The latest project to hit Painted Cottage is a Cottage Chic Rustic Wall Cabinet Makeover. I purchased this small wall cabinet many years ago. Back in it’s day it was very stylish.  It actually still holds a lot of charm but needed some freshening up. The color was much darker than it appears in the before photos and the plaid fabric was worn and faded. 

As you can see the cabinet was great to begin with, I just happen to have a desire to paint everything light right now.  It does make an amazing transformation just by adding a coat of creamy white chalky paint.

When I opened the door I immediately thought that this would make a great tea cabinet.

Close Ups of the Cottage Chic Rustic Wall Cabinet Makeover

Adding the small chicken wire to the front also lightened up the appearance of the cabinet.  The shelves were the perfect size to store tiny demitasse cups, a dainty creamer and a wire basket to hold the assorted tea bags.

The open shelf holds 2 teacups and saucers perfectly.  There is a nice drawer on the bottom that could house tea strainers, etc.

You could also put small vases or mason jars in the bottom drawer and do a pretty floral arrangement of either fresh or dried flowers.  So many possibilities for this versatile little rustic wall cabinet.

Thank you for visiting.  Until next time keep those creative juices flowing.  Always look at things with a different eye.

Who doesn’t love a great Mason Jar?  With the following Fun Farmhouse Cottage Mason Jar Projects you will soon be transforming all of those leftover, abandoned, tired little jars into objects that will quickly become the envy of your friends.  links will whisk you off to each artists turorial.  Have fun!

How To Paint & Distress Mason Jars

Here’s a great project by Linda at “It All Started With Paint“.  I would say she is the queen of Mason Jar Makeovers.

Photo by: It All Started With Paint

DIY BALL Mason Jar Light Sconces

Be still my heart.  How fantastic is this? OMG, Love it!  Thank you to Kristy at: Robb Restyle for this great Mason Jar idea!

Photo by: Robb Restyle

DIY Mason Jar Pendant Light

This tutorial shows in depth how to actually cut the hole in a mason jar lid to accommodate the lighting fixture. This will be helpful no matter what type of mason jar light you are trying to create.  Thank you to Dagmar Bleasdale at: Everyday Family

Photo by: Dagmar Bleasdale Everyday Family

DIY Hanging Mason Jar Lights

This is definitely on my list of must makes.  I love the casual feel of it and the lighting is so romantic. Great project by: All Things Heart And Home

Photo by: All Things Heart and Home

Mason Jar Bottle Opener

I couldn’t find out who actually made this clever and very useful Mason jar Bottle Opener but I just had to include it.  It just makes a lot of sense to me and happens to be my favorite color.  Go ahead. let him drink his beer.  After-all, it will certainly be in style with this beauty.  Oil bronzed hose clamp, reclaimed, painted wood, mason jar & oil bronzed bottle opener.  We got this!

DIY Mason Jar Wall Decor

Be still my heart…..there’s those Hose Clamps again.  This tutorial should shed some light on the bottle opener project above.  Thank you to: The Hamby Home for this gem of an idea.

Photo by: The Hamby Home

Magical Mason Jar Oil Lamps

Our next mason jar makeover is quite ingenious:  Oil Lamps by: A Piece Of Rainbow

These mason jar oil lamps are really clever and there are so many possibilites.  So clever! And there are even tutorials for making infused oils on the website too!

Photo by: A Piece Of Rainbow

Mason Jar Bird feeder

This is just so easy but very effective.  Bird Feeder by: Little House Living

I feed all of the birds in my neighborhood and am sure they will love it.  This feeder oozes country charm.  With just 3 simple supplies and some wild bird food you can whip this up in no time!

Photo by: Little House Living

Beach Theme Mason Jar Candle Holder

Oh, I just love anything with beach glass.  Here is a super easy but very effective Beach Glass candle holder tutorial by: PLAID

The website says it’s at a beginner level but the results are so much more.

Photo by:  PLAID

Fisherman Netting Wrapped Jars

Okay, while we are on the beach theme, I couldn’t resist sharing these little beauties.  I have seen jars such as these for sale in trendy little shops with quite a hefty price tag.  Forget about it!  Make your own.  These little beauties come to us courtesy of Amy at Stow And Tell U . Amy, these are awesome.

Photo by: Stow And Tell U

Quite awhile ago, while perusing Craigslist I happened upon a very lovely Vintage China Cabinet.  This beautiful cabinet had lovely carvings and moldings and heck, she was dirt cheap.  I felt the need to stuff yet another piece of furniture into my kitchen aka small dining area…and so I bring you the Vintage China Cabinet Makeover.

I quickly went to meet the seller.  The poor cabinet had been living outside.  Hmmm, I’m seeing a pattern here.  Remember my French Cabinet Makeover? Yes she had been dwelling outside as well.  This cabinet definitely was showing the signs of the weather.  Her husband had decided to do a little “restoration” on the cabinet, which included gluing the top to the bottom, prying the front lock open and trashing it, cracking the bottom support when it was dragged outside and putting in new glass with a green tint to it, ugh!

Well, it didn’t scare me away.  This would make it easier for me to paint this little lovely.  Or so I thought.  She sat around for about 1 year.  Even though she was weather worn and had spiders living inside her, I loved how pretty this cabinet was and I left her in her natural wood state.  Then I got tired of how her dark and dreary appearance was making the corner of the kitchen she sat in equally dark and dreary.  Let the sun shine in!

Another Craigslist Furniture Makeover

I had to make repairs to the cabinet.  It had a crack in the trestle support along the bottom.  I decided on my “go-to” white color by Behr – Spun Cotton for the exterior and to make my own chalky paint mixture. If you opt to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint consider using Old White Mixed with Pure White. 

The door was removed and the cabinet was lightly sanded all over to remove whatever shine in the finish that was left.  Mother nature had already prepped the cabinet for me when it was left outside in the elements.  Be sure to wipe the cabinet down with a damp cloth to remove any particles, dust etc.

Here you can see the difference after just 1 coat of paint, I used 2 coats…3 where needed.

Here’s some more photos of the progress.  You will notice when I paint carvings white, I sort of drybrush over them to give it an antiqued effect.

Replacing The Glass With Chicken Wire

I hadn’t planned on replacing the glass with hexagonal wire.  When I painted the inside to the cabinet with the Duck Egg Blue color, it really looked quite awful because the glass had a very green tint which made the cabinet look dark and dreary and I was going for light and bright.  The glass was not original to the cabinet, if it had been I would have left it in place. Out came the glass and wire was added.  I ended up mixing my own custom color for the interior as the Duck Egg Blue did not yield the fresh look I was going for. Distressing the cabinet all over to brought out the details and also made it look more casual and less formal.

I am quite pleased with the outcome of this lovely Vintage China Cabinet Makeover.  Please check back again soon for another fun Craigslist Up-cycle project from Little Painted Cottage.  Thank you for visiting!

I recently hosted my book club at my home and I wanted it to have a garden party theme.  This of course would require fresh flowers.  There is something quite elegant and heartwarming about fresh flowers, especially fresh flower place cards.  You don’t have to be an heiress to a kingdom or sell off your possessions to create lovely fresh flower arrangements or place cards.  The trick is to keep them small and informal.

No fresh flowers or even a small budget for them?  Look around your yard and garden.  Succulents will also make a very nice place card and chances are you may have pots of them overflowing with the perfect tiny plants.

Don’t Limit Yourself To A Florist

I personally buy my flowers at Trader Joe’s, not a florist.  I don’t buy the more expensive, already mixed bouquets , but opt rather for the least expensive bunches they offer. If you have a budget for a florist then by all means, go for it, but I love the challenge of making something beautiful for little or no money. You can also find great prices on fresh flowers at home improvement centers as well.

Hit the Dollar Store For Amazing Opportunities

OK, I admit, I love a good bargain.  When I walk into a dollar store I see everything for what it can become, not for what it currently is.  I went into the 99 Cents Store looking for a glass candle holder imagining it would make a terrific tiny vase for a fresh flower arrangement.  I had considered tea cups, mason jars, and any container they carried. Incredibly, I found some adorable small, Ball Mason Jelly jars for 99 cents each.  Perfect, or so I thought.  Then I saw them.  Ahhhmazing boxed sets of glass candle holders…WITH Pedestals….AND current trendy words on them such as DREAM, FAITH, LOVE.   This is where I start to tremble with excitement. Seriously! I am such a dork, but it’s true. Therefore, my vision of fresh flower place cards was definitely on the horizon now.

See Things As They Can Be, Not For What They Appear To Be

As mentioned before, you need to learn to see these fantastic bargains for what they can be transformed into. Here are some photos of the components I purchased at the 99 Cents Store.  The Candle Holder Sets were great to begin with , but just by adding 2 coats of chalk paint to the pedestal and distressing it, gave them a more elegant look.  You can’t tell they are cheap black plastic pedestals.  The magic created with the flimsy white plastic plant name stakes is quite amazing.  Just 2 coats of chalk paint, a little antiquing with a rust colored acrylic paint and a flat black paint to give the illusion of a tiny chalkboard.  A The names were written out with a white, thin-line chalk marker.

Thank you for visiting.