Red Trunk Makeover

I got some flack over at Hometalk for doing my last trunk makeover.  Some of those people over there are harsh.  I figure I saved it from going to the dump, it's mine to do with as I please.  We will see what they think about this one when I share it.  Luckily most people there are happy and supportive but it only takes a few to make me feel like not sharing there.  Funny thing is, it doesn't make me want to stop making things over, just makes me not want to share.

This trunk isn't even wood, so I'm not sure if that will save me from the wrath of the "anti-makeover" people or not.  This trunk has been used for storage for at least the last 20 years, how long I have had it before that I don't even know.  As you can see I started to do a makeover at one point, but with four little kids, I didn't get very far.  I stripped off the wallpaper and cleaned the inside.

I painted 3 very thin coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor's Silk.  This is the first time I have used a purchased chalk paint so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Now I know that I should have just put on a heavy coat the first time and been done with it, but these are the things I learn along the way.

I put a coat of polyurethane on it, and when that was dry I used ebony stain to antique it. 

I went round and round on how I was going to finish this piece.  In the end I chose a rose compass...

and this saying that I found on the internet. Before I put the words on my daughter told me I shouldn't put it over the compass because it would be too confusing.  She thought I should put it across the front of the trunk.  I went ahead with my plan, and found out she was right, why oh why did she have to be right?

I put another coat of poly over the top and then antiqued it again to tone down the white.  After that I outlined the words with Silver Rub n Buff.

Now I finally like it, until this point I was wishing I had gone ahead with my other plan.

 The wallpaper inside was still in good shape, but was quite smelly so I put a couple of coats of varathane on it. 

The last thing I did was put some feet on it.  These are some of the feet that I made while in Mesa for the winter.  Unfortunately it was not a quick process. After painting, antiquing, and polyurethane, I had to make little divets in the top of the feet in order to be able to put them over the screw heads and the bumps that were the current feet.  This was fairly time consuming but it had to be done.

They would be crooked like this if I didn't do something about it.

I dabbed on some red paint so I knew where to make the holes, then went back and forth to the drill press carving them out.

 

I also put another coat of polyurethane on the whole thing to protect the antiquing and stenciling.