Cottage Chic meets Romantic Modern

 

 

 

Hmmmm, where to start on this piece. This piece really was done on a whim. A friend was looking for a piece for her newborn baby’s room and this was the piece I pulled out of my junk pile! It has perfect little baskets that go with it for storing items such as diapers and wipes. Each basket fits perfectly into each solid colored cubby. I am sharing this because I think the scrapbook backing was such a great addition to this piece and is a great idea to add to any piece for character. (Inside Drawers, on top of tables, back of shelves!)

Anyway, to get started I needed to sand away what I am sure were years of dust and grime. I gave it a good wipe down and then primed it. While it dried I took out my tools and started to measure where I wanted the separate cubbies to go (making sure each basket fit into its place). I used 1x2 scrap wood left sitting around my workshop. Carefully measuring the heights of each shelf ... remember measure twice, cut once... using my jigsaw I made the quick cut. Then I added a little wood glue to the end of each piece and put it in place. You may need a rubber pallet to tap the wood into place. These pieces had to dry before going any further since I did not want to shift them.

  

 

After everything was completely dry I started painting the outside (black) and then inside (violet). All the cutting was hand painted, no tape was used. I feel as if taping takes more time for certain projects than just slowly cutting each edge. For the decorative cubbies I used scrapbook paper. This part was the most time consuming for this project. Again, carefully measuring the cubby and then cutting the paper to fit. I used mod podge on the back of the paper and an old credit card to slowly adhere the paper to the shelf, gently smoothing air bubbles. I added a little mod podge to the front of the paper as well and then again ran the credit card over the paper. It really smoothed it out and made the paper really bend into each crevice and bump on the bookshelf. Mod Podge dries clear so there’s no worries about discoloration.

 

 



After letting everything completely dry I then took a water based Polycrylic protective finish and brushed it over the entire bookshelf. I recommend this step not only on this piece but ANY piece that you expect a great deal of use to.