I know I’m a month early for St. Patrick’s Day, but I just didn’t want to wait that long to share this little project. Hopefully I’ll find something else to paint green between now and then.
In the meantime, you may remember that I picked up this … um, I don’t know what to call it … little cupboard thingie? … while thrifting recently.
I’m sure many of you were wondering what in the world I was thinking. I have to admit, I was wondering that when I got it home too. What was I thinking? These cheap little things are a dime a dozen, why would I spend my time on it?
But in the end I thought, if nothing else, it would just be a fun little project to work on. And sure enough, it was.
I started by using a small flat saw to cut off those knobs.
I knew I would be replacing them with library card catalogue style pulls, and they were glued in place so I didn’t want to risk doing damage trying to force them off any other way.
Next I scuff sanded the whole thing a bit so I wouldn’t see shadows left by the raised areas of the hand-painted birdhouses under the new paint. After cleaning it, I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky. That’s because I was originally thinking I’d paint it black.
But once I had the black on, I thought that seemed like a rather boring choice. It’s just a small, inexpensive item, why not go bold? Maybe it’s all of that white snow we’re surrounded with here, but I’ve been craving a bit of green lately. So I pulled out one of my favorite shades, In a Pickle milk paint from Sweet Pickins.
I mixed some up and painted over the black.
In my opinion, the layer of chalk style paint was not a wasted step though. This little cupboard had a shiny, plastic-y sort of finish on it. Milk paint would not have adhered to it very well at all. That can be OK, if you want a chippy finish (or if you add a bonding agent). But it could have possibly chipped a lot, and I didn’t really want that.
So, that brings me to today’s q tip; if you want to use milk paint over a shiny pre-existing finish but you don’t want unpredictable and potentially excessive chipping, start with a base coat of chalk style paint.
As you can see on my piece, once you distress the edges you will see both the original color and the base coat color under your milk paint so choose your colors accordingly.
After distressing, and then adding a coat of clear wax, I added those card catalogue pulls. My friend Sue found a pile of these at a garage sale for me.
Next up I added slips of green and white gingham scrapbook paper to the pulls, and also lined the drawers with it.
This piece makes another great place to store one’s washi tape.
Or your Tim Holtz metal number plate thingies.
Or a million other small things that need to be rounded up.
I’m in love with this green and white gingham, especially for spring.
What do you think? Would you bother with such a project? Spending time and the cost of supplies to make over an item with little value? Just for the fun of it? Leave a comment and let me know.
q is for quandie 
If you have the time, go for it!
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I love this! Green is my favorite color and you made this one pop!!
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I love this!
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Your vision to transform things is amazing. I love what you have done to this ♥️
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A wonderful transformation! I love your color choices and your tip. I would 100% make over these “thingies” and find myself drawn to these types of projects, too!
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Love it! Green is my favorite color and you made this little box adorable AND useful! Win win.
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Yes, it’s so rewarding to take something of little value and transform it into something that makes you smile. And these little green drawers does just that!
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It’s adorable, but then again, that is a favorite color of mine!
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I think it is just darling! As long as you enjoy working on it, then it is worth it! This is such a versatile little piece for storing everything from jewelry to crafting/sewing supplies, could be used in the kitchen, a child’s room, a craft room, just endless possibilities.
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Thanks Cheryl 😊
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Talk about a sow’s ear to a silk purse! That is incredible! I love it! I would put in the work if it turned out that fab!
Smiles, alice
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I see cupboards like yours all the time. But my eye never lands on them when I’m out junking. What an outstanding job you did. I love it. Now it has a new life.
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I love updating smalls. Probably not a big profit but so fun to see the transformation. And you know I love In a Pickle green. Adorable and fun.
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Wow! What a transformation! I too have seen these a ga- zillion times, but never had the insight to make it as adorable as you did. The green, the gingham, what’s not to love? Well done you ! 😊
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I don’t think it’s a waste of time at all! It’s adorable and what a cute way to store all the small odd and ends used for creating. Thanks for the idea!
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I think you did an awesome job. I probably would have picked it up too.
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Love the fresh green and the oversized label frames…this is so cute!!!
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Very creative!
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Wow! This looks amazing! I love the way you were able to transform this piece with just a few steps. It’s amazing what a little bit of work can do! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what else you come up with.
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