DIY: Desk Drawer Makeover

From the very beginning, we chose to move to an unfurnished apartment. But as much as I love to shop for new furniture, challenges emerge very often. First up, we wanted to stick to a small budget, because we might end up moving again, in a year or so. So hand-me-downs were perfect for us. Now, our regular Friday ritual consists of trolling Craigslist for moving/garage sales. Second, people often exaggerate about the condition of their furniture on Craigslist. So you end up investing much time, energy and money to make it appealing. After much ordeal, we have acquired a couch, an upholstered chair, a desk and a wooden chair. And we got them for a bargain. The desk costs us only 8 bucks!

The desk looked quite nice from the outside. Unfortunately, the drawers were a mess! It was probably owned by a 10 year old.

My first thought was to cover them with newspapers and call it a day. Challenge? We don't have a newspaper subscription! And then, I had a light-bulb moment. Pinterest!!! After much searching, I found this great idea by Sherry from Young House Love. Wrapping lined drawers!!!

Source: younghouselove.com via Farah on Pinterest

I didn't have all the necessary craft supplies on hand. So I went to Michaels' to grab Mod Podge, foam brush, and some pretty wrapping paper. I bought two coordinating wrapping papers. The initial plan was to cover the base of the drawer with one color and the sides with another. I followed Sherry's instructions to a T for the procedure.

After cleaning out the drawers with damp paper towels, I removed all the drawer pulls with a screwdriver. Then I put on a thin layer of Mod Podge on the drawer and stuck the pre-cut wrapping paper on the surface. I tried my best to smooth out and bubbles or wrinkles. Which turned out to be real hard.

Then I did the same thing for the sides.

I tried to be clever and cut out strips and creased at the corners. Which was a big mistake! Next time, I will cut the paper for one side at a time. Then I waited for couple of hours (about 4-5 hours) to let them dry before applying the second coat of Mod Podge. The second layer was applied deliberately yet thinly. As this was my first Mod Podge project, I wasn't very sure what to expect. I had quite a few bubbles and wrinkles resurface. My guess is the paper did not adhere well to the drawer in the first step. I don't have a picture for this second layer step. At this point it was quite late at night. Anyways, after I was finished with coating all the drawers, I let them dry overnight.

The next day, I poked the paper through the holes and re-attached the drawer pulls. And Voila! My desk drawers were ready to be stuffed with all the stationary goodness!

Here's a closeup of the final product. The wrapping papers are in bright colors. Which I thought would be very appropriate as a break from long brainstorming sessions.

The best part was that the whole project cost me only $6.25. It is great to be crafty!

Have you done any DIY/makeover inspired by Pinterest lately? Please do share!

Re-purposed Jeans Tote

First let me just say, I've a sort of bag problem. The definition of bag problem is 'when you can't seem to find any decent bags that fits your purpose'. No matter, what I buy, it's either too big or too small. It will have lots of pockets or none at all. So I practically gave up buying bags ( which is a miracle itself).

But the real problem started when I was in grad school. Everyday I had to carry this ginormous backpack with my 7 pound laptop, notebooks, binders and food. Being only 4'11", I looked like giant lopsided mushroom in the morning. Then when I had to run in the campus for classes, carrying the backpack was no fun. I was looking for a tote to carry stuff to classes, but every tote looks gigantic on me. Then one day, it hit me, why don't I make a tote myself, which is just enough big to carry a binder (or a notebook) and some essential stuff? But I also wanted to carry just my laptop now and then, so I planned to make something out of a sturdy material. After rampaging through our old jeans box and cutting up an old dress, behold, my new tote was born!

Since I had to have enough material to carry binders, I had to sew different jeans together. I chose two different toned jeans and cut open their legs. Then I sow them alternating, resembling a quilt pattern. For the inner shell/lining I used one of my old dresses. It wasn't particularly my favorite, but I thought it went pretty well with the denim.

I also used up the trim from the hem. I just cut up a big piece along the hem with the trim and sow it on the shell to make it a pocket. It was perfect!

Lastly, I wanted to create some tie to close the wide mouth. The dress came in to the rescue again. It had some ties already! All I did was cut them to my desired length. Then I made two tiny button holes on the top of the bag on both sides. Then the ties were threaded in and I made a knot to hold them in place. And voila!

It does look quite cute when I tie them in a bow.

Have you ever made any totes from re-purposed materials? Do share!