Monday, June 18, 2012

CARD CATALOG REDO! DIY CHALKPAINT, AND FREE PRINTABLE VINTAGE LABELS


AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE
WAY I FELT WHEN I SAW THIS
CARD CATALOG AT THE THRIFT 
STORE. IT WAS PURE LUCK,
I WAS JUMPING FOR JOY INSIDE
AS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD
FIND ONE LET ALONE IN THE
THRIFT STORE! I AM SO 
EXCITED ABOUT THIS PIECE
I LOVE IT!

SO THIS WAS MR. LUCKY WHEN
I FOUND HIM....




I STARTED BY TAKING OFF THE
BOTTOM PLATFORM- AS IT WASN'T
REALLY SERVING A PURPOSE AND
IT WAS IN PRETTY ROUGH
SHAPE. THEN I TOOK OFF ALL
THE HARDWARE ALL 60 DRAWERS 
AND SCRUBBED THEM WITH STEEL
WOOL AND SOAP TO GET THEM ALL
NICE AND SHINY AGAIN!

THEN I REPLACED THE BASE WITH
THESE STEEL WHEELS THAT
I FOUND AT HOME DEPOT.

THE PIECE WAS ALSO MISSING
25 RODS - SO I MADE
MY OWN OUT OF ZINC
CARRIAGE BOLTS
WHICH I HAD TO SAND THE 
TOPS OFF AS THEY HAD
RAISED NUMBERS ON THEM.THE SANDING
ALSO MADE THEM MATCH THE RODS THAT
CAME WITH THE PIECE AS THEY ARE A BRUSHED STEEL. I USED 
HEX BOLTS AND WASHER'S TO 
COMPLETE THE LOOK, EVEN WHEN
YOU ARE STANDING 
CLOSE TO THE PIECE YOU CAN'T TELL
THE DIFFERENCE. I COULDN'T FIND
SUBSTITUTE RODS ONLINE ANYWHERE.

THIS IS MR. LUCKY
AFTER HIS MAKEOVER...







LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL 
THE DRAWERS!



WHO KNOWS MAYBE I'LL GET
REAL LUCKY AND LIGHTNING
WILL STRIKE TWICE!
I HOPE YOU LIKE MR. LUCKY 
AS MUCH AS I DO. I STILL GET
GIDDY WHEN I LOOK AT HIM!

I USED POLYSHADES IN
MISSION OAK FOR THE DRAWER
FRONT'S AND I CREATED LABELS FOR
THE PIECE WITH THAT VINTAGE FEEL !
 I DISTRESSED THE
PIECE AND USED SPECIAL WALNUT
STAIN TO ANTIQUE THE PIECE.
FOLLOWED BY ANNE SLONE CLEAR WAX.

THE OUTSIDE OF THE PIECE I PAINTED
GREY, WITH A WASHED LOOK 
 THE COLOR IS DRIZZLING MIST

BY VALSPAR
 I USED THIS RECIPE TO MAKE
THE PAINT INTO CHALK PAINT

THIS IS MY DIY 
CHALK PAINT RECIPE WHICH
I USE ON ALL MY PIECES NOW.


ALSO I WANTED EVERYONE TO BE
ABLE TO HAVE MY VINTAGE
LABELS I MADE

SO...
FREE PRINTABLE!
 THERE ARE 3 SHEETS,
AND THE NUMBERS ARE FROM 1-87

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IN 
MICROSOFT WORD
FORMAT OR .JPG FORMAT

DOWNLOAD HERE


SAMPLE

ENJOY! 



73 comments:

  1. Beautiful! You are lucky, indeed; incredible find!

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  2. hi Lauren -you did a great job. it looks fantastic
    cheers Fiona

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  3. wowzers! that is a stunning piece! Thanks for the printables too - too cute :)

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  4. GORGEOUS!! Totally awesome Lauren!! What a find!!
    xo Becca

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  5. How amazing that you found this at a thrift store! I found a very cool one on CL, but it must have been so expensive that they asked that you inquire for the price. hmmm...

    You were a genius for using the bolts for the rod replacement and adding wheels!

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  6. Wow, your card catalog is gorgeous after you worked so hard to bring it to life. Love it!
    I'm a new follower and hope you'll stop by, Mary Alice

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  7. It's gorgeous! I STILL haven't done anything with my card catalog--but yours may inspire me to get started! And thanks for sharing the cute labels.

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  8. How lucky are you? Such an amazing find! I really hope to get my hands on one someday, but usually the prices are way out of my budget. You did a beautiful job with the transformation.

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  9. What an amazing find - all your hard work was well worth it, as it now looks incredible - love it !

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  10. Wow love love how your Card Catalog came out. I have one on my post this week and I was thrilled when my parents found it but I wasn't particularly fond of the color as I wanted it darker so I am going to redo mine in some way. I just haven't figured it out quite yet but it will be a good post for my blog when I do. lol! I found you via a blog hop and am now a new follower!

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  11. Wow, wouldn't we all want to find such a cool treasure. Can't imagine what you had to shell out for it, but some things are worth such considerations. You've done it up right and I'm loving those little pull outs where you have the camera sitting. So sweet! Come by and see me at Quirky Vistas~
    Liz

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping in for a visit at Quirky Vistas today to comment on my map project. That was sweet and I do appreciate it!
      Liz

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  12. oh i love, love love these, what do you keep in it? I am always on the look out for card catalogs just haven't found one yet

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    1. Thanks Ashley, so far i started keeping odds and ends that don't have a home, computer wires, knobs i use when refinishing, alot of drawers to fill!

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  13. E.N.V.I.O.U.S!!!!! Absolutely love it! I'll be featuring you next week at Knick of Time! Thanks so much for sharing at the party today!

    Blessings,
    Angie

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  14. what a gem of a find! it looks AWESOME!

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  15. Beautiful piece! And I love what you did with the chalk paint. As a librarian, a card catalog is something I am going to definitely have in my house one day =)

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  16. You did a lovely job restoring this piece! I can't believe you found it in a thrift store... who could get rid of that awesomeness!

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  17. JUST when I got over my own excitment that you found one at a thrift store, renewing my faith that Ill find one eventually too...you post this amazing makeover recharing me for the hunt! I adore it Lauren! She's stunning!! Lucky is RIGHT!

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  18. Wow! If this guy is called Mr. Lucky that makes you Ms. Lucky! I can't believe you found him at a thrift store! That is the ultimate score- I would've been dancing in the aisle if I found one like that. Congrats- the makeover looks great!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Laura and i think i did do a dance, i think i was Ms.
      Lucky that day!

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  19. Holy frickin' awesome, Lauren! I have dying to get one of these and you found the CROWN JEWEL! IT IS HUGE!! IT IS GORGEOUS!! Love everything you did to it. This deserves an award. Keep us posted!

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  20. Lauren how gorgeous!! i love your cabinet and cannot believe how beautiful the hardware turned out!!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena
    2012 Artists Series

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  21. What a cool piece! You did a great job on it!!! Pinning.

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  22. I love that! It turned out beautiful!!

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  23. This was an amazing find and you did a beautiful job restoring it. Great job...Connie

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  24. Oh I'm a fan of that!!! Great job and you're right, VERY lucky find!!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Jeannine, and thanks for stopping by!

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  25. wow, so cool! it looks beautiful after the makeover. Thanks for sharing your chalk paint recipe!

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  26. Absolutely love it!!! Just found you at Liz Marie's party. I'm now a follower! Would love for you to stop by when you have a minute. Blessings ~ Judy

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  27. This is just plain way cool,amazin and how lucky...you need to go get a lotto ticket...who knows...you have to be keeping this...just too good to ever let go

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    1. thanks so much Kathryn, i am keeping it, could not ever let it go!
      Lauren

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  28. That is like the holy grail of junk finds!!! So jealous here. My mission in life is to score a card catalog!!! Good job!

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    1. Thanks so much Nana, i wish you luck on finding one, i couldn't believe i did so there is always a chance,
      lauren

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  29. Don't you just love card catalogues!! You did a great job "restoring" yours!!
    I love how you replaced the missing rods! I scored the top section of a card catalogue about 10 years ago at a school auction. It had very few of the rods so we removed them. But I've missed having them so now I have an idea for a replacement! Thank you!!

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  30. wow.. That is an amazing finding.. Love it! Thanks for linking up at Friday fun party. Have a great weekend!

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  31. This is one of the most amazing pieces I have ever seen! You did such a wonderful job restoring it. I'm jealous ;) Megan

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  32. So gorgeous and what a lucky find! Just to let you know - your wonderful project was featured on homework today. Come on over and a grab a button. As always, thank you so much for linking up your project. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  33. What a great piece and a great makeover. It looks fantastic.

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  34. You are a lucky dog! A friend of a friend has been promising me a library card catalog for over a year now....somehow we have never been able to arrange a pick up. I panic every now and then that they will get rid of it and my heart would break. Nice redo!

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  35. I love what you did with this card catalog! It's so beautiful!
    Also thanks for showing love on my post @ kaleidoscope-living.blogspot.com
    Christina

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    Replies
    1. Your very welcome and thanks for stopping over!
      Lauren

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  36. What a fabulous and absolutely lucky find!! I love it!! Thanks for linking up at Feathered Nest Friday!

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  37. Hey, Lauren. Thanks so much for asking to feature my end table. I would be honored!
    Fondly, Tami
    www.thisandthatfromtami.blogspot.com

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  38. I am so jealous, I mean, happy for you! That is one beautiful piece. And you did such a great job prettying it up! Now following you. Found you via Funky junk Interiors.

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  39. Beautiful. My brother has a really nice one that he bought from a college. This is nice.

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  40. Wowza!!!! I mean REALLY fabulous transformation and a ton of work you put into it.....That is quite the piece. We like to look at VanDyke's Restorers for missing parts and pieces. I have no idea if they have those rods or not but they sell all kinds of really cool vintage hardware that's FUN to look through

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  41. You are so lucky! What a fabulous find - I am sure it is not common to find such as piece at a thrift store! Thanks for linking up Lauren!
    Stacey of Embracing Change
    p.s. - love how you included the paint recipe and printables!

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  42. What an amazing find! And now she is absolutely stunning! Featuring you tomorrow morning!

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  43. OK, crazy find Lauren!! How much was he? (I love hearing that part) So you really think that chalk paint recipe works like the annie sloan stuff? I actually won a free sample of the ASCP and loved it but yes, the price tag was a little steap.....

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  44. Mr. Lucky is soooo lucky YOU found him!!!!
    He is gorgeous!

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  45. Hi, I am Loren from over @Pandoras-craftbox.com and I just loved what you did to the library catalog. I so wish I could find one! I am a new follower and I hope you stop by my blog soon. :)

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  46. What a beautiful piece!! I have card catalog envy!! :) Thank you so much for linking up and sharing this - I featured you today!
    http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/06/crush-of-the-week-think-pink-sundays-2/

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  47. Lauren,

    I am featuring your piece today.

    Cheri

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    1. thanks so much Cheri for such a great feature i just stopped over!
      http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/07/01/card-catalog-by-west-furniture-revival/

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  48. Hi Lauren, I'm completely in love with this project. It's my pleasure to feature you in my Fab Friday Favorites post today. Thanks so much for linking up on Fabulous Friday & please feel free to take an "I Was Featured" button if you don't already have one!

    Warmly, Michelle

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  49. ahhh... the card catalog is on my short list of must have items! You did a great job restoring her beauty! Thank you so much for the printables too!

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  50. I just found one just like this on CL listed for $600!!! You scored...big time!! I'm jealous!

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  51. I have been searching for a good card catalog FOREVER. So jealous right now :) Thanks for the printables. I'm downloading now and will hopefully get to use them in the near future! Have a wonderful weekend Lauren!

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  52. i love this!! i have a card catalog that i'm just waiting for a few days off so i can tackle it.

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  53. I've found Lots of necessary information from your blog. Just bookmark your blog for more explore! I will definitely share this post with others. Thanks for sharing.

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  54. that is beautiful! you did a great job, I have a question, I have a card catalog that someone removed the rod with the knobs. I didn't understand, what did you say your replacement ones were? the carriage bolts?

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    1. Yes I used hex bolts and a washer so they looked the same from the outside and inside just used a nut to hold it. I didn't. Use any thing on the inside to replace the whole rod as I didn't want that part,
      Lauren

      Hope this helps

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  55. Your blogs are absolutely value bountiful time and also endeavor.furniture hanover pa

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  56. I have the same one :) I found mine on cl. Had my husband driving to pick it up at 930pm on a sunday night lol
    Love what you did to it.
    Rayana @ FiRefinishBlog.com

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  57. I was lucky today. Found a mid century 72 drawer catalog cabinet for only $350 on Craigslist!!! I'm over the moon! This one is solid maple, but has a opaque varnish over the fronts and sides. I can't wait to get started on stripping it. I'm going to cut out all the bars inside and lay fabric covered cardboard in the bottoms so none of my sewing notions get stuck in the slides. Your very brave to paint it with chalk paint. I think such a valuable piece should have gotten the same love you gave the drawers...

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  58. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this card catalog. Can you tell me what font you used to create your printable numbers? I am trying to create on/off switch pulls for my fan and would love to use this font, but I can't change the type in your download. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

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