Microwave Cart to Bookshelf

So, last summer, after my grandpa passed away, I got a lot of his furniture because no one else wanted it. I couldn’t stand to see it go to the DI or dump, because he built most of it. It held memories and nostalgia for me. Some of them I just painted and was done, but I wanted to do something more to this microwave cart. I didn’t need anything taking up room in my small kitchen, but my daughter did need something to hold all of her books, if only so her mommy wouldn’t keep getting frustrated with them all over the floor…Again…But, the cart sort of underwhelmed me (I know you can be overwhelmed, and underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed? I think you can in Britain.)

Don’t mind the leaves, drop cloth, and back of a bookshelf that I also got from Grandpa. So, it wasn’t anything special, and I really wasn’t digging the wheels. Plus, the bottom shelf was loose (if you look close at the bottom of it, you can see that it’s not sitting on the support like it should be…) Now unfortunately, I didn’t get too many pictures. This was pre-blogging days for me. So, I knocked that shelf out (I’ll smash it with a hammer!), and then cut it down to size, so it actually fit into the back of the bottom section, to be the back of the book shelf, as seen here in the blurry picture of the back behind the books:
 
I had a few scraps left over, so I made shelf brackets on the side and made sure the books wouldn’t fall out the sides, as shown here in the finished product:

Those pieces were actually the part of the shelf that were already sitting on the supports, so it worked perfectly. Once it was all how I wanted it, I painted it yellow (because I had yellow paint, great reason, huh?), and I wanted to do something amazing for the top. I didn’t have any paint the color I wanted, and I didn’t have money, so I sat on it for a few days. Then, when I was organizing some stuff in the house, it hit me. I had gift tissue that was the color I wanted! And, huzzah, Mod Podge to the rescue!

(don’t mind the messy garage again! Lots of projects were in progress. My hubby had given me the ultimatum….either finish the furniture, or DI it, so I was a maniac that week!) I mod podged a bunch of layers of tissue down, (using a razor to cut off any that went over the edges) and coated that bad boy with about 10 coats of Mod Podge, letting it dry between layers! I knew it would be in a little girl’s room, and I didn’t want it getting torn up. Side note: I did most of the projects while the baby was sleeping, but the daughter in question always wanted to help, so I let her paint a little box to hold some treasures for the top shelf. Cute, huh?

We had only that little bit of that color of purple to match the tissue. This cart had holes in the sides for screws, and were covered with little wooden knobs, so I decided to make them an accent instead of try to hide them. I free-handed the flowers and vine, and I still don’t know how much I love it, but she does, and that’s what matters! Here it is in our current abode, and still much loved. Don’t worry, only about half the books actually make it in the shelf, the rest are still scattered around or set on top of the shelf. That makes sense, right?

Hope you have a good Monday!