Luggage-Look Desk

Make the top of a desk, drawer fronts and small organizing boxes look like leather using some simple techniques.

Materials:

desk
luggage handles and screws
medium gold latex paint (eggshell finish )
glaze (Tea Stain)
paint roller and tray
stipple brush
brown paper
sandpaper
polyurethane
screwdriver

Steps:

1. Sand desktop and drawer fronts to smooth rough spots and remove dust.

2. Base-coat with gold latex paint (sheen must be eggshell, not flat or semi-gloss ). Let dry.

3. Saturate roller with glaze and apply a fairly thick layer to top/drawer fronts . Immediately stipple entire area with brush.

4. While still wet, crumple a piece of paper and dab it gently over the surface using a slight twisting motion. Let dry.

5. Apply a layer of polyurethane and let dry. Attach luggage handles to drawer fronts.

Boxes

Materials:

wooden boxes
paper that resembles leather
craft glue
sandpaper
stain
scissors
foam brush
heavy books

Steps:

1. Sand any rough edges and remove dust. Stain box to match paper and let dry.

2. Cut paper to fit box top and glue in place. Put books on top to keep it flat until dry.