Wednesday 20 March 2019

WOYWW #511: Altered mini drawers

Three weeks have flown by again without me realising! Seriously, where does the time go? I've been busy with work and life and had not much time to spend in my craft room. Then over the weekend, there was a fault in our phone line (ergo no internet) and I found myself with nothing else to do, so I attacked a mini chest of drawers that I had bought with the specific intention to alter one day.

This is what the box looked like before I transformed it beyond recognition:


It was nice and colourful to start with but I wanted something a bit more "edgy".  First off, I gessoed everything to prepare the surface. Then I used some Sizzix/Tim Holtz embossing folders to make patterns on white cardstock, which I stuck all over the box and the front of the drawers, cutting slits for the handles. Next, I covered everthing with turquoise green and blue acrylics and let it dry completely. This is important, otherwise the layers would have lifted in the next step, which was a thin layer of burnt umber that I wiped back just before it dried completely, leaving the raised areas highlighted with the underlying layers. I added some bronze gilding wax as a finishing touch and voila, my box was ready! Here it is from all sides and different angles:









I wasn't sure where to keep it - there's not much space left in my craft room. For now, I placed it in my downstairs study on top of the small bookshelf that was a birthday present from my hubs and still needs to be populated. I think it looks good there and will be handy for storing bits and pieces, but I might move it elsewhere later. 


So my big birthday came and went - it was less painful than I had expected! Best not to think about it, really. I got these two cards - a cute one from my boss and a funny one from my family. You can see a theme there, can't you? 


And here's the little poop machine, who was very annoying this morning waking me up early because his food bowl was empty. I wasn't amused to say the least! I trotted downstairs to feed him but he turned his nose up at the offering because it wasn't his favourite, so he can't have been that hungry. I booted him out at that point. I'm telling you, he's the most spoilt cat in the world and it's all my fault! He's safely deposited back in the house now - in my son's bed of all places - I can never stay angry with him for long. 


It's lovely to be back on WOYWW, Julia's weekly desk hop. I will be around visiting everyone soon! xx

22 comments:

  1. Hi Zsuzsa, and first off Happy Birthday! Love what you've done with the storage drawers, such a beautiful rich colour! Smiling at the Birthday cards too. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #10 X

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  2. Happy belated Birthday, I hope you had a lovely day - at least your recent big won't be as big as my next big - I'm yearning for the old days of smaller 'big' birthdays!! You've really worked your magic on the little chest of drawers - it is totally fabulous and it's hard to believe it's the same set of drawers you started with. Loving the cat cards and of course the real one too!
    Have a great week,
    Diana x #17

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  3. He may be spoiled but is definitely beautiful! Happy WOYWW
    Glenda #18

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  4. Those little drawers are stunning and well....so is Oreo! Wishing you a happy week and a lovely woyww, Angela x11x

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  5. Amazing set of drawers Zsuzsa. Love the colour combination and the texture that the embossing gives. Meow to Oreo! Happy belated big birthday (I only ever have a party every 10 years so it offsets any negativity around the first number changing lol). Happy WOYWW. Sarah #4

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  6. Happy Birthday - glad it wasnt too painful - i have a big one next year :( love your altered drawers

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  7. Ha ha - fab birthday cards - many happy returns. The gorgeous drawers are stunning - what a transformation! xx Jo

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  8. Happy Birthday! Love the gorgeous altered drawers - stunning and your kittie is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. Take care and have a lovely week. With love & God Bless. Caro x (#30)

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  9. Love love love your box!! Funny how much you can get done when the internet is down.....Happy WOYWW Cindy #15

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  10. Happy birthday. Hope you had a good time. I really like that little chest of drawers. Beautifully decorated. xxx Maggie #19

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  11. Happy Big Birthday!! I hope you had a good time, the cards are funny, the poop one made me laugh. Wow, you've done yet another amazing job with those little drawers, they're fantastic!
    Hugs LLJ 8 xxx

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  12. Oh, Zsuzsa! I am all over that box - it's definitely fantabuliciousness! I'm a sucker for numbers and I particularly like this colour combination of yours. I have some lovely little envelopes from a swap with you in this combo that I'm saving for something special.

    Love the cards you got for your 20th birthday - they are definitely themed, I'd say.

    Of course you can't stay angry with Oreo for long - isn't he just the most perfect cat in the world?!!!

    Happy weekend, dear friend, and happy year to go with it! May it be your best yet...

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  13. Love your box transformation - so much cooler. Happy Birthday! I missed that somehow. Hope this next decade brings you lots of joy xo

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  14. Happy Belated Birthday Zsuzsa, hope you got lots of loveliness for your special day.. loving the poop card hee hee! You've made good use of that box, it's a great technique using the embossing folder to create quick dimension & your colour choice is amazing! A real show stopper and time well spent whilst the phone line was down.
    There's nothing wrong with spoiling Oreo rotten *He's worth it*
    Big Hugs & Happy WoywW Tracey xx #7

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  15. Happy birthday Zsusza, and yes can see the them on your cards, well done 😊 love the upcycle of the set of drawer really fun!
    Happy belated WOYWW m Shaz in Oz.x #15

    {Wonderful Words of Life - Shaz in Oz}
    {Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}

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  16. You now have very edgy and totally gorgeous drawers Zsuzsa! And Oreo most definitely knows how handsome he is :D Hope you had a lovely birthday xx

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  17. Wish I had realised it was your special birthday - I could have made a 'cat' card quite easily as I have some images already done. Anyway, Happy Birthday to you for your special day.
    Can understand you being a 'slave' to Oreo - those furry animals have a way of winding us around their paws.
    Love the drawers you covered, the folder choice is perfect and goes so well with the patina look - both appeal to me so much.
    Hugs, Neet 5 xx

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  18. Just love the little drawers, Zsuzsa, in your signature colours! I've got some similar boxes and wasn't sure what to do with them so perhaps I could do something similar? Lol at Oreo's antics, fussy little beggar! I didn't realise you'd had a birthday, let alone a special one, so many happy belated returns! Great cars - what fun!

    Thank you for your recent visit and sorry to be so long replying! We do seem to keep missing each other... Hop over to my blog and see the latest on the cat mint - what a song and dance! Never a dull moment with kitties, is there.

    Shoshi #13 this week

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  19. Thanks for your visit, Zsuzsa - yes, this photo problem is a major pain... I am tearing my hair. Open Live Writer forum is silent as far as responses go, to the now numerous complaints that it isn't working properly. I can only hope someone is working on it behind the scenes. I hate to have to resort to the simply awful Blogger editing platform which doesn't seem to understand the concept of formatting... If I can't sort the problem, maybe I'll have to resort to it until someone extracts their digit and sorts this mess.

    The photo of the kitties at 5 wks old is just adorable. I haven't got that far back in replacing lost photos on my blog so they won't be visible there yet either... I think I'm going to have to make an album of "missing blog photos" on my Flickr page and direct people there!

    I'm surprised I've got any hair left. Think I've torn most of it out.

    Shoshi x

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  20. We have been on 2 similar journeys recently! I love what you've done with your drawers! Come see mine if you have a chance. ;)
    Happy WOYWW #513 Rose #26

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  21. wow, Susan, those drawers are amazing, Vicky

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  22. What a gorgeous transformation you did with that box Susan!!
    It's funny because before I scrolled further, I said to myself, let's see if she goes with her signature palette! A wooola! You did- never to disappoint dear friend! You really have that technique down perfect, the way you use the under blues and highlight with the browns.It ages pieces beautifully and give such character! Well done you!!

    Happy Belated Birthday ,my friend! I am so very sorry to have missed it, I would have sang to you!(well, maybe not,but the thought was there!) LOL

    And that sweet spoilt cat, just like my sweet spoiled dog! haahaa They are a pair, are they not!
    Missing you and sending you huge hugs xoxo

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