Vintage Sewing Notions Shadowbox Cabinet

Sonia @ Creating Vintage Charm is hosting a blog party today to celebrate the launch of her new magazine Creating Vintage Charm.  The first issue of the magazine was just released and is available to order online.  It looks to be a wonderful magazine full of beautiful, vintage creations from a number of talented artists.

Sonia's blog party gives all of us an opportunity to show off something that has added a little vintage charm to our lives.  To participate, or to just see what fellow bloggers have created, link back to Sonia's blog.  It's sure to be a great party!

For the party today I want to share something I recently repurposed that added a little vintage charm to my studio and helped showcase something I love, vintage sewing notions.

My mother taught me how to sew when I was a young girl on this Singer Featherweight sewing machine.

My great grandmother (Mamie) taught my mom how to sew when she was a young girl on a treadle sewing machine.

And old census records document that my great, great grandfather (Mamie's father) worked as a tailor throughout his adult life.

  So it is no wonder that vintage sewing notions are one of my favorite collections.

When I found this little cabinet at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago I envisioned it as a display for a few of my vintage sewing notions.

The cabinet just needed a little facelift to give it the vintage charm I was looking for.

So I disassembled the piece, taking off the hardware, removing the back of the shadowbox from the cabinet door and disposing the "spices" that were displayed in the shadowbox frame.

I spray painted the piece Heirloom White and, after it was dry, lightly sanded it to reveal just a little bit of the original finish.

I covered the back of the shadowbox with a vintage looking piece of scrapbook paper and then sat down with my collection of notions to decide what to display in each little window.  The depth of the shadowbox was only a little over 1/4" so I was somewhat limited on what would fit in each window.

I chose some of my favorite pearl buttons,

 A piece of an old cloth tape measure,

A very old needle packet and needle,

A wood spool (I sawed the top off of an old spool),

 A small crocheted doily,

 And an old, tattered hooks and eyes card.

I glued my notions in place and screwed the back of the shadowbox back on the cabinet door.  The finishing touch was the addition of a small glass knob on the front of the door.

I love how the cabinet looks now.

 The white, distressed paint gives the cabinet a vintage charm that not only showcases the vintage sewing notions but helps pay tribute to my sewing heritage.

Have a great weekend.

Jane