On September 8, 2010, I bought a trunk from St. Vinnies. I had just moved into a new apartment and was looking to fill an empty spot in my room. It was just the right size and at $4, my impulse buy was also just the right price. The top had been decorated by the previous owner with old maps but the sides of the trunk were blank. I decided I would get crafty and cover the trunk with my own maps. I went out and got the perfect map that very same day and planned to pick up some Mod Podge later.

The blank, sad trunk

Sadly, that’s where my ambition died. The trunk and the map never got to meet. My craft project sat untouched for months and before I knew it the task “fix trunk” had sat on my to-do list for over a year. I had even moved the sad trunk (and unused map) to a new home. Finally, on October 29, 2011, I did something about the neglected trunk. I bought a paint brush, Mod Podge, some black paint and got to work.

I’m not very artsy and my painting experience consists of covering up wall marks with white paint before moving out of an apartment. But I played some music, put on a painting shirt and faked that I knew what I was doing. And it turned out pretty good!

The completed project, I was originally only going to do the front but I did the sides as well

Had to make sure Wisconsin was represented

Side view

I actually enjoyed this little craft project and the end result was better than I thought it would be. Sure, it’s not perfect but I ended up with a cute piece of handcrafted furniture and I got to evict a resident off my to-do list. Win, win. And, I felt a little inspired and I might even embark on more arts and crafts in the future. Maybe some more painting and that Mod Podge stuff is pretty fun to work with. Hopefully, my next project will have a shorter stay on my to-do list.