Supply Organizer (a DIY Upcycle Makeover)

Jen from Girl in the Garage is here with a very clever little upcycle project to share. We spend a lot of time in the New Year organizing, downsizing, upcycling, enjoying a fresh home. Jen's post was a fantastic reminder to me to take a fresh look at things around my home. You never know when you can find a new use for something. This Supply Organizer (a DIY Upcycle Makeover) could have so many uses!

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Hi, I'm Jen from Girl in the Garage and I want to thank Amanda for letting me share this project with you today! I'm a busy mom of two preschoolers, and when I get some free time here and there I like to spend it being creative. On my blog I share awesome furniture makeovers, DIY home decor, crafts, and tidbits of my family life. Today I'm showing how I upcycled a dirty garage organizer.

This organizer is the kind of thing I see often at yard sales, except they're usually cracked somewhere or missing a drawer or two. Even if you saw one in decent condition you probably wouldn't consider buying it unless you really needed a place to store a bunch of nails and screws.

Well, I saw this one in near-perfect condition (except for being dirty) and envisioned a better life for it than just holding hardware in someone's garage. Then, as usual- I let it sit in my garage for a couple months until I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Hey, sometimes inspiration happens immediately and sometimes it takes awhile!

This is what it looked like when I bought it (minus the paint splatter, which was courtesy of another one of my projects. Oops!):

I took the drawers out and cleaned it all up. Then I took the case outside and painted it with black Rustoleum spray paint.

I went through my stash of scrapbook paper and picked out three sheets that coordinated. I cut out six pieces from each sheet to fill the drawer fronts. Since the front of the drawer wouldn't be see-through anymore, I thought it would be good to number each one. Otherwise it might be maddening to search through 18 different drawers to find what you need!

I used Wide Latin for the font in Microsoft Word and printed the numbers on off-white card stock.

After lots of cutting, I laid out the papers and numbers for each drawer.

Then I used Mod Podge and a thin paintbrush to glue the numbers to the scrapbook paper. When that was done, I spread a thin line of Mod Podge across the top and sides on the front of the paper and slid it into the drawers, pressing for about 30 seconds.

When all 18 drawers were done I slid them back into the case. Now I have an organizer for trinkets... or jewelry... or keys and miscellaneous items by the front door... or...?

It would also be good for craft storage; buttons, thread, beads, washi tape...

I bought this owl on a recent trip to Anthropologie - it's actually one half of a salt and pepper shaker set but I got it on clearance because the other owl was missing. Lucky me!

I love this paper; I'm a sucker for anything with a French or vintage theme. (French and vintage? LOVE LOVE LOVE!)

Do you enjoy repurposing too, or just like to see before/after makeovers?

I've done many more furniture makeovers and DIY decor - click HERE to see more.

I'd love for you to visit my blog Girl in the Garage so we can keep in touch.

Thanks again, Amanda!

Jen

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Thanks, Jen, for the reminder that sometimes those forgotten items we have laying around can be made beautiful (and useful!) again!

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.