Remember that adorable little dresser I picked up at a garage sale recently?

I’m going to call it the one that almost got away, because that other shopper almost snatched it up ahead of me.

Luckily it wasn’t the right color for her.

It wasn’t the right color for me either, but I’ve fixed that.

I started by taking off the little porcelain knobs and starting to give it a quick scuff sanding.  However, at that point I realized that the existing paint was not properly adhered to the surface (hence all of those scratches and dings you can see in the ‘before’ photo).  As I started sanding, the paint just flaked right off.  So I had to sand it down completely.

Then I realized I should probably begin with a coat of Bonding Boss, just in case the bare wood wanted to bleed through my new paint.  But also to make sure my new paint would adhere better than whatever that blue paint was.

I let the Bonding Boss dry overnight.  My usual strategy is to quickly get a coat of Bonding Boss on something before bed knowing that I want to finish painting it the next day.

The next day, I painted the dresser inside and out with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once dry, I applied a design from I.O.D.’s Gloria paint inlay (for more on how to apply a paint inlay, check out this post).

I should mention that this was technically a “Christmas” themed paint inlay, and perhaps if I could actually read it (I think it’s in French) that would make sense to me.  I’m guessing that it’s some sort of public notice, but how it relates to the holiday I do not know.

Regardless, it was the perfect size for the front of this little dresser.

Once the inlay was applied and fully dry, I gave it a quick spray with some Rust-Oleum matte spray sealer.  Then I applied Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat over the entire piece.

Your q tip for today; it’s best to seal a paint inlay with a spray sealer first to avoid smearing it all over the place.  I’ve ruined more than one by forgetting this step.  I have seen others who say you can delicately brush a clear coat over them, but that never works out well for me.  Maybe I’m just not all that good at being delicate 😉

Once the clear coat was dry, I lined the drawers with some of my October Afternoon scrapbook paper in a simple grey and white pin stripe.

The final step was to deal with the screws that hold the knobs on.  They were just about a millimeter too long, which meant that the pointy ends of them were exposed on the inside of the drawer.  And that won’t do.

So I consulted with my handyman Ken and he suggested just grinding down the ends a bit which worked perfectly.  There’s no longer a sharp screw end waiting to snag anything you put in the drawers.

With that, I’m calling this one done.

What do you think?  Do you like the simple white and grey color scheme, or do you prefer something more colorful and floral?  If so, not to worry, you’ll see plenty of that coming up soon too!