Monday, April 8, 2013

Made it Monday: Polka Dot Cabinet

I’ve wanted to link up for a Made it Monday for months now. With everything that happened last week, I am going to cheat. I’m going to finally post my Made it Monday from August. I’ve written this post in my head each month since then. Better late than never!



We have a practice in my school of putting furniture we no longer want in the hallway for others to claim before it is hauled off. It is nick-named the garage sale. While things show up throughout the year, the end-of-year and beginning-of-year garage sales are the best.

Last summer I came across this beauty.

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It is a solid piece and is probably older than I am. The teacher who had it originally retired 5 years ago. I’d been on Pinterest though and I decided that this would be my big project.

This scrapbook paper was my inspiration in the classroom redecoration of 2012. I made my inexpensive seat sacks to match.

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Armed with an idea, I took off the doors and started spray painting. Somehow I didn’t take any pictures of the painting process so you will have to take my word for it. I did a lot of spray painting last summer. This is a filing cabinet I also picked up in the hallway garage sale.

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(More on the filing cabinet another time…)

I knew I was going to cover the cabinet doors with polka dots, so I didn’t worry about making them perfect. There were some spots where the years of paint and poster tape and who-knows-what left a bump. I just made sure to cover it up in step two.

When I came back from maternity leave last year I discovered that they’d purchased this machine I can only describe as an industrial sized Cricut or Silhouette. It is fantastic! You can cut out words, phrases, shapes, and more. I pulled out construction paper in the colors I wanted and cut out several hundred circles in all difference sizes. I love that thing!

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A couple of layers of Mod Podge later and I was feeling good about the whole project! I had to get help putting the doors back on. They are solid wood and HEAVY.

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I love the finished product. It now houses all my science materials and other assorted supplies. It is also the background for any pictures I take of my students.

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Every once in a while I just stop and look at it. That cabinet makes me smile!

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The only downside was the size. I’d measured the height before I took it in, but it was a bit of a “can’t get it here from there” situation. I had to change where I’d planned to put it, but after all that work I didn’t mind too much!

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(This picture above is from the first day of school and shows those seat sacks I made from Home Depot aprons. I’ve also used the polka dot theme to paint paper boxes for storage. I’ve got a lot of polka dots going on this year!)

Hopefully next month I’ll have a new, non cheating Made it Monday!

7 comments:

  1. This sounds awesome! I can't wait to see the pictures. Unfortunately, I am stuck at school waiting for my next conference to show up and all the pictures are blocked! Ahh! I will check back once I get home!
    Theresa
    Pinkadots Elementary

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  2. Your cabinet is awesome! I am jealous of it's awesomeness and your industrial-sized Cricut thing. I finally posted my first Monday Made It since forever today too, don't feel bad! :)

    Dawn
    Apples, Owls, and Peppermint Mochas

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  3. Love that cabinet! You made it so fun and colorful! I would totally love something like that in my classroom:) Thanks for linking up:)

    4th Grade Frolics

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  4. WOW! That cabinet is amazing! And you crack me up about having this post ready since August-love it!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  5. LOVE the cabinet. And I can totally relate to the joy of the end of the year "garage sale". I have never found anything as substantial as that cabinet though. What a find! Also, I love the name of your blog. As an upstate NYer, I am SO ready for some sun!

    Polka Dots & Teaching Tots

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  6. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your cabinet! You did a fabulous job!

    Jess

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  7. That cabinet looks AWESOME!
    Jean
    Diving Into 2nd Grade

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