the little dresser that i'm going to be working on in this week's video is a complete departure
from my normal sleek smooth modern vibe but i have had this anthropology enchanted dresser
stuck in my brain for about a year now i think the first time that i saw this dresser was on
the actual anthropology website i like to go there every couple of weeks and just see what's going on
but i've also seen a few other incredibly talented furniture artists put their own twist on this
dresser specifically debbie from debbie's design diary but as soon as i scrolled past this dresser
i just got sucked in by the beautiful florals and all of the texture it just made me so happy
so when i found a cute little three drawer french provincial dresser at the thrift store a few weeks
ago i decided this is it i'm gonna take the plunge and put my own twist on this beautiful enchanted
design this is the dresser i'm going to be working with it's a really cute little malcolm furniture
three drawer french provincial dresser and i think it's going to be a great canvas for this project
i always start by removing all of the drawers and giving everything a really thorough cleaning
inside and out while i'm cleaning my pieces i also like to give everything a really good inspection
i check the inside of the dresser the drawer runners the bottoms and backs of the drawers for
any areas that may need to be glued back together or screwed back in place once everything was nice
and clean and dry i came back with some 220 grit sandpaper on my surf prep sander and just
scuffed up the surface lightly since i'm going to be creating a really textured finish i'm not
really worried too much about smoothing out any nicks or dings that's all going to get covered up
because i'm going to be using a white paint on this dresser i'm going to go ahead and give
it a couple of coats of my favorite zinzer bin shellac base primer the shellac in this primer
is going to seal in any wood tannins that may want to bleed up through my new light finish
i like to apply this primer with a four inch microfiber roller and previously i had just been
using these as a one-time use and tossing them after each piece but i've recently discovered that
i can store them in a plastic zip top bag in my refrigerator and use the same roller for three or
four projects before i need to toss it this primer has a really harsh odor and is very sticky so
i like to use it in a well ventilated area i often wear my respirator when i'm working with it
i always put on a pair of latex gloves to protect my hands as well once i had my two coats of primer
rolled over the entire piece i tucked my roller base back in the zip top bag and i can pop that
away for use on my next project next up i'm going to put a quick base coat over my primer
i'm using any sloan chalk paint in the color old white it's really difficult to see me applying
this on the camera over the white primer but it's just a slightly warmer creamier white tone
that's going to give me a really beautiful textured finish the key here is texture
you can see that i'm using a brush in a really half hazard way to really accentuate the brush
strokes and add a lot of detail and dimension to this dresser just like the inspiration from
anthropology
you can see here that i did remove the hardware for priming and painting
but i'm going to pop it back on quickly because when i start applying all of my
appliques i want to make sure that i'm not getting in the way of where the hardware will sit
now for the fun part this is very tedious but i'm going to be making a whole bunch of my own
appliques with these beautiful silicone molds by redesign with prima i am using the
aviary molds with the birds as well as their cherry blossom mold
i started out by dusting all of the details in the molds with some cornstarch and a small artist
brush this just helps the paper clay that i'm using release out of the molds a little bit easier
and making these appliques really is like kindergarten art class i'm using a paper
clay product here that i got off of amazon i will link it down in the description box and basically
just smushing it into the molds removing the excess and gently peeling my appliques out
you do have to be really cautious and use a light touch when you are working with these
molds so that you're not accidentally smushing out all of the details that you've created the
rest is really all up to artistic interpretation i made a few molds at a time and then used some wood
glue and a small paintbrush to glue my molds onto the dresser wherever i thought they looked good
the paper clay is super pliable and flexible
while it's wet so it's great for molding around all of the different details on the
dresser
do
do once i was done and happy with the way that the molds were looking
on the top surface of the dresser i just started working my way down
if your appliques are heavy or they look like they're starting to slide down the
dresser before that glue is dry you can always kind of secure them in place with a little bit
of painters tape i did end up laying the dresser on its back so that i could apply
the rest of the appliques onto the front surface without having to worry about gravity taking over
i tried to be really cautious about keeping my design away from the edges of the drawers where
things would open and close but i did have a few spots where i really wanted it to overlap
so i came in while my clay was still wet with a sharp painters tool and just cut the design
where the drawer needed to move and made sure nothing was going to catch at this point i think
i have all of the appliques exactly where i want it i'm really happy with how things are looking
so i'm gonna let this dresser dry really well for two days before i come back and paint
two days later when everything was nice and dry i came back
removed those poles again and applied another two coats of my annie sloan
chalk paint again this dresser design is all about the texture so i used a combination
of this kind of cross hatch brush motion and i also used a stippling effect to work
the paint down into all of the details in those appliques for a more seamless look
a few hours later once my chalk paint was good and dry i came back and sprayed two
coats of verithin diamond wood finish over everything to lock it all in place
because of all the intricate detail i decided that spraying this was going to be my best
option this product doesn't yellow if it's applied properly but if it's left
to pool in any areas like in all those teeny tiny little flower petals you may get some yellowing so
spraying i think is the best option for this but it could be carefully applied with a brush
or a painting sponge as long as you're careful to make sure it's not pooling up in any small areas
i am so excited about how this dresser came together
let me show you what it looks like all finished up don't be a stranger in the night
take a chance for some romance don't copy your eyes
it's time you let your guard down
thank you so much for hanging out with me again today as i do what i do i really hope that this
video inspires your creativity and helps you think outside the box when you're restyling
your own furniture pieces please make sure that you leave me a big thumbs up a comment down below
tap the subscribe button before you go and i will catch you guys next time i forgot to mention that
i did try a few molds with this natural modeling clay and it was really just too sticky and fell
apart when i was trying to unmold it and then when it dried out it was really crumbly and brittle so
i definitely think that the paper clay was the best way to go