Back to the classroom...

Last month, a lovely couple who I have come to be friends with through Crafternoon Tea, opened a cute little shop in Kingsland;  Love Vintage & Retro.  I popped in to say hello and see what treasures I could find, and one particular item took me right back to my childhood....

When I was younger, my brother and I both had one of these.  And just like this one, it was covered in stickers and pen marks.  We used to keep all our colouring books inside and sit at our little chairs colouring in and writing stories.  From talking to others about my find, it would seem a lot of my friends had these as their school desks. LUCKY!!  We were on to big open tables when I started school, and books were kept in drawers.  BORING!!  So I am glad that my mum had two for my brother and me at home.  


Anyway, needless to say, I ran home to pick up the car and bought the desk.  Daniel(you will find him at Love Vinatge & Retro from Wednesday - Saturday) and I spoke about turning it to in a card display for my market table and I couldn't wait to get started.  I loved all the scratches and dents it has gained over the years, but I did want to get rid of the stickers.  So with a bit of elbow grease and a metal brush, off came the stickers (and the legs!!)

All it needed now was a coat of matte varnish for protection and I would be ready to turn it in to a card holder.

I envisioned the cards being stacked in the desk, allowing customers to flick through and select the ones that caught their eye, and wanted a few pegged on the lid just as a fun way to display them.  So off I went to Mitre10 to find some doweling.  It was cut (wedged!) in to place and here we go...

And now, filled with cards with a little extra decoration to brighten it up, I have a beautiful childhood desk converted in to a card display.