Thursday, October 25, 2012

New?...Storage....LUGGAGE

I am sick and tired of the storage "solutions" being damaged or just is not the right size....

Well. I have found a solution. I am taking luggage (solid) and painting them to fit my beauty girl's color scheme. Now we have Polly pocket storage, barbie storage, stuffed animal storage and art supply storage. And all of it fits under her bed. By having all of this luggage taking up all of the room, it helps keep other things from being shoved under the bed.
(After all, that is the meaning of cleaning your room. Push it under the bed and no body will be the wiser. Right?!)

Anyway. On to the process.

  • Find old luggage.

(I happened across this really nice set of Samsonite. The insides were in prime condition. a little wash and good as new.)


  • Lightly sand the out side shell.

(tape off anything you want to keep paint off of. I taped the handles and latches.)

  • use "good" spray paint. I used Krylon.

(several coats will be necessary. I should have primed the luggage first. Then I would have only used One can of the ballet slipper pink. But none the less, I did need two cans of paint for three pieces of luggage.)

Now for the cream. I could not find a crown to save my life and I did not want to have PLAIN luggage storage. It needs a little whimsy. I made a stencil out of laminating film. After I used a good sharp exacto knife and cut away the pieces that would show on the luggage, I taped the stencil into place. This is where I used a different color of paint. Bronze? I think was the color. But It goes great in her room. And Yes! I did have to cut out a second crown stencil because my first one was too big to fit on the train case (which houses the small Polly pocket dolls).

We have filled the suitcase storage and now have some great places to keep her stuff. UNDER the BED! Hooray!!!

5 comments:

  1. I have been hoarding some old American Tourister pieces, because I couldn't bear to "donate" them. Can't wait to start this project.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I actually just spray painted a big ol' samsonite hard suitcase bubblegum pink. But the handle is kinda ugly cream colored - didn't know what I could use on it to paint it? Did you paint yours?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I lucked out and did not have to paint the handles on these suitcases. However, I have painted handles in the past with bad results. The paint usually ends up being slightly sticky. I ended up winding ribbon around the gummed up handle and that solved the problem. If you find a fabulous paint that works...please let me know!

      Delete
    2. P.S. -Tay Tay- I would like to see pictures of your bubblegum pink suitcase.

      Delete
  3. Great idea !! I just love the way u think!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks!