anthro ordinal dresser knockoff

So at some point I saw this dresser either on anthropologie.com or pinterest.

and i fell in love.

i knew i could make it.

and others had made it too.

just google anthro numbered dresser images.

this has been a really long (almost 1 1/2 year) project.

i originally started this in the spring of 2012.

I started looking for dressers on craigslist and at the thrisft stores.

then i found a random $10 bill in my backyard

and spotted this dresser on craigslist for $10.

so, it was free :)

 everything seemed to be solid wood except there was a laminate top.

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i sanded and sanded.

 then i handrew a handle cut out template

and used a jigsaw to cut it out

it was by no means perfect

but i kinda liked it

(in between sanding it and cutting the handles, we moved)

(so it sat untouched in the garage for months-maybe a year)

 then i stained it

i wasn't sure how it would turn out.

 and i primed the laminate top with this

 how did it end up this dark? who knows

but i loveeeeee it

 so i stained the whole thing

 then came time for the numbers

i printed them out on cardstock

then cut them out

then used that as a stencil

at first i tried to stick it on with adhesive spray

but then quickly scrapped that b/c it didnt really work and was messy.

I traced it with a ball point pen

then filled it in with craft paint

i saw some tutorial on this somewhere

and using the pen indents the wood a little

and makes a border so the paint doesnt bleed out.

i found that it worked well.

and didn't take that long.

 so the st is a little crooked.

 i already love it

 bahhhhh so awesome!

I knew i wanted something on the top...

so i for some reason thought stenciling was the key.

 it was too much.

 so i decided to follow some dang guide on pinterest to make your own chalk paint.

using plaster of paris and paint i got free from lowes...

it was so thick and gross... but it covered the design up a little.

 then i sanded to be able to see through it.

 to seal it, i used annie sloan dark wax

and actually liked this a lot better.

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i debated poly'ing it, but decided against it

b/c i like the rustic look better

so for

$10-- dresser

$7 -- stain

$5 -- stencil

$0-- palm sander (owned)

$0 -- primer (owned)

$0 -- jigsaw (owned)

$0 -- craft paint (owned)

$0 -- brushes (owned)

$0 -- annie sloan dark wax (owned for a previous project)

-$10 -- found in yard

__________________

$12 and a lot of time

i get a cool dresser

original = $998