At the end of June I retired from my long time teaching job. My wonderful colleagues gifted me the old card catalogue from our school library…Best retirement gift ever!!!! They filled the drawers with all manner of curiosities for me. The card catalogue was a little worse for wear so I decided to give it a make over. It is now finished and is a wonderful reminder of my years at Duncan Elementary School and my crazy colleagues.
Our School
Best retirement gift ever! 
Needs some TLC.
Removed the handles and after soaking them in vinegar and sprinkling them with salt, I popped them in a hot oven for 20 minutes…Presto beautiful patina.
Then I took apart the cabinet and sanded off the varnish using a palm sander…60 grit so it is rough enough to take the stain. (Had to do it twice, lesson learned) Also needed to brush on a coat of water to raise the grain so it would accept the stain.
Stained the maple cabinet and all 30 drawers with Cherry stain and then 3 coats of polyurethane with a light fine sanding between coats…Lesson learned…first two coats should be gloss and last coat matte or satin.
Huge improvement!
Printed off labels on 200 year old paper.
Filled the drawers with all manner of curious art supplies…
And voila the big reveal…my beautiful gift from my treasured friends and colleagues.
creartfuldodger 
A wonderful gift, and a wonderful transformation. It’s very handsome indeed, and a real Cabinet of Curiosities. Most people, if I pulled open a drawer and found bones, I’d wonder a bit, but you’ll do something neat with them.
Yes it is indeed the most handsomest of gifts…those bones happen to be from a vulture…but I have others. lol
When I was in grade school, I read a how-to article, on making a T-rex skeleton, and started accumulating chicken bones, but didn’t really boil & sterilize them first, so my stockpile got sniffed out and tossed out. I should have hidden them in the card file at school.
bahahaha…you soooo should have Robert!
What a superb gift. And such a beautiful transformation as well. Happy Retirement. I don’t think you will be short of projects to fill your days. 🙂
Thank you…I can hardly believe it. 😍
A cabinet of curiosities. The perfect , most superb of gifts. The most wonderful days of retirement beckon your creative soul. XXX Virginia
Thank you Virginia, I am savouring the dog days of summer and my freedom to fully enjoy them. 🙂
Oh it’s beautiful. Definitely the best retirement gift ever! Enjoy your “retirement”!
Thank you Anna, I am already hard at work on a new piece! 🙂
Oh what a stunning gift, so appropriate.And you have done a wonderful job of restoring it. Louise
Thank you Louise. I am so happy with it.