Look what I did...

Let me start by saying, I am known for starting projects and either not finishing them OR waiting a very, very long time to finish them... (I always start with the best intentions or a grand idea but these quickly turn to a closet full of crafting materials stacked as high as the ceiling just waiting to be used.)

There.

I have confessed it.

This makes it more acceptable, right?

Well, a few years ago my mom was cleaning out a room at her house and asked if I wanted a couple dressers and nightstands. They were a honey colored oak and not my style, but nicer than nothing, right? One of the dressers was really tall but breaking apart in the middle. We took them all the way apart and had David's granddad put a new top on the bottom piece.

So here is what I have finally done with this...

This is before.

(The top is raw oak because David's granddad put it on there and I told him I was going to stain it right away.....I honestly didn't think it would be years....)

After dusting it off, I started sanding...

Then the first layer of paint was this blue from Lowes:

I painted.

I let that dry. Then I painted some white (two coats).

When that dried, the fun started. I took the sander to it and started exposing the color underneath. (I forgot to take pictures of this process). The parts that I sanded all the way to the wood, I used a brown stamp pad and "stained" it.

I also didn't want to spend the money on new hardware right now. So, I taped around the "ivory-ish" part of the handles and spray painted the gold/brass parts black.

TaDa! (I can refinish a dresser and actually like the end product!)

I plan on using the same techniques with my golden oak nightstands too! Check back for improvements! :)