Upcycling - COMPLETED!

Whew. I finally got this sucker done. Just to remind y'all of the starting point . . .(here is where I did the inside)

Once I got the shelves cut, I stained them using a Red Mahogany stain (Minwax, of course).

And, me being me, I got it all over myself. I can't seem to do anything at all related to paint without getting it all over myself. Sigh. It's even splattered on my feet. (Yeah, it's woodstain, not some kind of strange foot rash or freckle pattern)

Anyway, I got those stained Sunday morning, let them dry outside all day, and then sealed with polyurethane and let that dry for 24 hours. If I had planned this better (ie doing the interior of the suitcase with the spray adhesive while the stain was drying and sealing the interior and the shelves at the same time) , the whole shebang would've taken about 2 days.

Monday night, I did the shelf install. I used that handy dandy iPhone level app to make sure it was straight, then marked where the shelf was going to go on the inside of the suitcase.

Since I suck at depth perception, I tapped a nail from the inside out until it was barely protruding and circled it using a white quilting pencil. That way I knew exactly where to put the nail.

Then I nailed that sucker in. I did both shelves on one side first, so then I could just kind of close the suitcase around the other side before securing it. This part was crazy frustrating. There's probably a better way to do it, but I sure didn't figure it out in time. It was also totally worth it.

And Ta-Da! A corner shelf.

Now to fill it with things.

And find a place for it.

All done. My first project that turned into a piece of furniture is complete! I even got to use a hacksaw.

PS: These pics look so much clearer on my iPhone when I take them. But my real camera is busted . . . :(

ETA: I might change how the shelves are attached to make them more sturdy. If so, I'll add how I did it.

Okay, so I did change how the shelves are attached. I got these square dowel rod type things from Michael's, and stained them to match the shelves. 

Then I nailed them in place, using the old spots as a guide.

Finally I set the shelves on the new supports. Simple. You can probably nail the shelves to the supports, but this was I can take the shelves out and close the suitcase when I finally graduate and move.