DIY Luggage Makeover with Old Samsonite SuitCases featuring NEW DecoArt Premium Acrylic Paints from Micheals

This DIY luggage makeover with my old Samsonite Suit cases is one of my all time favorites on this blog. It is vintage + colorful and giving me jungle fever! It is pretty easy todo, and if you already have the suitcase, then you really only need the DecoArt Premium Acrylic Paints. 

Below I share with you how to paint the perfect fern, and mix up the perfect burnt orange and muted pink colors. Oh, and of course- how to makeover a suitcase!  

Here is the before + after, below. I loved these before, but I love the new vibe even more. It screams 'take me on vacation!' 

Step 1: Prime

Before you start painting a design, you're going to need to 'prime your canvas'- aka, gesso the surface of the suit case

If you're aren't lazy (I was lazy), you are going to tape off any of the hardware that you don't want to paint. (The silver parts, buckles, handle, etc.) 

​Just to be safe, I did two layers of gesso on the suitcases 

Step 2: color

While your surface is drying, this is a good time to mix up colors. I wanted I very retro vibe, and colors that wouldn't be too matchy-matchy, but still compliment one another. So I went with a complementary color pallet of  orange+blue and pink+green. 

I wanted to keep with the vintage/retro vibe of the suitcases so I leaned into the muted shades of these colors.

To mix a muted/burnt orange : I mixed a golden yellow + orange + teal (just a dab)

To mix a muted soft pink : I mixed white + fuchsia + sap green (just a dab)

Blue + orange are opposite from one another on the color wheel, therefor, they are complimentary colors. That means, not only do the look good together- but they neutralize each other too. Same thing with pink + green. 

Step 3: Design - How to Paint a Fern

The fern design I painted is actually very easy to do. The paint + brush will do most of the work, you just go with the flow. Below I show you step by step how I painted the outline of each fern. 

When painting the ferns onto the surface of the suitcase I made sure I faced them different directions and let the branches flow every which way. This will keep the design cohesive and make it flow! I went for it, brush and paint straight to the suitcase, but do not hesitate to use a pencil to sketch out your design (lightly) first. The paint will cover it right up. 

To fill the fern in with color you are going to want to mix up a few different shades of the muted orange. A dark, medium and very light (almost white) orange.  The light shade is the highlights, and the dark the shadows. Add a stroke of each shade to every leaf to bring dimension to your design. 

Like myself, please practice on paper until you feel confident with your design. It will make your life easier, I promise! 

Step 4: Paint Suit case 

Now it's finally time to paint the suitcases! For the round suitcase, I painted it all pink first, and let it dry, then I painted on the fern design. You can see a little video clip of it in progress below. 

For the smaller green + mint suitcase, I painted the fern first, and then the background. And boy, that I was A LOT more work. #LessonLearned 

Step 5: Final Touches 

I love patterns, but I didn't want to go overboard, so I chose todo thin orange lines all along the side of the pink suitcase and mint ones on the smaller suitcase handle. Again, if you're not lazy- use tape to get a straight line. 

Step 6 : Seal it! 

Lastly, after all the paint has well and dried. You will need to seal it with something to protect it from wear-and-tear.

I used DecoArt's Premium Gloss Medium, and just like with the gesso, applied two coats of it- just incase! 

Seriously in love with these and ready for my next tropical getaway, NOW! 

[ This post is a sponsored post in collaboration with DecoArt. ]