Sometimes I make bad choices. Like the time I thought that the underwater motor scooter excursion in St. Thomas would be super cool (not a good choice for someone who is a bit claustrophobic). Or the time I decided to go through a red light at 2 a.m. because there was absolutely no one else on the road (except for that police car that I didn’t see half a block over).
And now I can add this attempted makeover to the list.
I purchased this bag from a friend of mine who had a really cool shop in an old round barn.
I’ve had it for several years and it sits on an uppermost shelf in our living room. For some inane reason, I recently decided that it might look really cool painted in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth instead. So I dusted it off and gave it a couple of coats.
I quickly realized that this was totally misguided.
Another coat of paint, some sanding and a topcoat of wax would have improved this look somewhat, but even so, I could see it wasn’t going to work. Mainly because I didn’t want to paint the metal trim and handle.
I love the original patina on those and didn’t want to lose it. But they totally looked wrong with the warm white paint color.
So obviously, the best way to salvage the situation was to just go back to the black. So I pulled out Dixie Belle’s Caviar and painted back over the Drop Cloth.
Ahhhhh. So much better already.
Then I picked a stencil out of my stash that I thought was appropriate for a bag and added that to the front using the Drop Cloth.
If this feels really familiar to you, it’s because I used this stencil on a black bag before.
Anyway, after adding the stencil, I added a coat of clear wax to the bag.
Then I tied a tag made out of an old family photo to the handle, just for fun.
I purposely did not distress the paint job because I didn’t want the white paint underneath to show at all.
And now I’ve returned the bag to its rightful spot on the top shelf in the living room.
Live and learn, right?
Have you ever made any bad decisions that you almost immediately regretted?
q is for quandie 
Where do you find such cool stencils?
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This one is from Maison de Stencils (check them out online, great prices, lots of European grain sack style stencils).
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I can so relate to this. Except when I do it it’s usually a large piece of furniture. Recently I wasted time and sandpaper on a barstool with lots of carving and detail. Then the color was off and I stink at reupholstering. 😱😱. Needless to say, it’s now in the basement hall of shame. What was I thinking?? ?😑. I’m glad to hear that even pros have a boo
boo once in awhile.
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The ‘basement hall of shame’, ha! That made me laugh out loud. I have a furniture hall of shame as well. Next summer my goal is to clear it out, even if it means a bonfire!
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Definitely needs to be black! It looks great with the new stencil.
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Totally, right? What was I thinking with the white?!
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Painting our entire kitchen in a beautiful gray, which turned out to look quite blue in the morning with light from north facing windows. I hate to put all the work into repainting, especially when it looks quite nice in the afternoon with light from west facing windows. So, maybe I’ll just stay out of the kitchen in the mornings😊.
Black was definitely the way to go with that bag, looks good with that stencil.
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I feel your pain on that one Jill. My bedroom wall color looks perfect in some light, but at sunset (my room faces northwest) it takes on a decidedly pinkish hue that I really don’t like. Fortunately, I’m rarely in the room at that time of day 😉
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A long, long time ago (in fact, back in the late 70’s), I bought a “shag” rug for my bathroom that you could “cut to fit”. At the time, it was much cheaper cheaper than trying to replace the tiles in my small bathroom. I prepared a pattern out of newspaper (per the directions) and then, in a moment of sheer stupidity, I decided it would be easier to cut the shag carpet if I had the bottom side facing up. After finishing, I took it to the bathroom, flipped it over and discovered I had cut it out upside down. I had to then go back and recut pieces and tape them down to make it work, as I didn’t have any more money to just scrap it. That was a pretty big lesson for me – very frustrating! I felt your pain as you were painting the suitcase – knowing it wasn’t going to work…lol.😜🥺😜
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LOL, I can just picture that Terri! I bet we’ve all made that mistake at least once in our lives.
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You are so very creative. I love seeing your thought process and the decisions you make on your pieces. Very inspiring.
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Thank you so much Valerie!
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All that white bag needed was a red cross and a stethoscope for staging! 😉
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Smarty pants!
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Well yep, Miss Quandie! I’ve made a TON of bad decisions over the years, just not with painted projects. I’ve ruined a lot of clothes! I feel like I have a short neck so I won’t wear collars……I’ll buy something I like and just cut the collar off. But SO MANY TIMES I’ve messed it up and the neck starts to unravel. And with sinking heart I’ll think AGAIN: why didn’t I take it to a professional?!!!! Same with cutting sleeves off of things! Not every time but enough that it’s kind of a syndrome!
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Too funny! I thought Mr. Q was the only one who cuts sleeves off his shirts 😉
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It turned out perfect! It’s a shame that all bad decisions can’t have such a great outcome. 🙂
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LOL, true! Thanks Nancy 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your mistakes and the solution for the fraidy cats who follow you. I can hear you saying it’s just paint, but not everyone is as confident. I do like the idea of a red cross, it would really pop!
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