From drab to Shab!

Hello Pretty fans!

I’m very excited to share this revamp with you all. One of my favourite things about DIY-ing is when you can completely transform something and be wowed by the result… this is one of those projects. I recently ‘saved’ this old suitcase from the tip. It was all battered up, cracked in the corners and looked very unloved; but I saw potential and took it home.

Back home I got straight into it.. I already had plans of how I’d use the finished product, I was keen to say the least. I did my best to repair the plastic corner joins with resin and filler. My husband came out, took one look at the mess and said “Av, I think you need to throw it out”. When it got too dark to work anymore I put it aside feeling a little defeated.

The next day I decided I’d put a bit of paint on and see how it looked, if it still looked a mess I would throw it away once and for all. The first coat of white undercoat hid most of the blemishes and covered my corner repair work, it was promising. I then used a dusty pink and some flecks of white to create a shabby look. The cream tone on the corners seemed to complement the pink, it wasn’t half bad.

I still wasn’t 100% happy though, the suitcase was still a little warped from age, it still had a few imperfections. So I decided to sand over the edges and create a few wear marks to match it’s character. It worked perfectly, I love how the white undercoat and original case, and metal colours show through; it really matches its character.

I lined the case with some beautiful rose printed gift wrap I had from a previous project. A simple cut and glue job did the trick. I think when you open it and see the inside print, it really adds to the wow factor!

before

after

And finally… I plan to keep this suitcase as a memory box for all my baby girl’s treasures. There are some things that are just too precious; so in here they’ll go.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this transformation as much as I did… I’m on the look out for another case so I can do one for my son as well.