Turn a Cabinet Door Into a Hanging Sign

11 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy
Don't you love it when you have an idea for a project, it isn't going as you expected, you think it's going to be a SCRAP IT! project, then you're pleasantly surprised of the end result? That was this cabinet door hanging sign for me. This project ended up being easy and cute in the end and I'm really excited about adding it to my arsenal of fall decor.
When I originally thought of doing this project, I went straight to Home Depot to grab a cabinet door only to find out that they didn't sell them individually--you have to buy the whole cabinet--so I thought this cute little sign was doomed to begin with. When I returned home, Rob reminded me that we had two empty cabinets just sitting in our garage; my spirits lifted and I felt some relief only to be bummed that the doors weren't completely flat in the middle. In true "Courtney fashion", however, I said to myself, "Whatever! I'm doing the project anyway...hopefully it looks ok in the end". I wasn't going to give up THAT easily.


Thankfully, this project came together nicely one step at a time and it gave me a new appreciation of being a craft supply hoarder because aside from the barley shoots and chalkboard paint, I had everything else on hand.
SUPPLIES:


-cabinet door (Rob was given a few cabinets a while back that we never used so I just snatched a door off of them since we'll likely be putting them by the road before we move.)


-acrylic paint (I suggest using exterior paint if you plan to hang your finished sign outside.)


-chalkboard spray paint


-paint brush


-painter's tape


-twine


-fine grit sandpaper


-barley shoots


-hot glue gun/sticks


-T-square (or some sort of straight edge)


-Sharpie
STEP 1: Prep cabinet door


Because the cabinet door I used was made of MDF, I simply pulled off the white veneer and went over it with fine grit sandpaper to rough it up a little (which didn't do much...I had never dealt with MDF before so I was just doing what I would do with regular wood). However, if you're using a wooden cabinet door, all you'll need to do to prep your surface is go over it with the sandpaper.
STEP 2: Tape & spray paint


Next, I took my painter's tape and taped off the "frame" part of my door, then I sprayed one good coat of chalkboard spray in the taped off area. I wasn't took worried about a little of the spray getting on the edges because I knew I was going to paint over it.
STEP 3: Paint & rough up "frame"


After the chalkboard paint dried, I taped off the middle of my cabinet door and painted the "frame" area with acrylic paint. I knew I was going for a shabby chic look so I wasn't super worried about this area being painted perfectly.


Once the paint dried, I quickly went over the "frame" area with a piece of fine grit sandpaper. I applied a little pressure on some parts (especially the edges) to intentionally scrape the paint off.
STEP 4: Drill holes and add twine


Next, it was time to prep my cabinet door for hanging. I decided to use the knob hole that was already on the door so I took my T-square and lined it up with the original hole in order to mark a second hole for the other side.


Once my mark was made, I drilled the hole, then went back to the original hole to make it bigger so that my twine would slip through.


After the holes were made, I doubled up my twine and slipped it through the BACK of both holes, then tied them each in a double knot.
STEP 5: Adhere barley


Because the edges of the chalkboard weren't perfectly straight, I decided to add barley shoots to either side. I took my hot glue gun and applied a small amount of glue to adhere 5-7 pieces of barley on either side of the chalkboard area of my cabinet door sign.
I'm really happy with how this hanging cabinet door sign came out. I was thinking it was going to look weird that the center of my sign wasn't flat (it has the center raised panel thing) but I think it came out pretty cute. Since I love the country/rustic style, I could really use this sign year round!
Suggested materials:
  • Cabinet door   (on hand)
  • Chalkboard spray   (Home Depot)
  • Behr acrylic paint   (on hand (from Home Depot))
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