Miss A's Vanity

     Good morning everyone.  

There's nothing like a sweet little vanity for a sweet little girl.   And even sweeter, one done in pink - fit for a princess.

Here she is - so sweet...  But, not easy to get her here....

This is how she looked when we brought her home.  ( I have already taken the drawers out in this pic)  As you can see she had some scrapes, scuffs and water marks....

Especially on the top.  But, I thought no problem some primer and paint and she will be good as new.

Right?  Weeellllll,

Two coats of Zinsser primer later and this is what  I saw...

Little red dots all over it.  I was beside myself as I thought someone had spilled something in the garage next to it.  But when I got to checking it over - they were all over it - and not in a splash pattern.  ( I had vacuumed and washed this puppy good before starting) So back to the drawing board. T suggested using Kilz primer as it covers everything. Back to the hardware store.

And after two coats of Kilz on a small area this is what I had.  A mess..... Papa volunteered to strip it and sand it back down so we could start all over. ( I think he was feeling my pain)

But, I had been reading about chalk paint being used by all the DIY bloggers I follow.  I was quite curious about it. I researched it and everyone was praising it's abilities to be a miracle worker when refinishing furniture.  No sanding, no prepping, covers like a dream and leaves that "vintagy" feel everyone is looking for these days. Chalk Paint is quite expensive - I mean mega $$$$$ expensive. I had read some posts where a few bloggers were making their own again, I researched it and found a great, simple recipe for it.  I decided I had to try it on this piece as how could it get worse? (I was already looking at stripping and sanding it over.)

So I mixed up this new concoction and whallah... it covered all those little red spots right up.  Narry a one was visible.  And on top of that it was the nicest paint to work with it.  Went on easy and smooth and I absolutely loved it.

This is after a very light sanding with a fine grit (180 or greater) sandpaper and two coats of Johnson's Minwax. (The color is Valspar's Pink Mist)

I am so loving the way it turned out and believe me I had a couple sleepless nights thinking it was a total mess and worrying about how I was going to fix it.  I love the finish on it.

I lined the drawers with a really cute pink wrapping paper with sparkly white hearts on it that I found at Target.  I decoupaged it inside both drawers so now they are washable and fairly safe from the wear and tear of normal 6 year old use.

We had to really look for knobs that were perfect for it.  I knew I wanted glass knobs but not the usual ones. We found these at World Market. I think they are perfect for it.

And, of course, what little princess's vanity doesn't have a beautiful, white, feathery bird perched on it?

 Here she is all ready for the little princess that lives in this room. She is thrilled with it.

What do you think - perfect for a princess? 

Have you had a project go terribly wrong and then were able to salvage it in the end?

Until next time - have fun creating something you love.

Hugs,