BrittanyMakes

If everyone in the blogosphere, readers and bloggers alike, collaborated their wish lists… chances are you'd find that we're all wishing for the same thing – to stumble upon a reasonably priced antique card catalog or apothecary-like filing system.  The unfortunate reality is, antique dealers and thrift shop owners are well aware these items are a hot commodity. This reality is what drives us DIY-ers to do what we do best – make or hack our own version.

While browsing around my favorite blogs Thursday evening, I stumbled on Kristine's amazing blog, The Painted Hive.  Kristine shared a project which is arguably world's greatest Ikea hack – a rustic card catalog out of $16 Ikea Moppe drawers! So freakin' genius! Check out her step by step:

Kristine gathered her supplies: a set of Ikea Moppe drawers, some brass plated card holder pulls she bought on Ebay, and some timber stain and sealer.  If you haven't already noticed, Kristine is located in Australia, but perform a search on Ebay in the US and you're sure to find similar, if not the exact drawer pulls.

Kristine was not a fan of the finger slots that were pre-cut on the Moppe drawers.  She wanted to use the drawer pulls, and her solution was simple – just turn the drawers around!

Next, Kristine gave the corners of the drawers a heavy sanding to round them off a bit.  She suggests this step to give the drawers a tired and rustic appeal.

After sanding, Kristine applied 2 coats of stain to darken the wood, let the stain dry, then applied 3 coats of sealant.  The sealant adds a soft lustre and enhances the richness of the dark stain. 

Once the sealant was dry, Kristine added her drawer pulls.  I love her placement of the pulls.  She positioned them at the top of each drawer, versus positioning them in the center.  I'm definitely a fan.

I can't believe how amazing these turned out! These drawers look truly vintage.

That's not all! Kristine is so awesome, she designed some simple antique style tabs for the card holders, and is offering them as a free download on her site!

AT A GLANCE

Stained Paper Texture

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I love Ikea hacks, I find them fascinating – even the bad ones!  But Kristine's hack blew my mind! I was on Ikea's website the minute I read her post, searching for the Moppe drawers, but unfortunately I don't think they're sold in the US.  What a shame! Someone contact their local Ikea Rep/Buyer and tell them we need these drawers!  Kristine should stock up, she'd make a killing selling Moppe kits to her US fans and readers. 

Kristine – do it do it! I'll pay you twice as much!

Sadly for me, a card catalog remains a wish-list item…