From Trash To Treasure – Upcycle An Old Vintage Cabinet
Sometimes you have an item that may look like trash. You can see potential to go from trash to treasure – upcycle an old vintage cabinet!

With a little work, some paint, rice decoupage paper and clear coat for protection, we can transform this plain cabinet into something amazing!
supplies

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- Pristine Cleaner – to clean your piece of furniture
- Terra Paints in Onyx and Blue Moon– Now Available Through a Retailer
- Floral Ballerina – A1 Rice Decoupage Paper – Belles & Whistles
- Foam ‘N Dandy Brush
- Clear Coat In Satin
- Good Synthetic Paint Brushes – I use Dixie Belle 2 inch mini angle
- Continuous Mister Bottle
- Sanding Block
- Tack Cloth
- Legs for the cabinet
- E6000 Glue
tutorial
1. Sanding
This piece in had a top coat on it. A sanding sponge can knock off any remaining top coat. A tack cloth will remove dust before washing the piece.
2. clean your item
After sanding your piece of furniture, it is good to clean your surface before painting with Pristine Clean to remove the dust and grime.
Pristine Cleaner will remove and dirt, dust or grime from the item. This quality cleaner will de-grease and remove all debris from the surface of your piece.
3. paint
Quality paint will make your projects turn out amazing. On my blog if I love a product or product line you better believe I am going to share it with you.
The entire cabinet front, back, sides and top got one coat of Terra Clay Pain in the color Onyx. What I love about the Terra Clay Paints, it is a heavily pigmented Terra Clay Artisan paint perfect for layering.



This paint dries very quickly. I used a Mister Bottle to blend my colors. After applying the Onyx, I waited 30 minutes and began applying the color Blue Moon. To obtain that streaky effect, I painted a light layer of Blue Moon and immediately heavily misted with water using the Mister Bottle. It caused the paint to run to give it an interesting effect.
You can wipe off the paint as well if it is too heavy in areas. Allow the paint to full dry before going to step 4.
4. add rice decoupage paper
This part was my favorite on this project. The Floral Ballerina – A1 Rice Decoupage Paper from the Belles & Whistles line has two designs. This floral pattern and a beautiful ballerina.



I cut the floral design from the ballerina. With my Mister Bottle, a fine mist of water was sprayed on the edges. Carefully, I tore the edges to give it a distress appearance.



Next Clear Coat was applied to the front of the cabinet. The rice paper was laid across and smoothed out using my hand and fingers. You want to apply a generous about of the Clear Coat underneath the rice paper. Using a chip brush, I applied Clear Coat over top of the rice paper. You must be careful not to apply too much pressure. You do not want to rip your rice paper.
Be sure to check all of the edges to ensure they are attached to the furniture. You want the rice paper to look as if it is part of the furniture. Like it melts right into the paint.
5. add furniture feet & Paint
I used E6000 to glue on the furniture legs. Allow the glue to set over night.



I did the opposite colors on the legs. The Blue Moon was first follow by the Onyx. A blast from the Mister Bottle will let a little of the blue color slightly shine through the black.



Since this paint is heavily pigmented, only one coat of each color was used before sealing it with the Clear Coat in Satin.
6. seal it

To protect my project, I will be adding two coats of Clear Coat Satin. Most of my furniture projects, I use two to three coats of Clear Coat Satin.
finished project

A sweet little cabinet to add in the bath room to hold extra rolls of toilet paper, tissue boxes, etc.

A few little decorative items to the top of the cabinet. I love my Moss Topiary for some added height. You can see my tutorial on how to make an Easy DIY Moss Topiary here.
This sweet little cabinet adds a pop of color to a very neutral bathroom.
If you are new to Dixie Belle’s Terra Clay Paint Line, this paint can be used on wood, canvas, tile, fabric, walls and floors. It is a fun paint to work with too.
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OMGoodness!!!!!! That old antique cabinet is spectacular!! How impressive! I like how you layered the painy. I have been wanting to learn how to do this for so long!! Plus, all my failures need some help and now I am so happy to try your techniques. I love the floral on the front, it’s like the icing on the cake. Thank you so much for sharing!! I CA not wait to get started.😃😃 Much appreciated
Eloise, thank you so much. I am glad you liked it. Isn’t amazing what you can do with a little paint and some rice paper. You will have to let me know how your project turns out. I would love to hear. It really is easy so give it a try!
This came out so pretty, Tammy! I love the addition of the rice paper. Can’t wait to see all the good things you have in store for 2023!
Thank you so much, Kim.