Upcycle Accessories

"To Bee Or Not To Bee"

First thing's first! Never, ever judge a book by it's cover. This piece was literally headed for the trash until I saved it from a dirty, stinky death. What awesome lines...This has potential!

I started by painting on a layer of paint-stripper I gently pulled the old paint off layer by layer and finished by sanding.

No way!!! I couldn't believe it when I uncovered this gorgeous wood pattern. Did someone seriously paint over this? They should

be punished and banned from the paint can. Happy Day to me!

Next after much debate, I decided to stain the wood a Dark Mahogany. It gave the dresser a very rich look already.

I taped off my new yummy, chocolate top and searched for paint for the base.

Ok, I admit it. I was too lazy to take a trip to the hardware store so I decided to use what I had on hand and it just happend to be this Royal Blue spray paint. It's not what I had initially envisioned for the piece but sometimes circumstances like this end up giving me my favorite works of art.

After painting on the blue, I continued by sanding and distressing all of the edges. It really made the details of the wood come to life. I could have totally stopped at this point but why? I needed something very unique. Quite frankly, I wanted a piece of furniture that was strage. I was going for shock value. I thought to myself, maybe I should paint a gigantic bee that extends across the front. Who has that!?!

I found a picture of a bee online and I freehanded it with white chalk. You can totally print off an image and project it on if the thought of free-handing makes you squirmy.

I painted over my chalk marks with plain old acrylic craft paint. Then, I sanded the image one more time. This process makes all the sloppy paint strokes blend and gives it a much more professional look. I finished it off with a coat of Martha Stewart Dark Glaze and Minwax Finishing wax.