Create a Portable Vintage Coffee Bar? Why Not?

I started this project with a set of coffee mugs I created from a Chalk Couture transfer called “Wicked Chicken”. You can read a more detailed account of this tutorial, including the mugs, on my blog. The link is posted at the bottom of this tutorial.

The mugs seemed rather lonely so I decided they needed a coffee bar to go with them - but not just any coffee bar. I decided they needed a portable coffee bar that could be used anywhere!

I love repurposing and I just happened to have purchased a vintage metal breadbox some time ago. It was the perfect thing! All it needed was some cleaning and shining up and it was ready to be transformed.

The top was the perfect size to hold the four mugs. I also just happened to have four round wooden coasters. I painted them (including the cork) with one coat of the chalk-style paint we sell. Missouri Limestone Paint Company I then distressed them with some sandpaper. I did not seal them. They ended up with a great farmhouse look. I forgot to take a picture, but you can see them under the mugs in the photos.

I then decided the inside needed a liner. Dollar Tree to the rescue! I happened to see a very cool vinyl placemat that would be perfect! I cut it to size and voila!

Then, imagine waking up early in the morning, making coffee ☕️ at your new coffee bar and then waiting for that first cup in the early dawn light and looking over and seeing the inside your coffee bar glowing in light that you turned on when making coffee. Yep! I found a small round light at Dollar Tree. The kind with an adhesive back and you press the center to turn it on and off.

But, what's a coffee bar without the fixings? I included an apothecary jar of ground coffee and a 46 year old vintage sugar and creamer set. How do I know it is 46 years old, you ask? I know because it is what is left from my wedding china and October 28, 2018 was our 46th anniversary! I sold the rest of the set several years ago. Some people register for their china. In my family, I shopped at Kroger for weeks for my mother so I could collect this china during one of their promotions. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The final perfect touch was adding the word "coffee" to the rolltop. I found a font called The Skinny and typed "coffee" in landscape font using Microsoft Word. I enlarged it to fit most of the paper. I printed it with a laser printer on water slide decal paper and cut around the word as close as possible, but left a small bit of margin. If you've never used this as a transfer medium you have to try it. Wow! The transfer comes out perfectly and adheres well. It is amazing! You can clean when needed by wiping with a damp cloth. Here's a YouTube video I watched when trying this for the first time.

https://youtu.be/ua1-_tKdnhg

And there you have it! A Portable Vintage Coffee Bar created from a vintage metal breadbox.