3 Simple Steps to Upcycling this Old Suitcase
Discover hidden treasures at our weekly Misc. & Antique Auction and learn how you can take an ordinary piece of junk and make it into a new home decor piece that will have all of your friends and family wanting to know where and how you created it!
Guest blogging Upcycling idea and work courtesy of Petal My Pretties
Clean It Up
Our resident crafter bought this suitcase at our weekly antique auction for $5. (Can you believe it?) To start the project, a little time just needs to go into making it a pallette for creativity.
- Clean up the suitcase with a little soap and water.
- Remove as much liner from the inside lid as you possibly can.
Paint It Up
Apply some artistic flare:
- Paint two coats using a chalk paint. (The color Nautical was chosen for this one.)
- Be sure to allow the paint to dry between coats.
- Once completely dry, apply Black Wax to seal the paint on the outside.
For the Lid:
- Add some mod podge (a form of glue) and a picture. (She used a pictured from an old calendar she kept on hand.)
- Finish the lid with lining the outer part of the calendar (here, since it wasn’t quite the exact size of the suitcase lid) she used some coffee-stained lace.
Jazz It Up
Now for the fun, make it your own here, but these are the steps taken to achieve this amazing look!
- Place a doily. (Here, the crafter used a selection from her stash that she applied a coffee stain to for an aged look.)
- Place a little basket on hand (another stash that crafters often have on hand). This basket was given an aged look by applying antique wax.
- Add greenery and an old hurricane glass topper inside with a primitive candle.
- Add bird's nest and decorative bird.
- Optional items like the green goblet, candle, old glass bottle (also an auction find) and floral stem were added.
There you have it. An easy "Junk-to-Spunk" DIY that you can re-create in your own way using items from auction or your own crafting stash. Items like this are so fun to create and give love to an old item. This one would look great displayed on a coffee table, fireplace mantle or side table in your home.
Inside Tip: Switch the contents up in the base of the suitcase for the different seasons and holidays as all items in the base of suitcase are removable.
