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3/11/12

Identity Crisis

Have you seen some of the library card catalogues that have been made over?   I have pinned some pretty examples on Pinterest.  Check them out HERE.



I really like the look of card catalogues in room design...but...what could I do?  I didn't have an old card catalogue to make over.
But, I did have this:


It's a jewelry box.  Boring, old, brown-painted wood.  (It's not a very good photo, sorry, but it shows how it looked when I brought it home from the thrift store.)  It was about five dollars.  The "hardware" is just wire rings...pretty much the same as cheap key chain rings.  Weird, huh!?  But it had a bit of a 'card catalogue' vibe to it. 

I call it Card Cataloguesque.  :)

I also had these hanging around...and they remind me of the card catalogue hardware...


I removed all those wire rings:



 Once I had them all removed it looked like this:


Then I got out some other supplies:

A few different colors of paint
Some Glazing Medium
A wood-graining tool
Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint
A few wooden beads and some fishing line
Little tiny nails
My trusty hammer (we have a love-hate relationship)

And I went to work.






First, I white-washed the wood.
Then, I painted a layer of glaze-medium and paint over that.
Finally, I ran the wood-grain tool down the sides and fronts...
gently rocking it back and forth as I drug it along the surface.
I did the base of the box in white, but did some of the drawers in brown and green to give it some interest.

While the paint and glaze dried, I sprayed the brass hardware with the oil-rubbed bronze paint.

Once everything was completely dry, I nailed the hardware to the little drawer fronts and added labels that I printed in MS Word.  And the smallest drawers got a wooden bead as a knob.
AND...my 'card cataloguesque' jewelry box!



It has a bit of a Cottage feel to it.  That's the direction I was trying to go.  It's a little bit Shabby, but that's only because I have very bad aim and beat it up with my hammer.   Better IT than my FINGERS.   

Regardless of a possible identity crisis (on the jewelry boxes part) ~ It's just the right size to sit on the bathroom vanity and hold all of my jewelry.  AND...I'll know which drawer to look in when I want to find something.  Plus plus for me :)


61 comments :

  1. Sher, it looks AMAZING, tho your stuff usually does. I love to see your creativity flowing, and can't wait to see what beautiful things are yet to come...

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    1. Ah, thanks so much Nikki! I love it that my bestie stopped by to visit and leave me a comment here. Have a wonderful week. Hugs!

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  2. Wow...this is so beautiful! You did a great job...LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

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  3. i am so impressed! it looks very cool!

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    1. You are too nice! (Wasn't the crying in the wine comment, was it? LOL! Have a great week.

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  4. I need a card catalog ASAP! Awesome transformation and what a great way to store all of your jewelry :)

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  5. Ahhh! This is so cute! Love it! And I have seen these projects around and I've been on the look out for one, myself. Too bad I can't find anything. What you did turned out great and is sooo creative.:)

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  6. Very cute. I love that wood grain brush--never seen one. I love the finished product. I'm your newest follower!

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  7. I love the way this turned out! What a creative use of all your stuff - I never would have thought of it! Thanks for linking up.

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  8. Hi Sherry! I adore your "card catalog". I was so sad when they took the card catalogs out of the library and put all the info on a computer. You did a great tutorial on how we could achieve the same look...thanks so much. I saw your post over at "Metamorphosis Monday".

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  9. I LOVE the end product!! What an awesome piece to have in your house!! I am now following you on FB!! If you have a chance come check out my CHAOS! https://www.facebook.com/#!/randeesorganizedchaos

    I also have my SLEEPY SUNDAY Blog Hop up if you would like to come link up this project or any other that you LOVE!!!

    THANK you and can't wait to get to know you!! :)

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  10. Oh my gosh this is incredible. Great job...I never could have come up with this idea. Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment!

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  11. Sherry, you did a wonderful job, looks like lots of work, but well worth it.

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  12. Oh it's gorgeous, I think you did an amazing job. I love the colours and I think the wood-graining looks great. I don't want to sound like a petulant child but I want one !!

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  13. What a wonderful new piece! Just love how you redid it, thanks for sharing, Laura

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  14. Love your paint job! The colors are perfect! I've never heard of that tool before, nifty!

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    1. That little tool cost $4, I think, and it would work great on any flat surface you want to look like wood grain. It's pretty cool actually. Thanks Abby for the compliment~and for stopping by!

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  15. This is really great. Many People (me included) would not have seen the potential in the original, rather ugly piece. A bit of elbow greese and a lot of vision and it looks fabulous. Well done you!

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    1. That is so sweet Maria! I've had card catalogues on the brain lately...ever since I found those brass pulls that resembled card catalogue pulls. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. We love that.

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  16. Sherry,

    You are a rock star! I love this....it turned out sooooo cute! You have inspired me :)

    blessings,
    karianne

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  17. Awesome job!Love how that turned out.I also LOVE those cabinets.What is it about those vintage card drawers.I am your newest follower from between naps on the porch.

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  18. That looks fantastic! I too have been admiring all the cardcatalog makeovers on Pinterest and would LOVE one! Following you from Home Stories A to Z!

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  19. i love it!! i can't believe you got it for $5! what a steal! i think it turned out awesome!

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  20. It's really cute, and I like the look. Wow $5 bucks that sure was a steal. Love all the card catalogs, haven't found one myself yet. But this is really cool, I would love looking at it everyday. Love the graining look. Great transformation! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration at Sunday's Best!

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  21. love it! you did a great job. i want a card catalog so bad. lol well i want one of everything it seems! lol thanks for partying with me!

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  22. Definite improvement! I, too, have a love/hate relationship with a hammer, try holding your nails with needle nose pliers :-). You are braver than I, or maybe just not as cheap (those woodgrain tools are expensive) so I've never tried one. It does look cute, though.

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  23. That looks so nice! I always seem to have a project going, too! I'm a new follower and would love to have you stop by my brand new blog and follow me, too:)

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  24. I love this and I pinned this! And you should hook it up over at Young House Love today ...

    :)

    Linda

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  25. Very cool and unique! Thanks so much for joining the party! Hope to see you regularly!

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  26. This is incredible! I absolutely LOVE it. Visiting from Young House Love.

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  27. It has a very unique look to it. You did a wonderful job. (I like the wood grain effect.)

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  28. That is GREAT. I love the re-do. And also am fond of any dressers with small drawers. I am fortunate to have an actual <a href="http://cranberrymorning.blogspot.com/2012/02/vintage-card-catalog.html>vintage card catalog which I love,</a>. There's something about all those little drawers!

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  29. I LOVE this! Thanks for the instuctions, too! Now I am going to be searching for a library card catalog!!! Sharing the blog love from www.stuffitellmysister.me !

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  30. Wow what an awesome redo!! It looks completely different now and so much cuter!! Don't you just love having all those little drawers to fill with pretties! I don't know what it is about little drawers but I can never have enough!

    bee blessed
    mary

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  31. Oh that is Brilliant!!! I've been hankering for a card catalogue too! Now you've inspired me to think outside the box on that ;) Thanks so much for linking up to the "Spring Fling" party over at I Gotta Create! <3

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  32. You did a great job! I love it! Now I want to make something similar too!

    Blessings, Grace

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  33. Oh my goodness that's so wonderful! I love how you went out and made something that you didn't have and it looks SO good! This project would be perfect for our linky party featuring "Transformations" called Repurpose-Remodel-Reveal, I know our readers would love to see it too! (It starts tomorrow- Friday, March 16th 2012 at 7:00 am and reoccures every 1st and 3rd Friday)

    -Whitney @ TheRoosterAndTheHen

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  34. I really like this - great idea! And sounds like you had fun repurposing it. There will be a lot of us copying this.

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  35. How fun! Wish I could find something similar. And of course, I would paint it yellow (smile).

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  36. Wow! I absolutely love it! I think it is so cool that you were able to find a cataloguesque piece to repurpose. You have great vision for what something can be.

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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  37. Your jewelry box is soooo cute. I love it!!
    Mary Alice

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  38. I LOVE it!!!!! You gave me some ideas. I like the wood graining tool too. I've seen them but now I know what it looks like and I want one!I love card catalogs too and you're so ingenious to not wait but make use of what you have and make those dreams come true in whatever way you can! I'll be on the lookout now for sure!

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    1. Hi Sam,
      Thanks so much! I just got tired of having to wait for what I want!!! Lol. For instance, I cannot afford wood floors but I'm going to do something about them soon anyway. I'm seeing tons of alternatives on other blogs and I think we can find a way to make something happen. Sometimes it feels like, if I want something badly enough, and I put out my "feelers"...there's almost always a solution that presents itself. As long as I'm being openminded, anyway! I love using my creativity instead of just wishing I could have something I can't afford.

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  39. This looks so delicious! I've featured it today. Come check it out and grab an "I Was Stuffed" button!

    http://www.thegunnysack.com/2012/03/who-was-stuffed-in-gunny-sack-week-29.html

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  40. Beautiful! I'd love to have you join my party that just opened!!! XO, Aimee

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  41. personally i like the paint technique ;). got my wood graining tool at a thrift store for $1.00. but would never have thought to use it this way or to make over a jewel box VERY creative

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    1. That's awesome ~ finding a wood grainer at the thrift store. I've had some pretty lucky finds at thrift stores too. Thanks for the compliment...I got the jewelry box up in my room filled with my jewelry now. I LOVE IT!

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  42. This turned out amazing. Great job with the graining tool!

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    1. Thanks Mandy! That tool has a learning curve, for sure. I can't wait to use it on a bigger project.

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  43. I love it!! Such a unique piece! I would love it if you would please come share this at Fabulous Friday.

    http://www.herecomesthesun-kelly.blogspot.com/2012/03/fabulous-friday-17.html

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  44. WOW! Loving how this piece turned out. Thanks so much for linking up at Live Laugh Linky! Hope to see you again this week :)

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  45. That is too cute! I'll have to keep an eye out for a similar box at the thrift stores.
    Found your blog via Blog Hop--hope you'll hop over to my blog as well!
    http://feauxcajun.com

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  46. Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday, I featured this on my blog today! Come stop by and grab a button :) http://www.mygirlishwhims.com/2012/03/your-whims-wednesday-51-and-features.html

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  47. You are a STAR tonight! Your 'faux' card catalogue rocks as does the painting technique, which I have used and LOVE!! I'm featuring you over at I Gotta Create! I'm excited with the updated design of my blog and the new feature button to share with tonights artists!
    <3
    igottacreate.blogspot.com
    Spring Fling linky party

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  48. This is awesome! Great job, and thanks for linking up with the Winter Pinterest Challenge!

    Erin @ The Great Indoors

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  49. THis is fantabulous! I might have overlooked that at the thrift store but wow, what a transformation! Groovy!

    Kim@reposhture.blogpsot.com

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  50. Fabulous! This looks amazing! This is such a great blog post! Appreciating the hard work you put into your site. It’s awesome blog.
    http://all4payday.com

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