Guys, I have another completed furniture flip bucket list item to share! Believe me, I am as surprised as you are - this is the first time I have ever been this intentional with my New Year's resolutions and I have you all to thank for it! Seriously, without the accountability of sharing my intentions with you, I would still be piddling around the thrift store. This new level of productivity is madness, I tell you, madness!

Not only does this post mark the second completed item, but I actually have 2 more on deck. Can you guess which ones will be crossed off next?

Ok before we begin, let's take a look out our muse: the vintage pull-down chart

Oh $400 Rose Cherry Botanical Chart - why must you elude me so? In all fairness, this is a particularly rare print which is why it's up-there in price. But still, I can't be shelling out $200 a pop to feed my pull-down chart obsession! So as I like to say: if you can't join 'em...

HACK em'

Keeping with the schoolhouse theme of the vintage educational charts, I thought we could grade my findings on the following scale: printing, color quality, size options, and of course...cost. First up: inverse engineer prints.

Printing: on paper at Staples

Color Quality: none

Sizes:

18"x 24"
24" x 36"
36" x 48"

Cost: $2-$8 engineer print + framing supplies

Since engineer prints are stuck being black and white, why not mix it up a little by printing one that's got a black background with a white design?

Teacher's Notes: This hack does not fulfill the "In Color" portion of the assignment. But at least has some cool factor and the dark background is very on-trend with vintage charts. Overall Rating: C+

Nothing to really take home and put on the fridge (based on this assignment) so moving on.

Printing: On poster paper at Staples

Color Quality: High

Sizes:

11.3” X 17.3”
18” x 24”
24” x 36”

Cost: $20-$36 for printing + shipping + framing supplies

I uploaded this Free Lavender Botanical Printable from the Graphics Fairy to Staples online print site and found that ordering a poster takes you through this fun little preview tool.

Teacher's Notes: You’ll want to find a high-quality graphic that works with the limited dimension options because (as I've found) cutting the poster paper curls the edges. Overall Rating: B

Printing: None required

Color Quality: High

Sizes: Various

Cost: Varies with poster size + shipping + framing supplies

Buy a poster to chartify like Chris Loves Julia did in their Greta's Butterflies Post. They get extra credit for the added card catalog label! Nice touch you two. Like their look? You can buy this Butterfly Specimen Chart for $24 at Urban Outfitters. They have a wide selection of posters that range from botanicals and quirky quotes to moon phases and maps. You can easily stick to the vintage educational chart look or veer into more modern wall art piece.

Teacher's Notes: Yes, there are endless poster possibilities for sale, but you're missing the image-customization factor because you're stuck with what you can get for market value. Overall Rating: B+

Printing: On paper at Staples

Color Quality: None

Sizes:

18” x 24”
24” x 36”
36” x 48”

Cost: $2-$8 engineer print + coloring supplies + framing supplies

So I've been drooling over this Gem and Crystal Print from Scout and Whistle for a while now. I just wish it was a better price for it's petite size. So this got me thinking... couldn't you just make like 2nd grader and color in the lines or your own black-and-white engineer print?

I rendered my own mineral coloring page to show you. The facets make it so easy to color block your way to a kick a** chart.

Teacher's Notes: Although it's not a glamorous a solution, it could have really fun results! Give it to the kids as a giant coloring page and get a one-of-a-kind art project! Overall Rating: A-

Printing: On vinyl at Staples

Color Quality: High

Sizes:

19.2” x 36”
30” x 48”
30” x 72”
30” x 96”

Cost: $20-$67 printing + shipping + framing supplies

Vintage charts are printed on more of a fabric material than paper anyways. So the suppleness of vinyl is a natural step in the right direction. In fact, the pull-down charts in my elementary school were made of vinyl so why not adapt a banner to our needs?

Thank you Staples preview image, but we're not going for the display-table-at-an-expo look. But retro-fitting the banner with the wooden framing strips looks lovely!

Teacher's Notes: Decent price for such large results. Plus the material makes it actually feel like a pull down chart! Overall Rating: A+

There you have it! My personal winner is the vinyl banner route. I actually scored a Staples printing sale and ordered my 19.2" x 30" for only $15. Adding in the wood for my frame brought that total to about $24 - and it's so much more durable than the paper!

If course after I handed in my findings I stumbled up on this on the Staples printing website:

I haven't tried it yet, but I'll report back to you if I do. And if you've done your own research for a colored pull-down hack and have a different take on these findings, please share with the class!

The other week I scored this great dresser on Craigslist for a great price. It's solid wood and the seller had bought it and brought it back from India. {How cool is that? I love pieces with unusual history}. , But she was selling it because it had some damage to the finish - so it became my first opportunity to cross something off my Flipper's New Years Resolutions. Can you guess which item I went for first? That's right! I went for No.6 the paint-stripped dresser.

Except it didn't actually turn out the way my inspiration piece looked... it came out WAY BETTER.

I wasn't really sure how to go about re-recreating this effect from my inspiration piece other than just stripping off most of the paint finish on a piece to reveal the naked wood underneath. My piece was already naked and part of me felt like it was a waste to paint it just to strip it off again. So I decided I would only cover the piece with a thin coat of paint.

But first I had to start by sanding the piece to prep it for paint. Then on a whim I decided to wipe it down with some fabric softener because, as I discovered while painting my box trunk, it can keep the paint from taking in some areas. Then I painted on a light coat of home-made chalk paint I had left over from my two-toned coffee table.

After the paint dried, it was time to TAKE IT OFF BABY. Using a fine grit sanding pad on my orbital sander {thanks for the xmas gift Scot & Joanie} I gently sanded some of the paint off.

I could have kept sanding to reveal more of the naked wood, but I liked how the white was bringing out the natural wood grain.

It kinda ended up like a dry-brush effect but without the dabbing-paint-on-a-rag-or-paper-towel process.

For the hardware I also tried something new - DIY ring pulls! I can't take credit for this idea however - I found this post on Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, but no disrespect to Ms. Dorsey, I needed a little bit more info on where to find the parts: cotter pin, 1" ring, and washers. I had never heard of a cotter pin before. I had no idea if I was in a plumbing thingy or electrical do-hickey and therefore had no clue where to look for it in the store.

Turns out it's in with the screws, nuts, and bolts aisle. And more specifically, it was in a drawer at Home Depot with a tiny picture on the front so it was kinda hard to spot at first when you have shopping tunnel vision on. You can also find the finishing washers {which are beveled} and regular washers {which are flat} in this aisle. The trick was finding the ring for the DIY pull. There was nothing in that aisle that resembled Sarah Dorsey's find at her local hardware store so I had to expand my search. I actually ADORE going to the hardware store and perusing all the aisles I really have no business being in to find odds and ends I can repurpose for something else. And my aimless wandering did not disappoint. I ended up striking gold in the window treatment aisle with a set of curtain rings for $7.97 that would be perfect understudy.

I'm gonna go ahead and assume I'm not the only one who did not know what a cotter pin looks like so here's a visual aid:

Supplies Needed:
Curtain ring {with removable clip}
Cotter pin {size 1/8" x 1-1/2" should do}
Finishing washer {I used size #8}
Washer {doesn't have to be pretty because you won't see it inside the drawer - just make sure the cotter pin can fit through the inner hole}
Pliers

1. Remove the clip from the curtain ring.  It was really easy to unhook the clip with just my fingers, but you can use the pliers just in case. — 1. Remove the clip from the curtain ring. It was really easy to unhook the clip with just my fingers, but you can use the pliers just in case.

2. Much like sliding your finger through a bobby pin, slide the ring between the two prongs of the cotter pin until it reaches the eye at the end.  Cotter pins are made from much tougher metal than bobby pins {which is good because you wan… — 2. Much like sliding your finger through a bobby pin, slide the ring between the two prongs of the cotter pin until it reaches the eye at the end. Cotter pins are made from much tougher metal than bobby pins {which is good because you want something stronger for furniture pulls}. So this is really where you want to use pliers and put some elbow grease into it.

3.  Once the ring is on, pinch the prongs of the cotter pin and slide on the finishing washer with the beveled side facing the ring. — 3. Once the ring is on, pinch the prongs of the cotter pin and slide on the finishing washer with the beveled side facing the ring.

4. Now you've got the makings of the ring pull.  To secure it onto the drawer, thread the prongs through the hole in the drawer and slide the regular washer on the inside of the drawer.  Then bend the ends of the cotter pin like a bra… — 4. Now you've got the makings of the ring pull. To secure it onto the drawer, thread the prongs through the hole in the drawer and slide the regular washer on the inside of the drawer. Then bend the ends of the cotter pin like a brad to keep the pulls in place.

Mighty fine looking for just about $2.11 a pull!

Could't help snap this pic of another of my chandelier terrariums. If you want the tutorial on how to make your own, check out this post from last spring.

The only thing I was disappointed by is that Home Depot doesn't seem to carry cotter pins or finishing washers in brass. If any of you readers have ideas on where I can get some please share!

White distressed dresser
43"W x 19.5"D x 43"H
Sold

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, please email cate@stylemutthome.com.