Thrift Store Thursday – Jewelry Box Makeover

How to use chalk paint and scrapbook paper to update an old jewelry box and give it a new purpose.

Welcome to the Thrift Store Thursday series! You all know how much I love a good thrift store upcycle and I have shared a bunch of these projects over the last few years. I’ll now be sharing one every month on the first Thursday! This month it’s all about this thrift store jewelry box makeover. The beauty is, you can use this technique on any piece of furniture.

I picked up this little jewelry box for $3. Not my style but I thought it would be really cute with a new coat of paint and some new pulls.

 

 

Supplies needed:

• Chalk paint
• Craft paint
• Paint brush
• Spackle or wood filler
• Modge Podge or glue
• Scrapbook paper
• Decorative knobs/pulls
• Epoxy

As you can see, it’s missing some of it’s little button knobs. I started by taking the drawers out and removing the ones that were left. I wanted to put the new pulls in the center of each drawer so I had to fill in the little holes where the original ones were. To do that I used spackle but you could also use wood filler.

 

 

Once that dried and was sanded smooth, I gave the entire outside a coat of black chalk paint which I made with a mix of interior satin paint and plaster of Paris mixed with warm water.

 

 

What a difference already!

I went back over it with a second coat in some spots and then attached (or tried to attach) the cute little pulls I picked up in the scrapbook section at Michaels. I know, right?!? Who knew? I was having a hard time finding something small enough and these were perfect.

The drawers are a bit thin so any screw would be far too long so I had planned on using the hot glue gun to attach the pulls but, unfortunately, they really didn’t stick all that well. We opted to use the Gorilla epoxy instead, which worked great!  You simply mix the two ingredients together in equal amounts and apply with a popsicle or craft stick.

 

 

Once the pulls were on securely, I sanded the edges of the drawers, sides and bottom to show more of the wood underneath and create a more rustic look. I still felt like it needed more character so I added some antique wax over the entire piece with a cotton rag.

This helped to darken it up a bit especially where I had sanded.  You can see where I used this before on an antique cabinet here.

 

 

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I wanted to also add a pop of color on the sides of the drawers so I tried using a small paint sponge to add polka dots. Major fail!

 

 

Then I remembered I had  some really pretty scrapbook paper I could use.

 

 

I traced the end of the drawer on the back of the paper so I could cut out the right size and shape.

 

 

I attached it with the Modge Podge by applying a layer of it to the drawer with a small paint brush. I gently placed the paper down on top of the drawer and smoothed it out by pressing down from the middle to the sides. Then I sanded the edges of the paper to soften it a bit with a 220 grit sandpaper.  You can see a wall decor project I did with scrapbook paper and bookends here.

 

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I also painted the inside of the drawer with craft paint to make it pop. I simply mixed these two colors of inexpensive craft paint.

 

 

After new paint and pulls and a pop of color on the inside, here’s what she looks like…

 

 

I love the way it turned out! It feels very polished with the very appropriate shade of almost Tiffany blue but still has a rustic character with the sanded edges and dark wax and would be perfect for jewelry on top of a dresser.

However, we will be giving it a new purpose as a tea caddy!

 

 

My daughter loves to have a cup of tea and she has quite the collection of different kinds and flavors. Instead of keeping it all in a box, we thought this would be a fun, and much prettier, way to store her collection.

Think of all of the uses for those little drawers; office supplies, craft supplies, little snacks :). A little paint and a creative way to add some color can make such a difference.  You could do the same thing to a dresser and add wallpaper to the sides or use painters tape to create a unique pattern.  What about stencils or using paint markers to add some character?

 

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I hope you found this jewelry box makeover inspiring! If you have an idea for a thrift store project, shoot me an email and I’ll see if I can create it for you for one of our thrift store Thursday projects!

Happy DIY’ing!

Col

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