If you are like me you love a good bargain, and even better than a good bargain is one that you find at a place that helps others like our local Habitat for Humanity Restore if you have yet to check one out I highly recommend doing so. You can find old appliances, light fixtures, cabinets, paint, windows, doors. The list goes ON & ON & ON. They are a wonderful resource for the DIYer who isn’t afraid of a little hard work.
On a recent trip to the ReStore I came across a large cabinet door that did not have the cabinet attached. I have seen a ton of things done with old cabinet doors on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try myself. So for under $ 5.00 I purchased this large 40″ cabinet door and started to make my own cabinet door wall art.
Step #1 – Clean the surface with TSP & Lightly Sand
(sanding will help to get rid of any other residue that may be left over,
even after cleaning with TSP)
Step # 2 – Prime
(I opted for an oil based primer)
While I was waiting for the primer to dry (which doesn’t take long with this particular brand)
I brainstormed on what to do with the door.
Because of the length of the door I decided to use it as wall art above our front door to hang between it and the HUGE entry window we have.
Moving on …
Step # 3 – Fill hardware holes, Sand, & Prime
(Since I won’t be adding hardware back it was best to go ahead and fill all the holes in.)
Once it has dried as per directions on the container they are ready for sanding.
After your sanding is complete you are ready for your base coat of paint
Check it out – Can’t even see where the old holes were!
I decided I wanted my cabinet art to read
‘BLESS this HOME with LOVE & LAUGHTER”
After I picked out the font’s I wanted to use I printed the words one at a time and laid them out on the door till they were evenly spaced and filled up the center area.
It may take a few times trying different sizes of the font to get it right, just be patient and stick with it.
Once again one of my helpers was very close by …
Fenway is the best helper I have (next to Matt that is).
Step # 4 – Transfer Image
Now for the experimental part of my project, it was time to transfer the words to the door.
I opted for Carbon Paper.
Some of you may be asking yourself what carbon paper is and normally I would explain by saying “Remember the credit card machines …” though most of you understand where I am going with this many won’t and well rather than showing my age I will just leave it at, I used carbon paper it transfers the exactly what you write or in this case trace onto a surface.
Place the carbon paper (carbon side down) onto the door and lay the word you have printed off over it.
Once you have it laid down you may chose to tape it down so it won’t move.
(I opted not to do this but wish I would have …)
Step #5 – Paint your words
After the transfer is complete you are ready for paint!
You can hand paint or you can use a paint marker to fill in the words.
I hand painted the words the first go round but did not like how sloppy it looked,
so I moved onto the Acrylic Paint Maker which worked beautifully!
(see WARNING about using paint markers at bottom of post)
Once my words were complete & dry, I did some light distressing to the door.
Step # 6 – Polycrylic
To make sure my door withstands time I added a coat of paint on Polycrylic.
WARNING – When using Acrylic paint markers do NOT brush directly over the words with the Polycrylic. The paint will run and you will have black smear marks all over your door!
I found this out the hard way …
CRAFT FAIL!!!
After I went back and repaired the smeared words
(arrrrghh- more hand painting, this time with the base color)
I decided the best Poly application for this project would be the Spray on Polycrylic.
Once it was all said and done I added picture hanging strips made by
Command 3M to my door and hung her in a place of glory for all to see!
For around $ 10.00 I was able to create custom word art for our home!
If you would like to try this self feel free to Print the following list of materials you will need for the project.
Cabinet Door Wall Art
What a great use for an old door! Very creative!
Thanks Brenda!
Very beautiful and a lovely way to reuse a door!
Thank you, I was torn between wall art and a coat rack … I think this was perfect!
I love what you made with the cabinet door! Good job!
OMG, I love this project. Love the color, love the saying, love the font! KUDOS, love it all. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Debbie – I love sharing all these fun projects and getting to see what other crafters are up to! So fun :o)
-Jacque
I think this is soooo cool, I love the color and what a great use of an old cabinet door. Your latest follower, Tanya 🙂
Thank you Tanya & Welcome!!!
Love, love, love it! One heck of a deal for $5!
–Katie
@ Creatively Living
Thanks Katie, can't beat the ReStore!
What a fantastic idea and it turned out great. Megan
Thanks Megan!
This is one heck of a project! Just love it! I discovered you on Debbiedoos and I'm now following, I would appreciate if you followed back. Thanks
You did a fabulous job! I love the carbon paper idea!!! It looks awesome!
Visiting from the newbie party!
I love this sign. Awesome job…..but can we talk about that ladder? Seriously? That's what I need to find at the ReStore 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration.
blessings,
karianne
Haha thanks Karianne! I am with you on the ladder it actually belonged to my grandfather, he was a window washer in Chicago so I hold it close to my heart. I even used part of it in my laundry room as a drying rack. If you ever find one snatch it up they are awesome!
That looks great! I love Habitat and the cabinet door signs! I just did some myself recently!
Thanks for linking up!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Thank you Stacy! And thank you so much for featuring it on your site. http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com
-Jacque
Great Job with your tutorial! It turned out super cute.
Seriously, that is such a great idea! I love the look, the saying but best yet, just how charming and meaningful it has to be to you as well. I love things like that. Thanks for the advice on how to create that as well, including what not to do or leave out. Awesome job!
LOVE your sign! I have some cabinet doors I got from the ReStore quite a while ago that are currently collecting dust in the garage. Thanks for the inspiration and tutorial. Your furry assistant, Fenway is too cute! 🙂
CUTE IDEA and looks GREAT.
Im now following you. Please come visit me at PICKINandPAINTIN.blogspot.com and hopefully you'll follow back. THANKS.
This is great! and I think you're hand painting looks wonderful! I'd love for you to share it at my new linky party:
http://naptimedelights.blogspot.ca/2012/05/tuesdays-tidbits-2.html
Thanks –
Sarah
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I love this project!!! You guys are so creative! This makes me want to get my craft on!!
I love this! Could you tell me what this font is called?
Thanks so much Diane! The words Bless, Home, Love, Laughter are in the font Mona Lisa Solid ITC TT and the words This, With, & are in the font Eccentric Std. Hope this helps!
I love this! I had totally forgotten about using carbon paper to transfer with (trust me, I’m waaay old enough to remember what it is!). I used to use it all the time back in the days when ceramics were a popular hobby.
Such a great idea, and I especially love the saying you choose! Question on using the carbon paper, how did you get it on the cabinet door? Did you cut out each letter of the words or did you just trace around each letter?
Thank you!