Rast Hack #1,982 With Special Help From Sakina Design

Hello everyone! I don't know about your neck of the woods, but it's getting hot-ter over here and the excessive heat has already taken a toll on me. :o( booo! With that said let me cool your hearts with a bright a fresh project. I know, I know. Rast hacks are a dime a dozen, but they are the only projects that  never get old. I mean people have done amazing things with their hacks, and here I am to add my own.

After! 

Before

I bought two rast dressers to create an entertainment center. I was lucky to get help from Pik at Sakina Design for the art work.

She was so gracious to let me use the original design from this Attarine wall art. She mailed me an image that I printed and colored in with a gold leaf pen. 

The original square wasn't working on the Rast for a few reasons.

So I tried cutting it down and ended with this design from within the original square. 

One of the reasons why I had to cut down the original design was due to the amount of gold leaf pen I was using to color in the printed image. 

When using gold leaf pen on paper, it leaves oily residues, but don't worry because it disappears. 

As for the Rast dresser, I used Dulux water based paint, floetrol to control the drying time, and the color was Grecian Spa. 

First I primed everything and after drying gave a light sand. 

Then I gave a single coat of Grecian Spa. If look closely you can see the paint was bubbling. Most likely it's because I was painting in the heat and direct sun. Note to self: paint in the shade, even if it's early in the morning. 

To fix the bubbling I literally wiped the paint down with my hand and ended with a slightly distressed look. It turned out great! 

I made sure to paint any part of the inside that would be visible when the draws are open. It's so tacky when you see an unfinished paint job when you open the drawers. 

Also decide if you will paint the sides of the drawers or not. However, I left the inside of the drawers untouched. I might line them in the future

After the paint dried I measured taped lines so I could paint in the white stripes and draw in the gold lines with the gold leaf pen. 

Remember to pull the tape away and downwards from the stripe so as not to peal the paint. After the white lines dried I retailed again to add the gold leaf. 

The gold leaf took two coats. It wouldn't take well with just one. 

It was time to modge podge the printed artwork onto the drawers. Before I did that thought, I embossed a small mark in the center so I could align it perfectly. Once it's wet, it's very hard to align and realign. So you have to be VERY careful.  

I started with a thin coat on the back.

Whit a dry stencil or any other brush, I smooth out all the air bubbles. 

And again I applied a think coat of modge podge on the surface. 

Make sure everything sticks and don't worry if it looks wet and sloppy it dries clear. 

The final result was a bright, unique, Islamic inspired entertainment center. 

Looks great and adds a great focal point to this space. Excuse the plant on the right. I'm in the middle of resurrecting it. :o) Each Rast dresser was AED 90 ($24.50) Cheaper than the U.S. and currently Ikea UAE has a sale and the Rast is going for cheaper. I can't remember the exact cost of the entire project, it was definitely cheaper than most common furniture out there and there is no way I'll find this custom piece anywhere. 

I have to give a big Special thanks to Pik for allowing me to use her original design for her project. If you want to know more about her and her company you can follow her on Facebook or check out her blog and find more great art. 

Thanks again for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment below!

-Debora