Thursday, June 16, 2011

File organizer revamp!

I am so excited about this project that I completed tonight!!! I used new techniques (and learned lessons along the way),and overall I am really loving this functional piece!

I have looking for a file system that you hang on the walls to sort my children's school papers (which are usually spread out on the kitchen table or counter). I saw some in Pottery Barn and some in Ballard Designs, but they did not really appeal to me and were way to pricey. So, I patiently kept looking and then I found one, in all its RED glory......at T.J. Maxx. I loved the feet on the bottom, the beadboard on the sides and it had three compartments, for my three amigos! I don't have anything THAT bright in my house, but I knew I could tone it down. Here is before picture:


The first thing I did was sand the top, sides and edges with my electric sander. I then used a paintbrush to apply Miniwax in a Dark Walnut stain.The fronts of the compartments were tricky, think I should have sanded more, but I did my best to add some character by applying stain and then rubbing off. I finished with two coats of Poly Wipe-off (first time using this, loved it).



Here comes the fun part,adding details! I first picked two different scrapbook paper pages from Hobby Lobby. I applied a layer of Mod Podge on the top of unit. Then I layered the scrapbook book paper on top. I applied one layer of ModPodge on top,let it dry and then put on another layer. I MAYBE should have stopped here, but I really, really wanted to try to use resin. Here it is before the resin. Wish I had a better picture of the before top, I forgot!


After I taped wax paper around the parts I did not want "shiny", I mixed the resin and applied the flood coat. It was kind of messy with the dripping, but it was fun. I used a propane lighter to remove the bubbles. Unfortanately, I did not seal the scrapbook paper as well as I should have with ModPodge, so there are some shadows on top. My sweet husband told me this made it look more antiqued. Still, did not think it was bad for the first time!



For the final touch, I bought three more scrapbook pages from Michael's (I have to share my love with both of the craft stores). It has the black damask pattern on a clear background. So it looks shiney, too....and you can see the red through the back. I used Glue Dots to attach these inside the compartments. I love how it looks!



Shout out to some of the products I used:


Have a great week!
Beth



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8 comments:

  1. Beth! This project turned out SO great! I love it and love how you fancied it up-gorgeous! Have a wonderful weekend!!

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  2. That organizer turned out fab! Thanks for your sweet comment on my mom's bedroom. Btw, I have a blog party called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Hope you can join us this Sunday at 5 pm, PST :)

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  3. Cute! I keep reading about resin. I guess I need to try something with it! :)

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  4. It looks great. I was looking for the same things... love the Pottery Barn and Ballard... but yes, too pricey for me too. I will be showing what I found on my next link party... this coming Monday. But I didn't do anything fancy with mine... I just paid for them and hung them. lol
    Thanks for linking to my Organizing Mission Link party.
    (Glad your 10 year old talked you into joining in the blogging fun!)

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  5. I want to let you know that I am going to be featuring this post on my Organizing Mission link party on Monday the 20th. Please stop by and pick up your "I'm Proud to be Featured..... " button. You can find it on my button tab at the top.
    Thanks

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  6. it looks awesome! the backing especially is FANTABULOUS!

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  7. What a transformation! Who would've thought that a simple file organizer can look like this? Just by using your creativity, you were able to create such a beautiful organizer. I'm sure you and your children will enjoy organizing your files because of this one. Congrats!

    -Ruby Badcoe @ WilliamsDataManagement

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