I love the look of old trunks and suitcases and I’ve been wanting to do a vintage suitcase makeover for some time now.  I must admit that mine in a knockoff of one I saw on another blog, but I can’t remember exactly where.  Can anyone help me with that? Maybe it’s you and I’d love to give you credit.The vintage suitcase I used came from my in-laws garage sale and it is exactly like one that my parents had when I was a child.  This made it especially appealing to me.  I started by taping it off for the stripes and began painting, using two colors of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Old White and Versailles.  The pictures that I decoupaged onto the suitcase came from The Graphics Fairy website, of course.  The number of my projects that have revolved around that website I can’t even say!

To age the graphics a bit I dipped them in strong coffee and laid them out on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  I “baked” them at 200 degrees for about 4 minutes (watching them closely to avoid a fire) and then laid them out on a wire rack to finish drying.

After Mod Podging the graphics in place I sealed everything with two coats of MinWax Polycrylic.  Funny, Mr. OTN liked the color combo and he thought it looked cool with the graphics applied but he was VERY concerned that it was no longer useful as a piece of luggage, “It will be ruined if someone uses it for travel!”  I patiently explained to him that this isn’t meant to be used as a piece of luggage anymore but as a piece of home decor. 

“Why are you staging it for pictures like it’s going on a trip if it’s no longer luggage?”,  I can hear Mr. OTN thinking in his head.  I haven’t come up with a good answer for him yet.  If I don’t sell this I’d better find something to do with it in my home.  Maybe I’ll pad the inside and make it a bed for the dogs . . . that would make Mr. OTN happy . . . or it could be stacked with some other pieces of luggage and used as a side table in his office.    

 I actually kinda like it just sitting in my front entryway looking like some interesting guests have just arrived for a stay. What are your ideas?  What would you do with this suitcase?  Does it even really need to have a purpose?

Blessings to you,