I had some leftover milk paint after last week’s jewelry box redo, so I decided to use it on a sad little curio cabinet I had stored away in my basement waiting for inspiration to strike.
The cabinet was a thrift store find — although calling it a “find” might be a bit of a stretch.
It was dark. It was dingy. It was dated. Literally. There was a stamp on the back that read
“Enesco Imports 1979.
And get a load of the felt glued onto the back of some of the cubby holes. Ooo-la-la. 1970s chic.
Fortunately, the roof section was separate from the rest of the cabinet, so the first thing I did was remove it. Then I pulled up all the felt squares and sanded off the glue residue left behind.
I took off the one handle that was still on the cabinet door. The other one had been sheared off previously. I wasn’t able to remove the portion of the metal screw that was still embedded in the wood.
So instead of screwing in new hardware, I had to glue a couple of wooden knobs onto the door. It’s not ideal, but it will do the job. The door isn’t going to get opened real often, and the knobs aren’t going to have a lot of stress on them, so I’m sure the glue will hold.
Next I broke out the milk paint. Just like with the jewelry box I redid last week, I didn’t use any primer or bonding agent in hopes that the paint would peel off at least a little, leaving me with a nice chippy (faux aged) finish. But just like with the jewelry box, the paint didn’t chip at all. Maybe I need to invest in better milk paint? Or maybe I’ve just been using it over the wrong kinds of finishes?
Except for the lack of chippy-ness, I have to say I’m happy with how the milk paint looks. It’s got a nice flat finish, and it’s a definite improvement over the original dark stain and felt.
I decided to decoupage newspaper onto the backs of a few of the cubbies, because everything looks better with a little newspaper decoupaged onto it.
Then I decided the newspaper was too distracting, so I whitewashed it with a quick coat of paint. Now a hint of the type peeks out, but it’s very subtle.
I also screwed hooks into a couple of random cubbies, so I could hang things off of them.
Here’s the cabinet with the doors closed, all ready to be put to use.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I rounded up some heart-shaped items, like this little frame, to put in a few of the cubbies.
These hearts are metal cookie cutters that I backed with newspaper-lined cardboard (proving once again that everything looks better with a little newspaper decoupaged to it).
I found this sweet heart-shaped lock in the bottom of a thrift store bin a while back.
I also put a couple of keys in the cubbies. None of them fit in the heart-shaped lock, but they were the right size for the cubbies. I’ve had this rusty old skeleton key forever.
This one has an old-timey skeleton key look to it, too, although it is definitely not old; it came from Michael’s craft store a couple years ago.
I filled some of the cubbies with newspaper flowers.
I filled a few of the other cubbies with some random treasures from around my house.
You might think this is a vintage pocket watch, but it’s not. It’s actually a lip gloss compact that I bought at Urban Outfitters about 10 years ago.
Anyhoo, here’s the new, improved curio cabinet.
Anybody else have experience with Folk Art brand milk paint? If you’ve got any advice, leave a comment below. I’d love to know if there’s anything I can do to get it a chippy finish with it. Or what brand would you recommend?
When we visited Mackinac Island, bikes were everywhere — and I’m not just talking about on the streets (where no cars are allowed).
A lot of the shops sell bicycle art and crafts and T-shirts.
This old-timey penny farthing decoration was in the front window of Ryba’s Fudge Shop.
All the bike art reminded me of a penny farthing wall hanging I bought at a garage sale a couple years ago when I was compiling stuff for a gallery wall. I had over-collected for the gallery wall, and the penny farthing didn’t make the cut. I hung onto it anyway, thinking I might use it somewhere else sometime.
The mottled metal finish always seemed a little sad and tired to me, and the fun, bright-colored bikes and bike art on the island made me think my penny farthing needed an update.
I started by basecoating the whole thing with black chalk paint.
Then I pulled out the remains of some Annie Sloan chalk paint in Antibes Green that I had stored in my basement.
I decided to paint the body of the bike in the green and leave the wheels black.
It took a couple coats to cover.
I liked the piece 1,000 percent better once it was green.
I thought I might like it even better if I added an accent color.
So I dug some Spanish Copper Rub ‘n’ Buff out of my craft supplies.
The Rub ‘n’ Buff goes on flat.
After it dries, you buff it with a soft cloth and it shines like metal.
I loved the coppery color accents.
They’re subtle, but they definitely add a little dimension.
Here’s the whole penny farthing, all painted.
Once I was done buffing and touching up the paint, I hung it up on my basement door.
It didn’t come from Mackinac Island, but every time I walk past it, that’s what I think of.
