Old is the New NEW!

She almost got the boot.

She’s been cracked for years, she’s almost 30 years old, and she ain’t the prettiest thing to look at, but I needed her.

When I moved off to my first little place on my own I had a nice big closest, but no dresser.  Now being that I was going to start paying rent, and bills, and all the other expenses that come a long with being an adult, I wasn’t the least bit interested in buying a bedroom suit.  Thankfully, my parents offered to give me this little gem (because the alternative was leaving her for the garbage men).  I had a walk in closet that I could hid her in at my new place, so it worked out perfectly. 

My parents bought this dresser before my older sister was born, it was just the right size to put all of their new baby things in before my sister arrived.  But over the years this dresser has held sweaters, bathing suits, holiday decorations, and even made a nice little hiding spot for the family cat (sup muchka).  It served its purpose a million times over for me in my new apartment – out of sight out of mind – yet my gutchies, socks, and camis all had a space of their own (I LOVE how many drawers this dresser has!)

Just a couple of months ago, I hauled everything up to move again, in with my boyfriend.  The truck was barely big enough to hold all of my belongings, and both my dad and boyfriend tried to convince me to leave the beat up dresser by the dumpster to leave room for things that I actually needed… like my bed.  I couldn’t bring myself to let go!  This dresser has worked out so well for me, and all of my garments had their own space, and it was just too difficult to say goodbye.  I promised them that I was going to paint it and make it beautiful and worth the effort of squeezing it into the moving van. 

Its been 3 months since I’ve been moved in, but finally this past weekend, my dresser got the makeover that I had promised.

I purchased all of the knobs from anthropology and Joann’s fabrics ( on sale, wahoo!) & the paint was from Lowes.  It only took me about 3 hours to prime and paint (and about 2 seconds to put the new knobs on) and now I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her all over again.

  

The drawers may still be cracked, but I think it adds to her charm <3

Sara's Shoes

There once was a pair of black peep toe heels.
They were cheap ($8), they were comfy, they were patent,
and they were the perfect height for the almost-tall girl who wanted them.

So they were bought, they were loved, they were used,
and they were schmushed into suitcases and traveled across oceans and continents.
They ran, they walked, they danced, they fell; They were worn and worn and worn some more. And when the feet that bought them got sore, they were carried.

All of this wearing and all of this carrying
wore the traction right from the soles, scuffed the shiny surface,
and literally took chunks right out of the solid heel. The patent was not so patent and the black was not so black anymore. The once pretty black heels
had seen better days.

Just when the poor shoes thought they were doomed for garbage day...
The up-cycle fairies arrived and gave the shoes a new purpose!!

Shiny, silvery, glittery, New Years shoes--

and what was old became new.

THE END

So, I had the idea to paint my old heels... but wasn't sure it was feasible.
A few look-sees on pinterest told me that not only was it possible--it had been done before--like hundreds of times...not original at all. Bummer.

But, I did it anyways because I needed silver shoes for
New Years!

First, because the heels were shiny, I scuffed them up a bit with some sand paper.
Then I stuffed the shoes with newspaper so that all of the inside of the shoe was covered like this:

Look! there's an up-cycling fairy helper now! :)

A few good coats of spray paint later....

Up-cycling fairy helpers love helping to take pictures too...

Annnnddd Voila! An almost-new pair of shoes is born!

In retrospect: Listen to the other people who have done this--Use Modpodge after
painting to seal the color in!

I didn't even end up wearing these shoes...hah

But being squeezed into my duffle bag cracked some of the paint because the shoes are pretty bendy at this point in their life. If I were less lazy had more time, I definitely would have done that step. Now I will just have to respray them before I plan on wearing them. For now, I have a nice "new" pair of silver shoes in my closet waiting for a night out on the town.

And the project was not done in vain; I got to craft with my little fairy-helper.

Happy New Year!
May your shoes be silver and your projects plenty!