DIY - Armoire

My parents got me this armoire off of craigslist for $30. I wasn't sure what to do with it for a while, then I decided to just go with it. I used a bird that I like to use on my refinished furniture (see TheVintageBlueBird), and I went from there. Later when I wanted it even more spicy I found some wreaths at D.I. and added them to the doors.

Step by step creating a Vintage Bird on the cabinet door:

The armoire looked pretty good... other than the feet. Next step: tip it over and paint the feet. While waiting for that to dry, I ripped off the old backing (it had a huge hole in it) and put in some beadboard I had left over from a different project. Before putting the backing on, however, I antiqued it.

How to Antique:

Step 1. Paint the base coat. I mixed these three colors to come up with a vintage Patina Green. This will be the backing behind the cabinet doors.

Step 2. Water-down your antiquing color. I used black since my armoire is black. Get a wet rag ready (I like to use crochet rags since they have a lot of texture). Brush it on in little areas at a time. Try to do a whole strip at a time, from one end to the other-as shown.

Step 3. Quickly wipe away with the wet rag. The paint should remain in the corners and crevices. This might take a little bit of practice. I antiqued while my patina green was still a little tacky so that the black would mix in and dull the color of the entire piece. 

Here is the piece, ready to go!

I picked these wreaths up for $1 a piece. It took about 30 seconds to cut away the very fake looking ivy and flowers.

I hung the wreaths with patina green ribbon. I looped the ribbon around the wreaths, melted the ends together with a lighter, and stapled them to the top of the door (with a little wood glue here and there)

For the final touch I used 220 sandpaper to give the armoire a shabby chic flair. 

I put a little hallowed decor on top. If you'd like to see how I made that sign click here.

And here it is. I think it turned out rather cute!