I am so excited about my learning project that it has been hard to reign myself in and take the necessary steps! I just want to get my hands dirty! As my first step I had to learn how to remove paint from my old dresser. This great YouTube video was a huge help to me.
I learned what I need to buy in order to get started. I need: CitriStrip, a paint brush, gloves, a mask, rags/ paper towels, a spray cleaner to remove wax and grime, a 5 in 1 painters tool, sandpaper, paper bag, Tung oil, slideez lubricant (for the drawers), and a stain or wood paint of my choosing.
Something I had to learn about was the language I was using. Was I refurbishing? Refinishing? Restoring? This article helped me understand the lingo!
Front view of the dresser I’m going to refinishBack view. If you look closely you can see this dresser used to support a mirror. Too bad I don’t have that mirror!Close up view showing a good view of the hardware that I am going to replace with something modern.Inside drawer view displaying the layer of wall paper I need to remove.
This user on Tik Tok demonstrates how she removed stain:
This has proven to be rather challenging to me, learning how to follow blogs! I first started with Feedly. I am an arts education student passionate about infusing arts into the classroom so I began searching for arts educators. I discovered “2 Soul Sisters” that have several ideas regarding art projects they have included in their own classrooms. One idea that I really liked had the students colour an ink stamped post card (designed by one of their own students) that they coloured. The students were then encouraged to write a note of gratitude to someone and then the post card was physically snail mailed. This is helpful because it is an excellent example of cross curricular (ELA, visual art) learning infused with art. Their students loved it! 2 Soul Sisters is relevant and helpful because their ideas have been tried and tested in their own classrooms. Their blog includes a list of arts education blogs they follow. I have just discovered there are millions of possibilities connecting this way. I had not realized the power of blogging until now.
Feedly screen shot
The second thing I did was google “best arts ed blogs” and by sorting and eliminating I came to Mini Matisse’s blog. The author, Mrs. Hahn, is an elementary arts teacher and her posts are directly related to teaching elementary school children, or, as Mrs. Hahn calls them, “mini’s”. Her blog is recent and includes ideas related to the seasons or special circumstances (ex: Earth Day). Mrs. Hahn’s art projects are detailed often with YouTube tutorials embedded directly to her blog, and her projects use easy to find art supplies. Additionally, one great thing about Mini Matisse’s blog is that she has a huge list of blogs she follows!
I am so excited about my learning project. It took me a long time to settle on a project but I am pleased to announce that I am going to learn how to refurbish a very old wood dresser. I was walking down an aisle in Home Depot and a spray can caught my attention because it had a picture of a refurbished dresser on it.
Home Depot inpiration!
I realized I have an old dresser in my basement that we do not use because it is so ugly. Then I remembered my cousin had recently posted on Facebook that she had just refurbished two of her old dressers. So voila! That is what I have decided to do. My husband and I dragged the heavy wood dresser to the garage and I am ready to get into it. The problem is I do not have any idea where to start! We bought a sander but now I think the dresser is actually painted, not stained. I do not know. As my first step, I need to investigate how to remove both stain and paint. I will need to buy the supplies (and hope for some good weather!). This week I plan to remove the stain/ paint. Inside the drawers there is a layer of fabric that also needs to be removed. Learning how to remove the current finishing and completing that work will take up week 1.
Week 2 I anticipate will be a continuation of removing the current finishing from both the dresser and the drawers. I will need to remove the current hardware.
Week 3 I expect I will need to cover any scratches, dints, and damage with wood filler. I have never done this before either so this will take me some time to figure out.
Week 4 I hope to be able to apply a new finish. I do not know if I will use stain or a paint made for furniture.
Week 5 is when I intend to install the new hardware.
My name is Jana Ross. I am a wife and mother of 4. I finish my arts education degree (my concentration is in music) this December following my internship. I have no experience with education technology although I have taken two creative technology courses at the University and I really enjoyed them. I have blogged 20% of my university experience but I am embarrassed to admit I really do not know how to use the blog site properly. The blogging I did was sufficient for my instructors, and in many cases, was an “advanced” form of submitting assignments. Through a lot of trial and error I have figured out how to link websites, add videos and photographs, but the rest is a mystery! Taking EDTC at the beginning of my degree would have been much more helpful to me! I am excited to blog and learn more about it. I enjoy documenting my thoughts and feelings along my journey. I have kept a physical journal my whole life so blogging is another source for me!
A recent picture of me, taken by me!
My husband I have lived in Regina for 6 years after having enjoyed the rocky mountains and this picture reminds me of British Columbia.
Jana Ross 