Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Filing Cabinet Redo

Do you know about Freecycle??  It's a group kinda like Craig's list that can be specific for your area.  You get emails from legitimate people in your town asking for items or trying to get rid of items all for FREE.

I received one Thursday night-- someone was GIVING away this lovely cabinet
It had some areas that needed sanding.  After sanding, I cleaned it and primed it and left it outside overnight.


This morning, I went outside to start painting it with spray paint, but it looked awful.  So I resorted to painting it with these acrylic paints that you can buy from Hobby Lobby.
The only bad thing about acrylics is they can scratch off easily, but you can put a clear sealant on top.
I planned on using scrapbook paper on the drawers, so I didn't  paint the whole drawer blue.  I painted the edges because the paper is not as big as the drawer, so I knew I needed a color on the edge.  I also removed all the removable hardware before painting and put in into a plastic bag.

Then it was time to put on the paper, but first I needed a template.  To do the whole paper part, I used the items below
The red piece of paper is card stock (I really used a scrap of blue card stock ) which is what I used to make my template.  I put the blue paper on the drawer front with some removable tape, and with my exacto blade, I carefully cut around the sliding opener, the label holder, and the 3 holes for the screws to go through.

The tough part was seeing the holes, but I had a "light bulb" moment.... literally :)  I placed a flashlight in the drawer, so I could see the light of where the hole was....(I felt pretty smart until it fell off the paper towels, and my husband just held it... wish I had asked him in the first place...);)
So then after I had traced all that, I cut everything I needed out of my template, and I placed it on top of the back side of my scrap book paper and attached the two with paper clips ----best invention EVER!
Then I cut it all out and placed the paper on my drawer front.  I did have to slightly tweak a few areas... but nothing major.
I attached it with my loving nemesis....Tacky glue
I did that to 4 sheets, alternating patterns.   It looked like this... I promise the pics are ending soon! :)
Then it was time for labels.  I used yellow card stock, a few scrapbook letters, and a paint pen to finish my lettering.



Please pardon my GINORMOUS mess that is over taking the rest of the room.  Here is the finished product... drum roooooooooooooooooooll please.................

Now to find fun folders to organize the mess that is sure to go into it.... Hopefully everything on that desk! :)

You can find this post and more about organization at my website Jack of all Trades

Thanks for reading and Happy Crafting!!!

11 comments:

  1. Love it! Congrats on your new filing cabinet! I'm going to look for one of my own!

    Melly <><

    Second Grade Strategies for Sizzlin' Second Graders!

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  2. OH MY GOSH you are so amazing! I love it!

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  3. I am so excited to give this a try on my bland filing cabinet. Thanks!

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  4. I saw this on pinterest and bought some cheap scrapbook paper today to try with my filing cabinets at school! I'm not going to paint the sides, just dress up the fronts. It does look like it will be a bit more of a project than I originally anticipated. I might have to wait a little bit!

    Rachel
    Go Fourth! With Mrs. Owens

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  5. This is great! I have a ton of great scrapbook paper. I am going to do this to a cabinet at school.

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  6. I know a certain blue filing cabinet that will be very grateful for a makeover - and just in time for school. Thanks!!

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  7. It's always nice to get stuff for free, heh heh. Anyway, you took a simple filing cabinet and made it look good! I love the work done on this -- it's very creative and nice to look at.
    -Jackson Gaydosh

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  9. This is gorgeous :) I got some wrapping paper last year that coordinates with my classroom colors and have been waiting for inspiration to tell me what to use it for. Now I know! :D

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