DIY Holiday card display from a cabinet door

Hi friends!

It's about that time...we are getting ready for Halloween right now, but before you know it, it will be the holidays and with them will bring all the yearly greetings my family looks forward to so much!

We love seeing all the smiling faces in our mailbox every day.
But I have always struggled with a way to put some of those beautiful cards on display.

This year, I have made something I love, and I'm going to share it with you :-)

It involves supplies from three of my favorite places to shop - the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (or whatever similar place exists near you), the dollar spot at the craft store, and the home improvement store!

The ReStore near me was selling these cabinet doors for $1.00

I should have bought them all!
If you decide you want to make this project, I'd just call ahead to the place you're planning on going. Often times cabinet doors like these are in supply, but typically stock changes, so I'd call first. (That's another reason to start now, in case it takes a few weeks to find the right door.)

Then I hit the dollar section at the Michaels. They had a variety of pretty wood holiday themed words, again, for a $1.00! 

At the home improvement store (or possibly the dollar store depending on what they carry near you) you'll want to pick up clothespins,  twine, wood or craft glue, some screw-in eyes, and a hanger to attach to the back of the cabinet.  Other supplies/tools I used included a pair of pliers and my Ryobi drill, to create a pilot hole for the eyes we'll screw into the front.

Think about your home and your holiday decor and you can make this look coordinate - paint it, distress it, Mod Podge some pretty paper on the inside panel.  The sky is the limit.
I sanded my edges a little bit, and left it alone.

I cleaned my door with some plain white vinegar - a good natural degreaser.

I grabbed some of our old Christmas cards, that are 5x7 - that seems to be the largest size we typically receive. The cabinet door I bought is roughly 17" wide by 23" long.  I laid out the cards the way I liked (don't stress over this - it's a holiday card display, not going in the Smithsonian. :-) and marked the spots where I wanted the eyes to go with a pencil.

The top two were about 5" from the top of the cabinet.

Drill your pilot holes (they should be slightly smaller than the actual eye you'll screw into them) and using the pliers, twist the eyes into place. You'll want to leave room above the place where the eyes are placed, because the tops of the clothespins will stick out above that.

Mark the next spot where you want the lower row of cards to hang. Drill your pilot holes and screw in the eyes again.

Smile - this is SO easy!

Get your twine. Tie a double knot around the eye. Thread the twine through the other eye and pull it as tight as you can. Double knot. Trim.

Repeat with the next set of eyes.

I grabbed my wood holiday word from the craft store,

and used some wood glue to add it on the top.

Add some hanging hardware to the back and find a special spot in your home for this.

I can't wait to start getting those holiday smiles in the mail because now I have a smile-worthy (and ridiculously inexpensive) place to show them off.

I'd love to see if you make a display door for your family.

Happy early holidays!!

Anne

My first tiled floor and building a built-in

We are into our third week of the Bathroom Reno and things are moving right along.

Dad, Keith and I spent a few days working on installing the tile for the floor.  I picked a 6"x6" tile and the homeowner, Ms. H. agreed.  Going smaller than a 12"x12" tile means more grout on the floor, which means better traction overall.

This is the tile, from Home Depot.  We needed 34 square feet.  It took several hours to lay it all down.  We laid them in a staggered pattern, to echo the subway tile that will be going in the shower.

 We ran them in straight lines, the length of the floor.  I think visually it helps make the space seem a bit larger.

 I chose Bone colored sanded grout, also from Home Depot.

Love, love, love how it turned out!!  Blends extremely well and the color will help hide some stains, cat hair, etc.

We let it set overnight and it's good to go the next morning.  Woo hoo!!

Then Dad and I set out to create the cabinets that would become the built-in, recessed shelves.  Dad did all the measurements to make sure they would fit into the space available, and taking into account the thickness of the poplar wood we used, made sure we would get as much storage space as possible.

 I had to wear my sunglasses because we were cutting these in Dad's basement and left all the safety goggles at the job site :-)

We used Dad's table saw, and under his supervision, I learned how to make good cuts, counter-sink screws to hold the pieces together, and they turned out beautifully!  We set them in the wall just to make sure they fit.  They do!  We'll wait until we move the old light fixture to secure them in the wall but it was great to see them in even temporarily!

The space right below the shelves is where the toilet goes. Once we are ready to install them, we'll prime and them paint them the same white as the beadboard and other trim in the bathroom. I cannot wait to see it all finished!!

Next up was to install a piece of beadboard paneling where the toilet will go, so we can re-install the toilet and turn the water back on.  We've also chosen trim for around the built-in, and a chair rail to top the beadboard.

Tired yet? ;-)

I am.
Thank you so much for reading!

Next post... you'll meet my new BFF.  Big, strong, reliable, and hard-working.  It's a tile saw from the great people at RIDGID and the Home Depot and boy, are we ever grateful.
:-)

XO,
Anne