Tea Cart To Craft Cart

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Tea Cart to Craft Cart Makeover!

Tea holds a special place in my heart. My grandmother is a British war bride and a religious tea drinker. Which means my mom is too. Which means I am on occasion…it dilutes as the generations go, but I still love a great cup of tea! The memories of tea time at my Neena’s house will always be a favorite for me. When I saw this beat up tea cart at a thrift store I had to have it.It cost $20 which is more than I usually pay for stuff, but it really wanted to come home with me. 😉 I guess it could sense my fondness for tea.This sad little cart got shoved in my laundry room and quickly got buried under piles of junk. It became my laundry detergent holder for the last year or so. Sticking out awkwardly the tea cart never really fit in the space I crammed it into. This was all after a failed DIY attempt at painting the top. It didn’t turn out how I planned – see everyone has DIY fails! It was time to come up with another solution.Necessity always plays a big part in my makeovers and this cart found it’s purpose on accident, like most of us do! When I’m working on projects it seems like I’m always gathering supplies from all over the house. Some stuff is kept in the laundry/craft room, some in a hall closet, some at my desk and other stuff outside. It’s usually more than my arms can hold and so I started rolling this cart behind me loading up my supplies as I went through the house to my work station for the day. That’s when I decided my poor little tea cart had a second life as a craft cart.You guys, paint will do wonders. It gives fresh life to anything it touches! I mixed up some homemade chalky paint from left over flat acrylic house paint and gave a sleek black paint job to the cart. Next I used some self adhesive wall paper to cover the top. It was in bad shape, so I sanded it smooth before applying the paper.  This particular wallpaper is from Lowe’s and you dip it in water to activate the glue. I trimmed a square slightly larger than the top, lined up one edge and laid it down. You want to smooth the paper, wiping away an excess glue that seeps out. While the paper was still a little wet I sanded the edges down to tear the paper perfectly to fit the top. After the paper dried I had to glue one corner down that didn’t stick well. It’s a tight race between hound’s-tooth and damask as my favorite patterns, I’m obviously a black and white, clear cut kind of girl!A coat of paste wax was used to cover the entire cart, including the wallpaper for an extra layer of protection.

Deep in my stash was the perfect size beat up old basket, it fits on the bottom shelf with ease and prevents all the supplies from falling off as I roll along. It got a fresh paint update too!Now I can craft in style and this beauty sits showcased in the laundry room waiting for it’s next adventure! Do you have any old furniture that can serve a new purpose? Maybe you could add wheels to something for a craft cart makeover!? Don’t forget to pin this project please! Happy crafting