Converting a Vintage Train Case

I am a member of Sisters on the Fly.  One thing I noticed going through photos on their website and on their Facebook page is that a lot of the Sisters have these adorable vintage train cases and suitcases that they have customized.  Now, I have several vintage train cases hanging around, so I decided it was time to try it out for myself. 

I know that some people make their own paste mix, but I decided to keep it simple this first time around and go with tried and true ModPodge.  The store I stopped at was not a crafts store, but did have the basic ModPodge in their crafts section.  So, bottle in hand I headed home.

I decided to convert a case to hold our First Aid items in the trailer.  Right now they reside in a plastic box.  Not very attractive, and it doesn't allow for things to stand upright.  Now I have my ModPodge, my train case and my theme.  Next I hit the internet for images.  I decided to go with a vintage First Aid theme.  I found some wonderful old advertisements and product images.  I made the decision to stay with those rather than adding "clip art" too.

After I printed and cut out all my images and started putting them on the case I realized a few things.  1.  Don't put your favorites on first.  Because the case is a collage, things you put on first tend to get covered by other things.

2.  Keep in mind your edges.  I should have started at my hard edges and worked in rather than the other way around.

3.  Wet paper is fragile.  I ended up having to cover up some spots where the paper tore or the image came off cause I touched it too much after it was on.

4.  Have more images than you think you will need.  I had to stop part of the way through and print more images. 

5.  Have a variety of sizes.  You need little things as well as big things.  I ended up repeating my images in a couple of different sizes.  This added consistency to the overall product.

6.  This is a messy project.  I quit using the paint brush and just used my fingers.  I reverted back to childhood I guess, but I felt I had more control that way. 

I'm pretty happy with the final results.  I still have to trim the images a little bit, and I will give it a protective coat or two of clear varnish in a few days after I know it's dry all the way through.  The pictures below were taken right after I was done, so there are still some wet spots where the ModPodge shows up white.  It dries clear.  Now that I've done this, I have a few more projects in mind.  Give it a try - it's fun.