DIY Bathroom Cabinet

I think this has been one of my favourite projects so far!

We deperately needed storage in our bathroom, but I find store-bought cabinets for the bathroom to be really expensive. I had seen wooden-drawer shelf ideas on Pinterest, and one day while I was shopping at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, I saw a great wooden drawer and thought, why not make a cabinet out of one? So, I bought the drawer for $5, and when I went home I searched through my old cabinet door stock and found one that was a little bit shorter than the height, and 1-2" shorter than the width.

I removed the hinges from the door and handles from the drawer, and used wood filler to fill the holes. My husband cut some wood we had for shelves, and cut the trim to fit around the opening. he attached them to the wooden drawer with a nail gun (I really need to learn to use the power tools!)

I sanded everything down, put on a coat of primer, and then a couple coats of white paint (I think we used eggshell finish). 

I had been looking at different designs for the phrase "Wake Up And Be Awesome", and figured out one I liked, and painted it on the cabinet door, finishing it of with a coat of clear satin finish spraypaint.

We reused the original hinges on the door to attach it, and used an extra knob we had that matched. Darren attached it to the wall in our bathroom with screws (It took us a couple tries to find the studs in our walls). I'm sooooo happy with how it turned out, and hope that this gives some of you some inspiration on how to make your own :)

Transformed

The signs I make aren't perfect. In fact, they all have flaws in some way another...and with two kids under three underfoot while I'm painting, I'm amazed there aren't more. These 'flaws' used to bother me, but now I've come to embrace them (I've even put a disclaimer on my Facebook Page that my signs are 'perfectly imperfect'). Many people in the sign business use vinyl cutouts and stencils to make their signs perfect, and while I use some stencils to sketch out a lot of my signs, I think using vinyl and painting through stencils would take the fun out of it for me, and would remove a lot of the character from the pieces that hand-painting brings. More than anything, I love how they have been transformed from old, ugly, discarded doors and wood, into positive pieces of art that bring me joy to paint, and are even enjoyed by others. I realize that only using repurposed and reclaimed materials to paint on can limit my options, and sometimes I'm unable to do requests from customers because I don't have the supplies, but it's the transformation that happens with every piece that speaks to me every single time. 

I also see them as an expression of my journey. Next week will mark one year since  I heard the words "You have cancer." I can't believe the changes that have happened since then. Even today, my youngest turns 18 months old - a year and a half! And obviously I've gone through a physical transformation myself, and the mastectomy has most definitely left me flawed. Scarred. Disfigured. While my journey has been in some ways horrifying, I love how God has used it, and has continued to use my journey and me to help others who are facing it themselves. I have been made 'perfectly imperfect', to share God's love and peace with others. Most of my transformation is not visible to others, though - it's below the surface...my faith, peace and joy in the Spirit have all been strengthened stronger than they were before this part of my journey started.

I know some have wondered why I chose the name 'Mug Half Full' for my blog and business. It was taken somewhat from my love of coffee, and a play on the phrase 'glass half full'. But, it was also from a desire placed in my heart about three years ago to see the positive and beautiful in the broken and discarded - whether that was an old house or random material - and to help transform it. I also wanted to see God transform broken and discarded people, and to be used to help any way He saw fit. That's when I began to blog. I never dreamed then where this journey would take me, and when I started making signs after my recovery from surgery, I knew 'Mug Half Full Designs' needed to be the name. 

This coming week I have the privilege to have my signs available at Beulah Camp, and while I did not grow up attending the camp there, it was the place of some pivotal moments in my life where God transformed me...and He still continues to do so. I'm looking forward to a fun week with my girls and family, and catching up with some people I haven't seen in a while, and hearing stories about God's transforming power in their own lives.

Most of what I paint is straight from Scripture, or from songs that speak Truth to me. I'm forced to meditate and think on the words with every sign, and I love it. God's word is transforming, and it's my prayer that my signs help to speak those transforming truths into people's homes and lives.

I'm looking forward to being transformed more and more into the person He created me to be :)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit

2 Corinthians 3:17-1 (NIV)