no junk in this trunk

forreal... i have no junk in my trunk.

*drum roll*

I feel the urge to say BOW CHICKA WOW WOW..but it doesn't seem fitting. Maybe I'll go with SHAZAM! or POW! no no...

TA DA!

Anyway thought I would finally post a craft I have been working on for a long long time. These trunks were initially for Christmas for my two favorite nieces in the whole world. :) Obviously, I still have them and they have no idea they exist...yet! One has a birthday coming up so thats my plan for her and the other one won't know any different so I'll just give her trunk to her whenever.

So they look like borin ol trunks right? Just wait...

Steps I took to make these beauties:

1. Gather trunks from Joann's, lots of paint from Joann's, Mod Podge Gloss-Lustre, Sponge Brushes, Sandpaper, & paper cutter.

1. Sand trunk to death.
2. Paint...for hours. many coats.
3. Cry a little, curse a little, pretend to give up, leave them untouched for a few days then come right back to them with a renewed sense of mastery! This step not required or recommended. :o)
4. These things soaked up paint like...well, like a sponge! It was unbelievable. I think I bought about 5-7 little containers of paint from Joann's PER COLOR. The purple is Joann's brand "Violet", the brown is "Spice Brown", the blue is "Baby Blue" and the pink has been trashed so i have no idea what it was called. Luckily the paint was very affordable so it didn't break the bank.
5. WORST PART OF THE PROJECT: I of course enlisted my hubby for this - he used a wet paper towel and cleaned off all of the hardware, brackets and metal buttons.
6. I used my Cricut Expression & the cartridge is "Storybook" to cut out the names in the script font.
7. I used my trusty Mod Podge glossy to adhere the fancy letters.
8. I was having huge issues with the brown and pink - the brown kept getting all over the pink. I decided enough was enough and I found some cute paper to cut down to size and Mod Podge around the lip of the trunk. 1/2 an inch wide, its like a mm too wide but i sanded the edges down and it worked like a charm! Mod Podge the top & the bottom. I would suggest Podgin the paper and then putting it on the trunk. I didn't think the blue & purple one was missing anything so I left it as is.
9. I sealed the whole trunk with Mod Podge and it was DONE!

Not gonna lie - I pulled out my hair a little and had a few headaches but if I did it again I wouldn't have such a hard time. I know I will need a lot of paint and to wipe the hardware as SOON as the paint dries.

Anyway it was WORTH IT & I LOVE THEM! Now comes the hard part of giving them away.

-D