card catalog Archives - Two Twenty One

Springified Card Catalog Vignette

April 4, 2013

Guess what? I got my camera back. Woot! The camera body and both of my lenses had issues. (Not my fault.) Craziness. Now that I have it back I’m able to get down to business. Blogging without a functioning camera is very limiting, as you can imagine. Although, I’m very proud of my iPhone 4s for standing in for this post and this post.

Anyway, I recently springified the card catalog. I used some things from around the house, and I bought a few new things.

I used the canvas of us k-i-s-s-i-n-g in some trees since, well, there are trees in the photo, and trees are green and springlike. Although this engagement photo was taken in the fall, but you can’t tell.

The books were Christmas gifts– great coffee table books, by the way. I scored the coral from Kohls for $10. The agate slice under the coral is from a rock and gem show in Arizona. You may have seen the photo I posted on Instagram of my treasures. My middleman, Caitlin, from Desert Domicile was my agate slice scout. I put those little cabinet bumper things on the bottom of this slice so it wouldn’t mark up the book.

Sidebar: Didn’t Caitlin pick out the most gorgeous agate slices for me? More on what I do with the rest of them later.

I picked up the wooden crate and greenery ball thing at Home Goods with a Christmas gift card. I already had the books and candle holder. In case you’re wondering, which you probably aren’t, the candle is Coco Loco from Bath & Body Works. If you know me, you know I have an obsession with coconut scented candles, reed diffusers, car fresheners… basically anything that smells like coconut.

I didn’t get an up-close photo of the blanket basket, but I used the same quilt and knit blanket I always keep in the wire basket below the card catalog. The thing I love about the multicolored quilt is that I can fold it so seasonal colors are showing. For Christmas, I folded it so red and green colors were showing. I’m pretty sure my great-grandma had this in mind when she made it decades ago.

Have you been springifying your home?
Do you have agate slices mixed into your decor?
Who loves coconut scented things as much as me?

18 Comments · Filed Under: card catalog, home decor, living room, spring, vignette ·

Card Catalog Christmas Vignette

December 7, 2012

When it comes to Christmas decor, I don’t typically decorate with the traditional Christmas colors. But when I found three vintage stockings at the Goodwill Outlet, I decided to mix things up this year. It was obvious to me that the card catalog was the perfect place to hang the stockings. I’m pretty sure I’m going to love decorating the card catalog for every holiday.

The vignette was created with some old things, some new things, and some DIY’ed things.

I used a cake stand, cloche, pine cones, and berries I already had on hand. The slice of wood was purchased at JoAnn for about $6. I know it’s silly to buy wood, but I didn’t want to scour Craigslist for free wood and make Brad get out the chainsaw. Sometimes it’s just easier to pay a little money than to deal with a headache. But if any of you in the Indianapolis are cutting down a tree anytime soon, cut a handful of slices for your dear friend Chelsea, will ya?

The red and white sweater presents were made by yours truly. I still don’t know what to call them. Suggestions welcome. I’m posting the tutorial on how I made them tomorrow. Can I get a “heck yeah!” for a Saturday blog post? (Please stop by tomorrow. I barely ever do Saturday posts because I feel like no one will read them.)

UPDATE: Here’s the sweater present tutorial.

The books are from my thrifted collection. I used leftover scrapbook paper from my ‘JOY’ letters on the middle book. I used double sided tape to secure the scrapbook paper to the book. Beyond easy.

Like I said, the stockings were Goodwill Outlet finds. I was probably a little too excited when I found them. But then again, I’m excited when I find anything awesome at the Goodwill Outlet (see: here and here). $1.50 for three vintage Christmas stockings FTW.

I kept my great-grandma’s quilt and the blanket my great aunt knitted for Brad and me in the wire basket. I did flip around the quilt so the red and green squares were showing.

I’m happy with how my traditional Christmas color vignette turned out. This is the only spot in our house where I used the red, white, and green color combo. Make sure you come back next week to see the rest of my Christmas decor.

Will you dare to deck the halls on Monday morning for Dare to DIY? Need some extra inspiration? See how Kim, Michelle, and Rachel decked their halls.

Curious about the card catalog? Read about it here.
Do you decorate with traditional Christmas colors?
What are you doing tomorrow? Your answer: Coming back here to read the sweater presents tutorial. (I’m still taking name suggestions.)

I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tidy Mom, Liz Marie Blog, Craftomaniac, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Funky Junk Interiors, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Miss Mustard Seed, I Heart Nap Time, Southern Hospitality, Inspired by Charm, Shannanigans, and Serenity Now.

Check out my other Christmas projects!

wedding invitation ornament

tomato cage christmas tree

how to put lights on a christmas tree

2012 christmas tree

silver & blue christmas centerpiece

sentimental christmas tree

card catalog christmas vignette

sweater presents

christmas card books

christmas 2011 vignette

2011 christmas tree

christmas centerpiece

joy christmas sign

simple christmas card holder

easy christmas centerpiece

holiday gift wrapping station

handmade gift ideas

tis the season printable

christmas 2011 printables

16 Comments · Filed Under: card catalog, christmas, holiday ·

Thanksgiving Burlap Bunting

November 16, 2012

I never decorate for Thanksgiving. I typically use the time between Halloween and Christmas to mentally prepare myself for the madness that is decorating for Christmas. But I whipped up a small Thanksgiving project for the ‘be thankful’ portion of the Dare to DIY series I’m co-hosting with Kim, Michelle, and Rachel. And I knew the perfect place for my creation– on the card catalog, of course.

Honestly, I wanted the bunting to say ‘give turkey’ but I figured ‘give thanks’ was a more practical approach.

This project was pretty easy to execute and took about an hour to make. I used leftover burlap from my ruffled burlap table runner project and a bunting template, which I edited because I have perfection issues, for the the bunting flags. The letters were stenciled on with acrylic paint . The stencils were created with my Silhouette (speaking of Silhouettes, have you entered the Silhouette giveaway?). And I hot glued the flags to grosgrain ribbon. I had all the materials on hand so I spent a whopping $0 to create this festive burlap bunting.

I think it looks pretty good tied onto the card catalog. But then again I think you could tie underwear to the card catalog and it would still look good. It’s like Channing Tatum. That man would look smokin’ in a potato sack. Or underwear. Or burlap bunting.

Jack even agrees that the bunting looks great on the card catalog. And he’s picky about his endorsements.

So will you Dare to DIY on Monday? Read all the details here.

Are you participating in the Dare to DIY series?
What are you planning to make?
5,000 bonus points awarded to the person who integrates Channing Tatum into their creation.

I’m also sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tidy Mom, Liz Marie Blog, Craftomaniac, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Funky Junk Interiors, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Live Laugh Rowe, Miss Mustard Seed, and Serenity Now.

21 Comments · Filed Under: card catalog, Dare to DIY, holiday, home decor, thanksgiving ·

Card Catalog Styling

October 17, 2012

I did a little switcheroo in the living room area of our great room this past weekend. I gave our dinky bookcase, that housed our DVDs, the boot and replaced it with the card catalog, that was living happily in the dining room area of our great room. And so far I’m loving the bookcase eviction action plan.

I didn’t think to take a before picture, so I scoured my computer in an attempt to find a photo. Here’s the best one I found of the bookcase… lightly decorated for Christmas 2009, our first Christmas in this house. Doesn’t it look sad and alone? I’m happy to report that the bookcase is enjoying its new home in our closet, where it’s housing my shoes. (Can you spot the lazy dog?)

The size of the card catalog is perfect for this area of our living room. We have vaulted ceilings in our great room, so the card catalog provides good height. It’s going to be hard to take down this set up when I get around to redesigning the card catalog, but I’m already planning the card catalog’s replacement in this space.

Most of you know that I scored the card catalog for $85 from Craigslist (read about that here and here). I also purchased the blue chair from someone off Craigslist for $40 almost two years ago– a little pricey, but it’s a great chair and was barely used. Buying from old people has its benefits: they take care of their stuff. I stole the chevron pillow (purchased from Home Goods earlier this year) from our guest bedroom.

I adopted this adorable elephant from Home Goods yesterday. His name is Percy. He was free to me because I used a gift card, but he came with an $8 price tag in case you’re wondering. The Readers Digest book was a Goodwill Outlet find from yesterday ($.69). The pink and white book is a thrift store book I covered with fabric leftover from my fabric covered message board.

I’m calling the white wire basket the Goodwill Outlet score of the month. I came across 10 The Container Store elfa wire baskets (5 tall and 5 short) at the GW Outlet yesterday. Score. I brought home 5 tall and 3 short (two of the short baskets were too rusty for my liking). The tall baskets were about $1.75 each. My original plan was to use them in the garage, but I think I’ll put them to use in our master closet.

I filled one of the tall wire baskets with my great-grandmother’s quilt and the afghan my great aunt knitted for Brad and me. It’s the softest blanket ever. I have to fight to keep Jack off it when I use it.

Kroger keeps spoiling me with $.50 tulips. Seriously, who turns down half a dozen tulips for two quarters? I put these beauties in one of my thrifted hobnail milk glass vase. I may or may not have three of these same exact vases.

What do you think of the new set up?

Isn’t Percy adorable? Love that little guy.

Could you say no to fifty cent tulips?

I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tidy Mom, Liz Marie Blog, Craftomaniac, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Funky Junk Interiors, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Live Laugh Rowe, Miss Mustard Seed, and Serenity Now.

33 Comments · Filed Under: bargain, card catalog, great room, home decor, living room, our home, thrifting ·

And Then The Craigslist Gods Shined Down On Me…

August 29, 2012

Remember last week when I showed you my card catalog that I found on Craigslist for $85? Remember how I told you that it was missing a drawer? Well, if you don’t remember, here’s a refresher.

Well, the Craigslist powers from above shined down on me late last Thursday night. (Cue the angelic “Ahhhhhhh”.) Because do you know what I came across? A nearly identical card catalog. BOOM. SHAKA. LAKA.

You guys, it always pays to be a stalker… of Craigslist. Stalking people is a no-no. Don’t do that. But stalk Craigslist for furniture to your heart’s content.

You better believe I jumped on this opportunity. I purchased the card catalog Friday night from a nice couple, who wasn’t on house arrest and who didn’t live in a church. However, I told the woman about my missing drawer issue and showed her a photo of my card catalog on my phone. The next morning she emailed me and asked if I wanted to trade card catalogs because the 3×5 configuration of mine would work better for what they were trying to achieve. I had to tell her thanks but no thanks and wished her well with her card catalog project.

Here’s what the card catalog looks like with the new drawer.

Ridiculousness, right?

You can tell that it’s not 100% identical if you study it, but there’s 30 drawers and unless you’re specifically looking for it, you’d never be able to tell.

Now, what am I going to do with the new card catalog with 8 drawers left in it? I don’t know. I figure I can keep it and use it somewhere else, or I can sell it. I could sell the whole unit or split it up and sell the drawers individually. I still haven’t decided. But if I choose to sell it, all of you will be the first to know. So stalk this blog in order to find out my decision, but don’t stalk me. Thanks.

How crazy is this?

Are you a Craigslist stalker? (Not to be confused with Craigslist killer.)

What do you think I should do with the 8 drawer card catalog? Sorry, I won’t be giving it away for free. I know– I’m such a jerk.

Are you a two twenty one facebook follower? No? You should. All the cool kids are doing it.

27 Comments · Filed Under: card catalog, craigslist, furniture ·

Library Card Catalog

August 20, 2012

I’ve had an obsession with library card catalogs for a couple years. I think they’re unique and there’s history behind them. That, and they’re basically the pygmy hippopotamuses of furniture. Because I’m pretty certain that the majority of libraries use online book cataloging now. Goodbye, Dewey Decimal. Enjoy your forced retirement.

I’ve been trolling Craigslist for card catalogs off and on for about a year. When I would think about it, I would do a search. Well, about a month ago I searched, and low and behold one was for sale.

The ad was posted at 4:25PM. I emailed the guy at 7:30PM. He emailed me back a couple minutes later and asked if I wanted to take a look at it that night. Brad was game, so by 8PM we were on our way to the guy’s house. Or I should say church? The nice man I purchased it from lives in a former church, pews and all. When Brad and I arrived we thought he had just moved in and was working on clearing it out. Nope. He’s lived there for 15 hoarding years. I have a record of buying Craigslist items from interesting people in interesting places. Makes Craigslisting fun and exciting, in my opinion.

Now, some of you may be thinking “$85 for a card catalog? I bet I could get one for $25″. And maybe you could. But do an EBay or Etsy search, and you’ll see how much these suckers are going for. We’re talking $250-$1,500+. This card catalog is solid, and it has dovetail drawers. So I think $85 is a pretty good deal.

Now, there is one obvious thing missing here. One drawer. One pesky drawer.

UPDATE! I found a drawer!

When I bought it I figured I could make a drawer (or at least a faux drawer), find a label holder/drawer pull like the others, slap it on, and call it a day. But I’ve scoured the Internets for a label holder/drawer pull that’s identical to the other ones to no avail. I asked my brother if one of his friends could fabricate one, but he said it would cost “$$$”. I’m assuming he meant it would cost over $100 by using three dollar signs in his text message. Hmm yeah, I’m not paying more than $10 for a piece of metal, let alone $100. So if you come across a similar label holder/drawer pull email me. Pretty please. UPDATE! I found a drawer solution!

Now, some of you are probably thinking, “This is great, Chelsea, but what are you going to use this for/do with it? Or is this just another pawn in your hoarding game?” And to you, I’d say that it won’t be in its current state forever. I have a plan. It’s mustering up the ambition to execute said plan. I mean, it took me about 3 months to turn the ghetto dresser into a TV stand. If we use that algorithm, I have 2 months left to do something with the card catalog. Tick tock.

What are your thoughts on card catalogs?
Any suggestions on what I should do about the label holder/drawer pull conundrum?

UPDATE! I found a drawer solution!

Note: The card catalog is NOT for sale.
Unless you want to give me $10,000 for it. I’d be able to part with it for $10,000, but nothing less.