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Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer

Simple DIY tutorials and thrifty furniture and decor makeovers

80’s Clock Repurposed

Hello beautiful friends!! I’ve got an 80’s clock repurposed into the sweetest cabinet to share with y’all for today’s Trash-to-Treasure party! I’m also being joined by four of my favorite blogging buddies who are also sharing trash-to-treasure makeovers! I’ll link to their projects at the bottom!

80’s Clock Repurposed

Let’s get to that clock! Everyone who had the country look in their homes (including yours truly) had a clock similar to this in the 80’s:

Mine was navy blue.

Maybe you still have one hanging around? The tell-tale hearts say it all.

This one was priced at $8.25, but with a full punch card, I got it for $6.50.

I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I love.

Clean

I gave this piece a good cleaning with White Lightning when I was cleaning this table, so it was nice and clean and ready to go!

This clock had a weird half circle thing on top that I removed first. Then I took a hammer to the clock part to whack it out of that top cubby since it was sandwiched in there real good:

I wish I would have saved those clock parts, but too late!

Next, I filled all the nail holes with Dixie Mud:

Filling nail holes with Dixie Mud

I sanded them smooth once they were dry with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a sanding sponge:

This just makes the sandpaper easier to handle.

Neither of the doors had any kind of glass in them, so I decided to cut door panels out of hardboard I had in the garage. It’s just pegboard without the holes that I keep on hand for chalk boards.

Paint

For this piece, I chose Sea Glass from the chalk mineral paint line and painted everything in this gorgeous coastal green/blue:

I also cut a new backing out of bead board that isn’t pictured, but it got painted in Sea Glass also.

It took two coats for solid coverage.

Blending

I decided to do some blending on the door panels by adding a bit of Fluff to the inside of each:

I gave it a good spritz of water with my continuous mist spray bottle:

Continuous Mist Spray Bottle

And then used my brush to blend the colors together to blur the lines. I swapped back and forth between brushes until I got a look I was happy with:

Once the door panels were dry, I added them to the door frames. I used the existing points that held the previous door panel in place, plus I added a few more points with my Logan point driver to secure the new doors.

Adding a transfer

I decided to embellish the fronts of the doors on this piece with this gorgeous Mystic Hydrangea mini transfer from Redesign:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1267110777/mystic-hydrangea-redesign-decor-transfer

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I love hydrangeas! I couldn’t wait to find a piece to use this transfer on!

These smaller sheets of transfers are 6″ x 12″ and there are three sheets of designs in each pack, perfect for smaller projects, and at $12.99, they are easier on the budget too!

See all the transfers I have available in my shop HERE!

There are over 30 of this smaller size to choose from.

I cut all the flowers apart to start and then laid them out how I liked. I started adding them one by one, layering them to get the look I wanted:

Mystic Hydrangea Transfer

As you can see, I went right up an over the edges of the door frame. You can cut these apart at those places to make them easier to apply.

Seal

I still had my Best Dang Wax out from when I sealed my little demilune table I shared on Thursday, so I just used that to seal this small piece too!

I applied the wax with my La Petite brush:

The La Petite Brush

This brush is a bit smaller and fits into those tighter areas a bit better than the Best Dang Brush that I like to use on larger pieces.

I then buffed away any excess wax with a clean, soft cloth:

The After

Here is this 80’s clock repurposed into the sweetest mini cabinet!

80's clock repurposed into a sweet cabinet

Blending in a bit of Fluff to the center panels adds a bit of depth…

80's clock repurposed into a sweet cabinet

I just love this transfer against the Sea Glass!

80's clock repurposed into a sweet cabinet

The butterfly was left over from another transfer.

Mystic Hydrangea Transfer

The original knobs were swapped out with these dainty glass ones from Hobby Lobby:

To cut the backs of them to fit, I used this rotary tool from Black and Decker:

It comes with several accessories, but I had to purchase the metal cutting wheel separately. Be sure to use extreme caution with this tool!

The inside

The new bead board backing I added with small finishing nails finished this piece off perfectly!

Repurposed 80's clock

For the backs of the doors, I added this pretty, coordinating fabric with Mod Podge:

 

Mystic Hydrangea Transfer

And that’s another project complete from my brand new haul!

80's clock repurposed into a sweet cabinet

If you missed the first three projects from this haul, you can find them below:

Thrift Store Dresser Makeover
DIY Fabric Lamp Shades & $5 Thrift Store Lamps
Stenciled Demilune Table

Visit my friends’ Trash-to-Treasure Tuesday makeovers at the links below!

1. Artsy Chicks Rule

2. Salvaged Inspirations

3. Girl in the Garage

4. Prodigal Pieces

Want even more Trash-to-Treasure Inspo??

See all the befores and afters from this series in one place HERE! They date all the way back to 2016!

I’ll be back on Thursday with another dated gem:

I hope to see y’all back here then!

UPDATE: See how sweet this shelf looks now HERE!

XOXO,

 

 

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Comments

  1. Oh my, it is so beautiful now! You would never know it came from the 80’s now! I love it now, it has a cute cottage look to it now, beautiful! Love the flower transfers on it, and the beautiful fabric on the back of the doors takes it to a whole new level!

    Reply

    • Yay! Thank you so much, Mary! It’s a far cry from where it started for sure lol! See you Thursday, my friend! XOXO

      Reply

  2. I love what you did with the clock, such a beautiful little cabinet, I have seen door fronts with the lighter center and I liked that. Thanks for showing how this is done.

    Reply

  5. I have never seen so much detail in one little cabinet but it looks beautiful. Like I always so, you never cut corners and it shows. Everything about this cabinet looks gorgeous.

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you like this one, Janice! Thank you! You can really have fun with a small piece like this! XOXO

      Reply

  6. Hi Christy! It turned out so pretty. I don’t see you blend very often and you did a such a good job.

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Cheryl! Blending isn’t normally my style, but I enjoy it on the right pieces! Have a great week! XOXO

      Reply

  8. Another wonderful transformation! I had to laugh out loud when I saw this clock, because yes indeed it was from the 80’s. I had that clock and that Hunter Green color everywhere in my house in the 80’s.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Mary! Ha ha same here… Only I had the blue instead of the green lol I think it was blue green or burgundy… Oops and mauve ha ha! XOXO

      Reply

  9. Every time I think your projects can’t get any better. But the next one is equal to or better. What a darling little cabinet. I love the way you added the white paint before the stencil. What a talent you have!

    Reply

  13. Adorable! Love the color combination of the paint and the transfer. Putting that rotary tool on my birthday wish list.

    Reply

  15. I love the color blend! For my tastes, I think I would’ve used chicken wire in the front to have it open and more country. Still, great re-purpose!

    Reply

  17. Spectacular!! The shading on the panels is beautiful and those hydrangeas!! Yes, this is one of your best and you always complete your pieces with sweet details inside. Enjoy your weekend!!XOXO

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Cecilia! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I couldn’t wait to use those hydrangeas on something! XOXO

      Reply

  18. So pretty Christy! What a sweet little cabinet it turned out to be. The door fronts with the blended fluff allow the hydrangea transfers to stand out perfectly!

    Reply

  19. Christy, question…I highlighted a French chair with white wax. Do I allow the wax to dry by itself? Is there a finish coat I need to apply? Love all you do with discarded, unloved furniture.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Sherry! If you’re using it to highlight details, you want to apply the wax and let it get into all the details, and then use the soft cloth to remove the excess, leaving some of it in the grooves. The wax is a sealer, so you are done at that point. XOXO

      Reply

  21. Love love love it. And I’m super jealous you got to take a hammer to that ugly clock instead of me. LOL

    Reply

  22. Every time I think there’s no hope for a piece, you turn it into something amazing, Christy! The paint color and the decal are beautiful together. I have had no success with paint blending, but you make it look so easy, maybe I’ll try again 😊

    Reply

    • Aww thank you so much, Marcie! I find blending very time consuming. I’d rather just paint and get on with it lol! XOXO

      Reply

  25. Wow you’d never know what this started as. Beautiful! I love those transfers so much. All those colors together are so pretty.

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Debra! The transfers make it so easy to update these pieces…I have to hold myself back lol! XOXO

      Reply

  26. Christy, this little “cupboard” is so precious, I love it. It would look great in a bathroom to hold make-up etc 🙂 Your vision still never ceases to amaze me 🙂

    Reply

  30. I love your “diy” projects. You are a girl after my own heart. I love that you do many of your projects with “dixiebelle cotton or caviar”. My fav. Thank you for all your diy projects.

    Reply

  31. Another lovely makeover. I love the way you can make it go from yuck to yum. Does that even go with furniture lol?
    How much is a small container of paint in that color and would love to go through the transfers. I haven stuff like that at the dollar store and wondered if this was kinda the same concept? Happy week my friend and bring on the makeovers. Hugs

    Reply

    • Thank you, Bonnie! I love that “yuck to yum” lol! 4oz is the smallest container and it is $8.95. It’s enough to do a small project like this. I have 30 designs of this smaller size of transfer. They each come with three 6×12″ sheets, each with different designs that are also plenty for a smaller project, and they are $12.99 each. I don’t know what the dollar store versions are like, but you can visit my Etsy shop here and take a look around if you like: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSerialDIYer XOXO

      Reply

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