Brown Paper Bag Technique
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This is a great way to update or upcycle an old outdated or damaged dresser.
Check out this old vanity I picked up at one of our local Thrift stores. If you look closely you can see that it was marked $10.01. They have the strangest pricing system, like $3.03, $2.02, etc. Anyway, because of that cute little yellow X, I got it for 75% off! Yeppers! That’s right! A scant $2.50.
Here you can see the front of it. It was nearly naked, not a lot of sanding or stripping to do on this little gem. What you can NOT see is that the veneer on all sides is in very poor condition.
I decided to paint it an antique white with the hopes of it looking shabby chic….but mostly it just looked shabby.
The weather turned a little cold, so I had to resort to working indoors in the kitchen. You are not a true t2t person if you have never painted and decoupaged a vanity in your kitchen. The brown sides and drawer fronts are done with the “brown paper bag technique”.
Insert short tutorial here:
MATERIALS NEEDED
brown paper bag (or craft paper)
Elmer’s white glue
some type of stain (I used old english for scratches)
polyurethane
Rip the paper into varying sizes. Crumple up the paper, straighten out slightly. Decoupage onto your piece of furniture.
After the Elmer’s glue dries, rub lightly with stain (this will highlight the high points)
seal with poly
I decided I didn’t like the brown paper on the antique white, so I decided to mix up my own color of brown. NOPE, I liked the brown less than the antique white color.
Finally after several days of thinking about it, I decided to paint it black! It was a long process, but for $2.50, it was a great deal!
gail
I love this idea. I was wondering how I might like to redo my hutch and cabinet and now I know.. Going to do Black paint and brown bag technique. I think it will look amazing with my already black table and earth-tone accessories. I hope it turns out, keep positive thoughts… Thanks Gail.
yay Judy! so happy you found My Repurposed Life! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
have fun, good luck!
gail
that is sich a neat idea! i never would have thought of that, gail.
that is sich a neat idea! i never would have thought of that, gail.
Wow! I have never done decoupage before and I have been thinking of trying it on some really old dressers I have. I could not figure out what to do but after looking at some of the pictures that you have posted I think I am going to try the brown bag technique. I hope mine will look even half as good as yours! Wish me luck!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sometimes has to paint pieces a couple of times before I get it right. The black definitely looks the best with the brown bag treatment.
You got that for $2.50!!! Not fair! I want it! I LOVE the brown paper bag technique. I haven’t seen it before. It looks amazing against the black! Thanks for linking this up to somedaycrafts.blogspot.com for Whatever Goes Wednesday!
I never find furniture bargains like that! It is beautiful in the black and brown and what a good idea to use for your laptop.
Wow, $1.50 what a steal. I just love the brown paper bag technique. This was quite the transformation.
Have a blessed weekend.
I love that you let us watch your thought process. Black was definitely the way to go. Great technique on the drawers!
Love how it turned out! Thanks for sharing the details on the brown paper bag technique & thanks for sharing it POPP.
That looks great! I will have to try that technique some time – thanks for sharing!
First off…I want to live where you live and shop where you shop because there is no way I am getting such a great deal on a desk around here. What a great transformation!! 🙂