My Gardening Cabinet

We've had this wardrobe since before my eldest son was born; his grandfather purchased it for him. He used it until his clothes got to big to hang properly and then it passed down to my youngest. When he outgrew it, it became a school closet, for all of our books and supplies. Now that we have moved back to Texas, it sits on our patio in an outdoor toy storage/catch everything around capacity. At least it did, until today.

I haven't seen my project on Pinterest or in Martha Stewart Living, but I imagine, it has more than likely been inspired from either place.

First, I removed the hardware; which proved difficult considering this was an antique piece. Then I sanded the entire outter surfaces with 120 grit sand paper, using a combination of my husband's electrical sander and hand sanding. This didn't take as long as I expected.

A few months ago, I signed up for an offer from Glidden paint. They sent me a free can of paint specified to my color choice: True Torquoise (GLB07). I made sure to apply two coats of paint for even distribution. I used the brush method, but I would recommend using a rollor. I just didn't want to make one more trip to the hardware store!

I also made sure to repair the extra screw hole from the original hardware. It was hard to find hardware the same specifications as an antique piece, so I went with a single knob on each door. I used Elmer's Wood Filler. I hardly used an inch's worth, but I bet I can find uses for it in the future.

Before I rehung the doors, I sanded and then painted the right door with Valspar's Chalkboard paint. Two coats was plenty. If you would like to read a great tutorial on how to make your own chalkboard using a similar method, check out Nik's Nak and read all about it.

I also added a magnetic strip along the edge of the chalk board for small items, like floral wire. I hung a french-style bulletin board on the other door to hold my notes and contact cards. I added my Farmer's Almanac calendar, as well as the rest of my gardening goodies. I would like to add my gardening books, but with this being outdoors I'm afraid the humidity would utterly ruin them.

And Ta-da!

I would usually have the tourquise garden organizer wrapped around a 5 gallon bucket, but my handsome husband borrowed it when he drained his radiator. I will get it back someday! You can buy these types of garden organizers at Target, but I've also made one from Martha Stewart Living. I did, however, get this one on sale for 90% off after the season was over.

I also keep my bird seed as well as my hummingbird feeder and filler in my gardening cabinet. This way, when I notice an empty feeder, I don't have to go all the way to the garage.

The Farmer's Almanac calendar is very useful when planting. It lists the potential weather for your area, the best time to plant seeds as well as harvest, and the moon phases.

I love the different colors of chalk - purple for Junior Master Gardeners, Orange for To-do immediately, and Green for plants (you may use any color, I just have a thing for color-coding).

I would have an empty funnel hung with a twine skein inside as a twine dispenser, but it appears to have gone missing; wondering if it is with the 5 gallon bucket!