Trash to Treasure Chest

I came so close to passing up this ugly duckling three drawer flatware chest at a yard sale a few weeks ago, but I felt sorry for it and knew there was a glimmer of hope.

Kind of scary, huh?  The guy I bought it from gave up after attempting to strip it.

There's always hope with a fresh coat of paint and a lot of patience.

I applied two coats of Graphite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, distressed it a little, then used clear and dark wax.  A postmark stencil from Royal Design Studio was a perfect fit on top.

The original handles were too far gone, so I filled in the holes and started over.  I was going to use three milk glass knobs, but it looked too stark and proper.  I switched out two of  the milk glass knobs for clear glass and clear glass with some chippy white paint.

When I got it home and put my glasses on for a closer look inside, I realized the pretty blue velvet wasn't pretty at all, and it wasn't coming out without a fight. I had to attack a few sections with a chisel, then sand it down to get rid of the glue and fuzz.  No wonder the guy

 gave up on it.

Much better now...clean and fuzz free.  I used Mod Podge and wrapping paper with images of vintage ads to cover the inside.

Perfect for holding old letters, photographs, and treasures galore.