HALLOWEEN DISPLAY CABINET, RUSTIC

I love Halloween! The little kiddos at the door, boo I scared you Halloween.  Not the bloody graphic, vampire, gruesome stuff. I hearken back to when my boys were small when things like the Tin Man costume won first prize at Pioneer School for my little boy. When I discovered that several thicknesses of aluminum foil could be sewn on my little $99 Singer Geni sewing machine, and the funnel from my cupboard was perfect on his sweet little head, that kind of Halloween.
 

I have collected items for Halloween probably all my married life.  I have been fortunate enough to have a wonderful sister that gave me many items, friends that did the same and two dear DIL's that also gave me treasures.  I buy what I love.  Some of the items I have were very inexpensive, some by different artists, some are vintage and my very favorites are by Debbee Thibault, the wonderful, talented, artist who created the scrawcrow and his friends in the circle above - they are precious both in their artistry and in price.

   I have the same problem every Halloween - no place to display. So I took the bull by the horns this year....I sketched what I would like with measurements, gave to my hubby (sort of like a senior, not as talented version of Jojo & Chip in my favorite HG TV Show, Fixer*Upper), and he made his working plan and gave back to me for my approval. If you do not do projects of this kind yourself then you could use a bookcase or any other cupboard like this and use the same paint/wax technique. 

Simple drawing, simple cupboard - no bottom, this is not fine furniture.

We sourced some 100 year old barn wood last year and decided that this would be the perfect wood to use for a rustic display cupboard. This is what the wood looks like after being fed into a planer. We think it is beautiful warts and all!

If you follow this blog you will know that I am a big, big, Annie Sloan fan but I did not have the color I needed and there is no AS dealer in our area.  So.....off to Hobby Lobby (with my 40% off coupon) and I found the PERFECT color American Decor Cameo).

I had on hand both dark and the new black Annie Sloan wax.  I tried the black on a scrap piece that I painted with the chalk paint and decided the dark would work best. Note about American Decor wax - I cannot recommend this product as I had purchased some of their darker wax less than a year ago and I opened to use (the paper seal was still intact) and it had a big white spot in middle, was dried out and it was clear that wax was not the main ingredient - it was not usable.  I opened my almost four year old Annie Sloan wax and it was the same as the first time I used this product.

The only other wood we used was this piece of plywood - this is what it looks like before the wax is applied.

After applying the wax it not only preserves the finish it gives the desired color and look we wanted. Love the bug holes, all the imperfections give the cupboard character and it does not look like we just made the piece.

Before filling the cupboard - I placed my spiderweb tablecloth on my entry table to protect it from the unfinished bottom of the cupboard. Hubby really liked the way it turned out (me too) and said "We could use it for Christmas too....I said, only if we are going with an orange theme this year."  I know what he meant, so sweet.

Tada....a place to display my treasures and share with my trick or treaters! 

 Three Debbee Thibault's, and some other fun treasures.

 This guy is a favorite and was designed to be hung so I had hubby drill a little hole in his bottom (ouch) and he made me a little stand - I think it works.

My granddaughter's favorite and a treasured gift from my late, dear, always missed sis.

Vintage Rick Conant box and other fun friends.

Love this vintage cat and even though the Debbee Thibault is on a turkey, he works, another fave.

 Love the Debbee Thibault angel and her friends.

 Some vintage some not, but love them all.

Resources

Debbee Thibault, sadly her online store and her business is closed but there are many fine gift stores that still have inventory - just Google her name.  Ebay is another good source.

Rick Conant, Ebay, Etsy, vintage stores

Other sources, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, gift shops and online

American Decor paint, Craft and hardware stores and Amazon and other online sellers.

Annie Sloan, Google for a dealer near you. Ebay sellers also have her products and it is a good place to get a small sample to try before you purchase.

Thank you for stopping by.