Betsy here from a little place called Happily Ever After, Etc.! I am so excited that Kendra has invited me over to share my fun little vintage suitcase makeover with all of you!
So where do we begin? I am a newlywed gal with a passion for all things home decor and crafty… and I usually find some way to drag my hubby into my crazy projects!
Like my 2015 Housekeeping Binder or our adorable DIY Elephant Toothbrush Holder!
Recently he helped me clean the entire house for a fabulous Spring Home Tour! 😉
If you’re anything like me you are loving the vintage suitcase trend that’s going on right now.
I tend to be drawn towards anything that contains things (read as: stores all my crap out of sight) so vintage suitcases are perfect for me!
In addition to larger suitcases I have found adorable children’s suitcases, hat boxes… even a vintage bowling ball bag!
The key (for me) is finding that perfect colored bag… the one that looks amazing with all the rest of my pretty things (read as: hoards of useless antiques that aren’t really useful but I need to have anyways).
Of course it’s hard to find suitcases in baby blue and cream… not impossible but hard! It’s much easier to find old beaten up, scuffed up suitcases in need of a little TLC!
I have never tried painting a suitcase before but I figured… what’s the harm?
So I went to my local antique store and found the perfect suitcase! A teeny little make up box in light yellow… the exterior was actually in great shape and might look great in a home that used more yellow.
In my home it looked a bit more washed out cream then yellow. Either way it was only ten bucks so I didn’t feel bad painting it!
So let’s get started! The only things you need for this project are:
Supplies:
Paint in your color choice (pick pink! I want to see a pink one!)
Paint brushes in varying sizes if you plan on adding a quote.
Frog tape for taping off crisp clean lines.
That’s it! Didn’t expect it to be so short did you? I like to surprise people… I’m fun that way.
The first thing I did was tape off the entire bottom of my suitcase.
I wanted the hardware to stay it’s original color and I wanted to paint each section a different color for a striped effect.
Once it was taped off I took this little cutey outside and spray painted the top stripe and the handle with a looking glass finish spray paint.
I wasn’t sure I would like the shiny finish but I had some paint left over from my Mirrored Mason Jars and didn’t want to buy more paint for a little suitcase… I figured if I didn’t like it I could always paint over it!
But if you’ve known me for five seconds you know I’m a sparkle freak… so I LOVED the shiny finish!
So I decided to run with it and bought little bottles of metallic finish craft paint for my lettering… since they were only 1.47 a bottle I thought it was worth the splurge ;).
After the first section dried I removed the frog tape, taped off the top and painted the bottom stripe!
(Again using leftover seafoam paint from my dresser reveal).
Then I painted the middle stripe.
All of this painting took a while but I was able to watch several episodes of Once Upon a Time while waiting… so it wasn’t too bad!
Once the stripes were painted I printed off a copy of my quote: in this case my blog logo from Happily Ever After, Etc. I went back and forth about it for a while… but in the end I just thought it fit this little suitcase best.
I’m looking forward to seeing it NOT on my computer every day!
To transfer my logo I used the old trace the letters on the backside of your paper with pencil and then rub on the front side of the paper trick.
It transferred the lettering like a charm… then all that was left was filling in the logo with paint!
I choose a small paint brush and very carefully painted the letters and wax seal… twice. I wanted to make sure they looked crisp and sharp.
I love how it turned out! I was a little iffy on the color scheme at first but I think it looks just like spring!
What do y’all think… is painting suitcases up your alley?
I’d love to see more!
Thanks for following along y’all! I am so glad Kendra let me hang out with you today!
If you’re looking for more projects from little old me check out Happily Ever After, Etc.!
You can also follow me on: Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter, Google+, Instagram
Adorable! I just got rid of a vintage suitcase and now I wish I had kept it! 🙁
This is so easy and so creative! I love that you put your logo on it! Love, love, love! =)
Addie recently posted…The sign said “Visit Arkansas”
That is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen. I love how it came out. A lot.
Hey that looks so cool. It looks so much better painted over like that. I wonder if I have anything like that suitcase in storage.
Liz Mays recently posted…Chicken Taco Casserole with Orzo
These are so super cute, I have a good friend who loves everything vintage. She would jump over the moon for one of these sweet cases!
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) recently posted…Summer Roll – the perfect roll any time of year!
I love frog tape too! It works so well. And I think your suitcase turned out so cute. I like the striped color effect.
This makeover is so incredibly awesome! I love the little “Happily Ever After” quote addition too. It’s a beautiful piece.
Lauren Harmon recently posted…My Secret to Beautiful Skin: Neutrogena Sunscreen
Cool idea! My parents have a couple of these oldies in the attic. I should tell them to try this and make something useful out of them!
Oh how darling. I’d love to redo some vintage suitcases, I could use them for extra storage which I lack in my studio apartment. Thanks so much for the idea, I’m going to see if I can find some.
Truly artistic! Awesome makeover indeed. I got some inspiration and idea out of this.
Ron recently posted…5 Apartment Money Saving Tips That Are Proven Effective Space Savers Too
This just inspired me! I’m doing this soon – got a couple of suitcases at home that may be spruced up.
R U S S recently posted…Carpe Diem: June 2015
This is a cool project. Thanks for sharing. I’ll share it with my sister who loves this stuff.
You are so creative. I love how it looked after the makeover.
You did such a great job! I love this vintage suitcase makeover. I wish I had a vintage suitcase to makeover.
Carly Brydon recently posted…Spiked Blueberry Lemonade
This is a great project to do and I already have some vintage luggage on hand. I love what you did and it’s really inspiring me to make my own.
Fariha N. recently posted…Eleven drool worthy date recipes (the fruit!) you MUST try #recipes
That’s really cute and chic. It kind of reminds me of the Harry Potter series.
That’s really cute! I’d love to do something like this for decoration if I had a house.
Beth recently posted…Thai Festival Chicago 2015
Interesting. I’ve never thought of redoing a suitcase. It came out great.
April G recently posted…Are You a Great Multitasker? Maybe Not
Oh my goodness! Nice work! This is so awesome! I love the box and now that you spruced it up, it is awesome! Love this so much!
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