What you can do with wrapping paper and Mod Podge

Here is another little glimpse of my pirate themed classroom. This wooden cabinet had really seen better days, and it was landfill bound. Some of the wood chipped off, and whatever they used to stain it....just flaked off every time I walked by it. I really needed a cabinet this size in my room to serve as a little divider, so I did a little experiment. I had a roll of polka dot wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. I had spray adhesive, but I knew that wouldn't hold up over time. I got a big bottle of Mod Podge and some of those paint sponges. (If I ever attempt something like this in the future, I will use a paint roller! It took forever with those little sponges, and the rough wood tore the dollar store sponges to shreds.)

I measured the cabinet and cut the wrapping paper the same size as the back of the cabinet. I got a co-worker to hold the wrapping paper and "feed" it to me as I went. I figured out pretty quickly that I needed to apply thin layers of Mod Podge to keep the wrapping paper from wrinkling/bubbling/ shifting. I noticed more and more bubbles as I got closer to the end of the cabinet. I had nothing to lose since the cabinet was essentially garbage....so I poked tiny holes in the bubbles with a straight pin. I saturated the area again, and it smoothed out for the most part.

We finished just in time to go to one of those mandatory pep rally things some school districts like to do right in the middle of pre-planning. When we got back, my room smelled like a combination of wet dog and paper mill pollution. We opened my external classroom door for most of the day, but the stench returned the next day when I put another coat on top of the wrapping paper to seal it. I have worked with Mod Podge many times and never noticed a bad odor. I think the combination of wrapping paper, glue, and whatever varnish was on that cabinet....made a mini chemical reaction. :)

Anyway, I let the cabinet dry a while before flipping it back into place. I talked my husband into coming up to my room one evening to paint the top and sides black. He told me it would chip if we didn't sand and prime it. That sounded boring to me, so we went right ahead and painted the cabinet. It is chipping. I think I'll call it "distressed."