Decoupaged Camo Dresser

When we switched a few years back from a Dodge cargo van to a Chevy cargo van, we needed something up front that would serve as a table/desk top and also provide extra storage. After scouring the thrift stores we found a little 4-drawer night-stand that was the perfect size for our needs. It fits snugly between the seats and is just the right height to serve as a desk top and dining table. (Yes, we eat many meals "on the go".)
When Spring hit this year (finally!!) I decided the butcher-block like top needed a sprucing up. I was just going to sand it and apply a new coat of wood stain and sealer but alas! When I took the orbital sander to it I discovered it wasn't actually solid wood. Having wrecked it with the sander and not being able to just stain & seal it as planned, I needed another finish that would be durable and easy to wipe clean, which ruled out simply painting it.

I knew from experience that Mod-Podge Hard Coat topped off with Folk Art Extra Thick Glaze makes for a pretty durable finish so like any sensible person would, I decided on decoupage. ;)
I knew my usual bright "Col Colors" would be out of place in the work van and thus wouldn't sit well with the Other-Half so I went with camoflauge as I already had camo patterned napkins on hand. And because I didn't think that would be hard enough I decided to place a rustic fishing scene in the center using another napkin pattern I had. (I tend to collect decorative paper napkins same way I do ribbons and beads; you just never know when that design will come in handy. ;) )

Decoupage with napkins is tricky because they tear so easily, especially after becoming damp with the glue. And I am here to tell you, if you want a perfectly smooth wrinkle-free surface this is not for you. You WILL have wrinkles if you are using paper napkins or tissue paper. (The fine wrinkling, however, mimics a crackle effect when all is said & done so if you are after a weathered/antique look, then by all means, use napkins!)
Napkins usually are two-ply: a top patterned layer and a bottom white layer. To decoupage with them you MUST separate the plies so you have just the patterned layer to work with. Separating these layers is a bit tedious but not all that hard. You just have to get a corner started and gently pull apart.
Having separated my camo plies I completed the camo border without much mishap. The trouble came when I applied the center napkin scene. It was bubbling up terribly and just not sticking. On closer inspection I realized, shoot! there is a third, very thin white ply in there I hadn't noticed. A rare three-ply napkin! :( So I had to scrape it all back off, ruining my camo border in the process, and start again after tediously separating that extra middle ply from the patterned one.
Applying a 13" x 13" napkin in one uncut piece without tearing it was more than I should have asked of myself but I went slowly and just as I thought, "Ha! Victory is mine!", yep, I tore a hole in it. :( And right smack-dab in the center of the scene. $%#@&! Using another napkin, I patched the dime-sized hole. I knew that where the patch overlapped the original layer it would be darker but I thought it would blend in. Boy was I wrong! The patched area stood out like a sore thumb. :(
At this point the Other-Half got involved. He was very much liking the new look of our van table so was as distraught as I was over the ugly dark spot now in the center of it. I was done though. I was not going to scrape it all off and start over from scratch nor was I going to attempt to excise the blighted area and re-patch. So as I nervously watched, he used a straight edge razor and a chisel to cut out a rectangular area, quite a bit larger then the blemish, from the table top, miraculously not marring any of the rest of it! He then cut a matching rectangle from another napkin and I glued it in. Ta-Dah!!! You can see the rectangular outline of the patch if looking from an angle, but overall it is WAY better than the dam dark spot from the first patch job was.
We then went on to add camo to the handles, orange paint to the drawer interiors (why not?) and black edging, followed by a fresh coat of white paint on the back, sides, and drawer fronts.
It ate up more time than I had planned on and will be seen by few as it's only going in the work van, but, I think it was worth it. Turned out to be a pretty cool little dresser. :)

*** Note about the Folk Art Extra Thick Glaze.
The product link above says it produces a "subtle" glossy sheen. ROTFL!! This stuff makes an insanely glossy glass-like shine when applied in multiple layers. I love it! (Drawback though is trying to photograph something it has been applied to.)

Maloccio Bracelet

I got the idea for this linked stretchy bracelet from one I bought from Sears (uh, yes, Sears!)a while back. I thought the design would be easy to copy. 80 beads and 144 links later I ended up with something that looks nothing like the "inspiration piece". But that's how it should be right? Not to copy a piece but to use the idea and make something unique out if it.


I made 16 nine-link segments, then used stretchy cord to thread on my glass beads, alternating evil-eye and spiral patterns. After stringing the five rows of beads, I tied off the ten loose ends, dabbed the knots with hypo cement, and done. Which is really over-simplifying. I had one issue after another making this, ending with gluing the B and SpaceBar keys together on my keyboard with the hypo cement. (TIP: Don't manhandle tubes of glue near your computer.)


It makes for a rather heavy (80 glass beads tend to weigh a lot) and wide bracelet, but I like that. With the chain links running one way and the stretchy cord running the other, you can wear it scrunched up, or, stretch it out some on your wrist to make it even wider. I like that, too. But you could easily change the size and number of links and beads in this design to make the finished bracelet larger/smaller.

A Couple More Tie-Dyes

For this V-neck tee I used two colors, Magenta and Purple, diluted to various strengths to get various shades. The purple, at its darkest, appears almost black, but it really is purple. I tried to center the start of the spiral on the point of the V-neck, letting the rest of the pattern end up as it may.
I used just two colors on this one, too, Lime and Blue, again diluting to various strengths to get varying shades. For this, I purposefully left white spacing between the colors as I didn't want the blues and greens bleeding together too much.
The "Left Overs" shirt; because no matter how you plan, there is always, always, dye left over and tossing it haphazardly on whatever odd cotton garment you find in the recesses of your closet is more fun then simply tossing the dye. :)

My Left-Overs are never planned, they are just the result of aimlessly tossing extra dye on a garment I can spare if it turns out gruesome. With this Left-Over, however, I accidentally invented a new "technique" that I can, in the future, perfect and use on purpose.
For this technique, your dye colors need to all be in the same color family so that when they bleed together you get pleasing intermediary colors and not mud. (This shirt had various strengths of Magenta, Purple and Blue applied to it.) Get your garment really wet, not dripping but much wetter than you would want if trying to dye a pattern. Lay the garment out flat but with nice wrinkles and squirt the dye colors on heavily, in a random, overlapping way. You want to thoroughly cover the shirt. Once covered, ball the garment up and squish and twist it, unballing and re-squishing several times, forcing the colors to blend and bleed and do what they may. (If the shirt is not wet enough you won't get enough bleed action.) Leave balled up and wrap & wait as normal before rinsing. If successful, your finished garment will be a grandly muddled melange of complimentary colors.
This Left-Over shirt pictured appears to have definite "lines" in it but in real life, they are not obvious. Except for on the sleeve, they weren't even noticeable until looking at the picture. I think the flash highlighted them. Anyhows, "lines" aren't good! So (note to self) to avoid them altogether, make sure the entire garment is good and wet, and don't use a narrow tipped squirt bottle to apply the dye.

Vintage Fan Make-Over

This old non-working Dominion fan was destined for the scrap heap but look at it now. How cool is that?! The Other-Half tinkered with the motor and was able to get it running, and run it does! Sounds like a jet engine on start up but then quiets down to a smooth purr. Just as it did 60 years ago. This heavy-duty little thing (it stands about 12" high) really moves some air, too. Dare I sound like an old fart and say "they just don't make things like they used to"?

After he got it running it was disassembled again and I went at it with a wire brush, some scuff pads, and some rust-removing gel. Cleaned it up inside and out, sprayed it all with a primer, sanded it smooth, and there ya' go - ready for a nice top coat.
We weren't 100% in agreement on what colors we wanted but settled on bright orange. I think the orange helps retain a bit of the "retro feel", plus, orange and black happen to be the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers, our favorite NHL team. (Big boo on the NHL for canceling hockey this year.) So now we're Flyers fans with a Flyer fan. Something like that, LOL.

Here's a page from a 1953 catalog that has our fan listed for $12.95. That's how I know to call it "vintage" rather than "antique". Apparently antique is pre-1950 and vintage is post-1950. Anyhows, we just need to touch up the six screw heads that show with black paint, and maybe uncover the Dominion logo on the base that we protected with tape and viola, what was junk before is now an adorable and functional retro appliance. :)

A Classic in Tie-Dye

Take the classic white long-sleeved button-down shirt, a staple of every wardrobe for its versatility, and tie-dye it, and what do you get?
You get a fabulously fun addition to your wardrobe!

Wear it buttoned up and tucked in to create a fun fashion paradox of staid but exciting, or go all-out casual by wearing it open over a tank.

The sleeves have a hidden loop that allow you to roll them up and fasten at 3/4 length so you can go long or short depending on mood.

The side panels (from under-arm to bottom hem of shirt) are made up of a stretchy ribbed cotton, so this shirt moves with you.

This shirt is 100% cotton and has been machine washed & dried twice (pre and post dye) on high heat. It is labeled as a women's size XL (16-18), however, having tried it on I believe it is more inline with being an L. This shirt can be machine washed and dried and should not bleed but to be safe, you may want to wash with dark colors for the first few washes.

$35, free shipping. (black tank top pictured not included.)