Ta Da...Finished Cherry Chicked Cabinet

Well...here she is all finished up!  I may still change out the cabinet knobs if I can find some of Mary Engelbreit's that I like better.  Please note that all photos will enlarge if you click on them.

If you read my blog post last week you know the story about this "blank canvas" and how it arrived at my house.  I started out cleaning her up with a nice scrub of soap and water to remove as much of the grime as I could.

I made a trip to Lowes where I picked up the materials that I needed to work with.  I used a Zinsser primer base paint in white and some painter's putty to fill in the cracks in the wood.  I, also, got her a new magnetic door clasp because one of the old ones was cracked.  

The putty was easy to work with.  I just shoved it in wherever I found cracks and wiped back over it with a putty knife to even it out with the surface.  Then I waited 24 hours to let it dry before I put on the first coast of the primer paint.

After applying two coats of the primer to EVERYTHING (the least favorite part of this project) I then taped off the two raised front panels on the cabinet and used some black acrylic paint that I had purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics & Crafts to paint them.

Taping it off made for a nice clean edge after I removed the painters tape.

The next step was apply the checkerboard Contact paper that I had cut into strips.  Soooo much easier than hand painting all those checks.  I did find that the right cabinet door  is not at the same height as the left cabinet door so I had to play with positioning the checks but I bet if I hadn't told you you would not have noticed.  What do ya want...it was FREE! ;-)

I was able to bring the cabinet inside for the next step.  I spent a couple of evenings watching the TV hunched over the cabinet while it rested on an ottoman.  That's how I hand painted all the cherries on the front panels.  It took several coats of acrylic paint to get them dark enough over the black base coating.

 The polka dots where applied with a pencil eraser dipped in paint.

I painted the old knobs black, dug through my stickers to find just the right ones, and coated everything with a couple of layers of  Mod Podge to give it a shiny finish. 

Next it was time to start on the interior part of the cabinet.  I used some Cherry gift wrap cut to the measurements of each section of shelves.  I've use double sided tape to affix it to the cabinet backing board.  I think that will hold it in place.

I took an opinion poll on Facebook to help me decide if I wanted to use the Wallies inside in each of the 12 shelves.  Obviously, I decided to use them. I then applied some checkerboard ribbon on the edge of the 3 center shelves.  Love that touch!  I think the door shelves are perfect for holding ribbon.

Here's the interior part completed.  I have some ME square shaped tins that I thought would fit but they're just a touch too big so I won't be able to use them inside.  It made for a cute photo I thought.

Completed interior closeup view

Having completed the interior part, I was able to stand the cabinet back up again and finish off the front panels.  I used some Mary Engelbreit scrapbook cut out pieces and tried to attach them evenly spaced.  Before I applied the cut out pieces I taped the front of the cabinet back up again with craft paper and painter's tape to give the painted front panels a couple of spray coats of Polycrylic Gloss to seal the paint.  I forgot to take photos of that step. You didn't miss much. :-)

Here she is completed in all here Cherriness!  So if you ever come across a cabinet you'll now know what you can do to "Mary Engelbright" it up as my son, Christopher, said.

P.S. Sweet Bee keep looking for those knobs, please. ;-)

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A Blank Canvas...

 

Kind of yuck, right??   But I see a blank canvas to create with.

The inside is what got me really excited. On Wednesday it seems my son had stopped by my house and dropped this off outside my garage.  He's helping someone move out of state and this cute cabinet is something that didn't make the cut.  I didn't see it until I went out to get in my car to go run errands.  I immediately emailed him and asked if the "cute cabinet" was for me.  He responded "Yes, if you want I figured you could engelbright it up." Despite the misspelling you have to give the man points for knowing "cute" when he sees it not to mention how well he knows me.  

Obviously, it needs some TLC and wood putty is the first thing on my shopping list. I'll probably have to do a little sanding, too.  It does appear to be made of wood.  I've been reading up and there's a primer made by Zinsser that is suppose to work miracles. 

I'm open to suggestions if anyone has experience with finishing furniture easily.

I can't decide if I want to paint it all white again and then add my details. Or maybe paint the front panels black with cherries and then checkerboard to frame the front panels.  

I'm, also, on the hunt for some reasonably priced Mary Engelbreit drawer knobs, too.  Anyone have a pair you want to sell?

I'm thinking it will go into my studio since those shelves look like they would be great for rolls of ribbons or containers of beads.

Any design suggestions would be wonderful...what do you think??

Adventures at Trader Joe's

If we are "Friends" on Facebook you know that a Trader Joe's was just recently built here in town.  This past Thursday was only my second visit to a TJ's store.

These yummy little almond croissants were new to me.  They'll go on the "buy again" list.  The hardest part was waiting the 6 hours that it takes to let them sit out to thaw and rise up before I popped them in the oven.

They baked up in 25 minutes, I sprinkled a little powered sugar over the top as suggested on the packaging, and sunk my teeth into one of them while it was still warm.  My only suggestion is that they could use more "stuff" inside them.  There wasn't a whole lot of almond filling but I would still recommend adding them to your shopping list.

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