial on how I created the Dresser. Last month I showed off the Dresser on You Tube. I thought I’d prepare a written tutorial for those that prefer to read versus watch.

Or maybe you like both.

One of my goals for the Year 2020 is to increase my subscribers on You tube. Can you help me get to 500 by subscribing now? If you haven’t already done so, please visit my channel on You Tube channel, Create With Cynthia and subscribe here.

You can watch the video here, in case you missed it.

Sharing is Caring!!!

Materials needed to adhere an Iron Orchid Designs Decor Transfer to furniture:

• Painted and sealed dresser. Use a top coat or wax prior to adhering the transfer. I used Debi’s Design Diary DIY Paint in Big Top.
• Iron Orchid Designs Decor Transfer. I used Flora Parisinesis.
• Frog Tape
• Scissors
• Soft rag

Directions to adhere an Iron Orchid Designs Decor Transfer to furniture:

Step one: Cut the decor transfer into pieces while the back is on the transfer. If you surface is flat and the exact size of the transfer, then there is no need to cut it.

Step two: Determine placement of decor transfer without removing back until you are certain of placement.

Step three: Use frog tape to hold decor transfer in place while scrapping with tool provided.

Step four: Scrape decor transfer onto surface.

Step five: Once the transfer is adhered, remove the tape and the plastic paper. Use a soft cloth and burnish decor transfer on surface. This ensures there are no air bubbles between the transfer and surface.

Step six: Use top coat or wax and seal the transfer on the surface. Two to three coats of top coat or wax is recommended.

Enjoy your finished furniture makeover.

Now go out there and create something.

Cynthia

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Rocking Chair Furniture Makeover!

I love ice cream and this project reminded me of ice cream because DIY Paint “Dark and Decrepit” looks just like Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce.

For this project I used the following Debi’s Design Diary, DIY Paint products:

To finish the Rocking Chair, I sealed it with two coats of Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover in Matte Clear.

Here is the Before and After on the Rocking Chair Furniture Makeover.

Dark and Decrepit takes Wood to a whole new level.  I hope I have inspired you to try it out.

Make it a great day!

Cynthia

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I hope you’ll stop by and do some shopping!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel as I upload new videos on Monday and Wednesday of each week.

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Dining Room Makeover!

My old Dining Room was kinda dark and dreary.  It really wasn’t a welcoming spot for the boys and I to sit at the table and enjoy a meal.  On holidays, I tried to set the table nicely, but the bottom line was…it was dark and dreary.

When your Dining Room isn’t welcoming, well, you end up not using it.  That’s what happened in the old dining room.

Chair Makeover!

When I moved out of the Woods and Back to Town, the Dining Room Makeover was a priority.  My boys like sitting at the table eating meals and I knew that I needed to provide that space.

Chairs are the most important thing in a dining room and they need to be comfortable.  My old chairs, were just old and not comfortable.  Lucky for me, I get a lot of free furniture and I ended up with a bunch of free chairs and decided to swap out the old wood chairs and update a set of chairs to use at my table.

Let me know what you think of the before and after?

We are pretty happy with the after look.  For this project I used Debi’s Design Diary DIY Paint in the following colors:

• A color mix of Skeleton Key and White Swan (video on that project here),
• Crinoline
• Faded Burlap
• White Swan
• Sandy Blonde

All of these paint colors can be purchased on my website at CreateWithCynthiaShop.com or by visiting the store in Redwood City.

I hope this inspires you to Create something beautiful.

Make it a great day!

Cynthia

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