Cabinet Of Curiosities Part 2

I am sooooooooo cross with myself you wouldn’t believe, I got so into my cabinet project that I forgot to take any pictures along the way, in particular the papering process, I kept meaning to do it and then got completely absorbed, what am I like?

However, after I posted last week I continued to add the tea/coffee stain inside and out until the cabinet was quite dark and almost unrecognisable from the clean and shiny one I started out with, it smelt quite lovely too!

I was ready to paper the sides, back and door, but when the first four doors were covered, they looked so drab I didn’t think they would entice anyone, especially little ones to look any further, so I decided to opt for some more colourful paper instead …… but then went over them agan with the tea/coffee mix as I still wanted the cabinet to look as if it had some age to it. 

Next followed layer upon layer of Wilko, quick drying, clear, glossy varnish, including the inside of the doors. I know a satin varnish would have been more subtle but I like shiny! Varnishing the doors was a fiddle and I know I need to do quite a bit of sanding around the edges where a varnish has strayed causing some to stick when opening and closing. I did whizz round the insides with the varnish too, but as it’s not going to show, it was only a quick flick.

Off and on the varnishing took me three days until I was really happy and this is the stage I am at now.  I need to spend some time sanding now before I can start to embellish.

I did originally stain the knobs in the tea/coffee mix, but then I thought I would go all out for gold instead, to add a sort of faded splendour to the cabinet, which I may also use on some of the embellishments I am planning to put on the sides of the cabinet and fronts of the doors …….. we shall see……….