As we have said before we like for the pieces of our lives to mesh together into a seamless whole. That is a work in progress but at least today we can claim some some progress on that front.

We had made some Orange Spice Room Spray and wanted a small cabinet in which to keep our essential oils. We have worked on small cabinets before as a way organize and keep safe lots of small collectibles. These cabinets came from Michael’s and it would be great if they brought them in again sometime. All we needed to do to the cabinet below was to print decorative paper from Dover Publications’ Art Nouveau Floral and Animal Designs CD-ROM & BOOK, cut it precisely to fit each section and glue it in place using a spray adhesive. The papers go well with the collection of sample perfume bottles and talc tins we have collected over time.

The second one was accomplished using the same idea. We used scrap-booking papers that we bought at Michael’s for the background in this cabinet. We wanted a more masculine look in this cabinet with it’s collection of sample medicine bottles and small tins so we used prints of old postcards and handwriting.

We wanted something small and lightweight for our essential oils cabinet in case we wanted to hang it on the wall. We actually found several likely candidates from our usual source (yard sales) and thought this would help us try out more than one idea.

The smallest cabinet came with candles and essential oils in it so we knew we were on the right track.

We took the back off of it and took out the shelves. We decided to change out the shelves to glass and put in three shelves instead of two. We cut up the original shelves to make supports for the glass shelves and glued them to the sides.

We traded out the plain glass in the door for an antique looking seedy glass. Look for pretty glass for small projects in stained glass shops – we just happen to be lucky enough to own one – Jomoco Studio.

We wanted some antique looking paper for the back of the cabinet and discovered some really cool looking stickers from Tim Holtz that gave us the look we wanted.

We used a de-glosser to prime the surface for painting then painted two coats of chalk paint. Since the cabinet was white the first coat needed to be a dark brown and we decided on a creamy off-white for the second coat. Then we gave the the edges a light sanding to reveal the dark brown. A light sanding is all that is needed otherwise you might sand through the brown.

Small items like this cabinet only need a wax finish to protect the surface. We wanted a lightly aged effect but nothing too grungy looking. We started with a clear wax to keep the next coat of brown wax from getting too deeply into the grain of the surface. Apply each coat of wax with a small rag wiping with the grain or in a circular motion.  For the last coat we worked in a coat of white wax which evened out the brown wax and made our piece look complete. Allow this to dry and buff lightly.

All that was left to do was to glue the back on to the cabinet, remount the door on it’s hinges and put a catch on the door.

We’re very pleased with the final result. HOWEVER, we could not fit ALL of our essential oils in this cabinet, so now it’s up for sale in the shop and it’s on to the next one!