A Refinished Cabinet With Hummingbirds

I found this old cabinet for $5 at a yard sale.

I WISH I had a before picture..... when I was moving, I was working on this project, and I was so busy that I forgot to take one!!! 

I can give you an idea though.

It was a stenciled wood design with raised grapes on vines, the wood was stained dark and some of it painted green, kinda like this shelf (but, you know, a cabinet):

Pretty old fashioned. 

And, from my point of view, grapevines are *out*. 

So here it what I did:

-Sanded it. Especially the raised grape spots. 

-Wiped it off and then spray painted it white on the outside and inside. Let it dry.

-Painted the doors a peachy color on the outside. 

-Distressed it with some sandpaper, especially areas where normal wear would occur (handles, sides, doors).

-Took a towel and some brown paint, watered down, and rubbed it all over the surface of the outside of the cabinet to antique it:

Making sure to get the areas where I used the sanded it down well:

One the inside of the cabinet......

-Modpodged some antique sheet music to the inside walls of the cabinet, and the inside of the small drawer:

-Then, on the doors, I used a hummingbird image from The Graphics Fairy and printed it out onto regular paper. Then, I transferred the image using old-standby transer paper and left it the way it was. I really liked the color of the graphite against the door color:

-To finish the project, I sprayed the outside with a clear matte acrylic. 

What do you think?

I shared this post at the following parties (and all the places in my parties tab above):
Inspiration Exchange
Between Naps On The Porch
Tatertots and Jello

A Marvelous Mess

Well, I wasn't up to any new crafts (at least that I showed you) this week, but I did share some mportant messages:

A Twitter party for Child Passenger Safety Week. Hosted to support the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

So many people have their car seat in the wrong way or are using the wrong seat for their child!!!

Are YOU one of them??

Click HERE to find out!!!!!

Also, I shared with you the Get Ready Get Safe campaign for Save the Children.

You see, my State of Maine failed the Emergency Preparedness test for kids in school and childcare. 

So, I wrote to my Governor and shared it with you!!

Did your state fail (28 states *did*)?

Find out HERE!!

Don't forget to write to your Governor to change your states status. We need to do this for our children!!

Now, you all shared with some awesome projects: 

Here is my fave:

Make Your Own Sushi by Domestic Bliss Squared.

Yum! What a fun project!

Now, on to the party:

Child Passenger Safety Week

I'm joining a Twitter party to support the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in support of Child Passenger Safety Week (September 15 – 21, 2013). Car crashes are still a leading killer of children age 1 to 13. Having your child in the right seat can make all the difference.

RSVP HERE for the NHTSA Twitter Party!

Knowing when your child is ready for a new car seat can be confusing. This Saturday is National Seat Check Saturday and a perfect time to get your car seat checked. Find your local event here: safercar.gov/therightseat (English) and safercar.gov/protegidos (Spanish).

Did You Know?

“In 2011, over one third of children killed in car crashes were not in car seats or wearing seat belts.”

“Car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury in cars by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers.”

“In 2011, an average of 2 children died every day in motor vehicle crashes.”

What questions do you have about car seats? 

Find out if you are using the right car seat! 

Visit safercar.gov/therightseat and join us for the NHTSA

Twitter Party on Wednesday!

When: Wednesday September 18, 2013 from 2pm – 3pm ET

Hashtag: #therightseat

Host: Twitter.com/NHTSAgov

RSVP HERE! Shared here: Between Naps On The Porch Monday Funday