DIY Mini Card Catalog

It’s no secret we love little cubby systems and card catalogs. I’ve always wanted to build a bigger one like the antique one we found in North Carolina… before we get too far, I wanted to try my take at a DIY Mini Card Catalog… Here is how it turned out.

I have to say this build isn’t hard, but it does have tedious/repetitive steps. Here are the dimensions for the the build.

I started with building 16 of these drawers. I used 1/8 inch thick poplar by 3 1/2 inch for the front, back and bottom (Actual Dimension: 1/4″ x 4″ x 4′: Link)

The sides were 1/2 inch thick poplar by 6 inch (Link)

I waited until after the entire piece was painted before I put the leather pulls on.

Then I built the frame around the drawers into a use shape, and lined the drawers up on the frame. Once in line, I provided 1/16 of an inch gap around for them to be able to be pulled in and out. I installed the cross board above these drawers, to be the bottom board for the next higher.

To mark out the placement of the thumb tacks, place a temporary tack on the side wall and tie a string across each tack. Measure center on each drawer and make a dent, deep enough to be noticed after it is painted.

Wash and repeat until you cap off the piece.

The framed exterior of the piece is the same 1/2″ x 6″ poplar used for the side of the drawers. The horizontal separators are also the same as the front, back, and bottom of the drawers listed above.

The paint was my favorite part of this project. We used Dixie Belle Paint for this project, two colors and crackle.

The way it works, is you put your first color down, let it completely dry, then the crackle layer, followed by the top layer. The first layer will be the color that shows through once the top layer crackled… confused? Here this is what we used and how it turned out.

I liked it so much I am going to use it on the next project… A DIY Scrap Wood Bench. (Stay tuned). I am on this journey to build new and age it over night. Something more than the taking it out back hit pieces with chain, and white-wash… really add some elements pieces to make pro’s question its authenticity. We learned a lot from using it on this piece… I’m thinking being selective with the placement of the crackle, maybe not the whole piece in fear it looks like a pre-fab paint job. I don’t think this pieced turned out that way, but a larger piece with larger bare spaces could easily go down the wrong path… Overall great paint, some of the best crackle agent I’ve used on a piece.

Once the paint was all dry, I finish putting the pull tabs on. The pull tabs are thumbtacks and leather. We used the same metal aging technique, then we did on the metal clock (link). I picked up the leather from Michaels (link).

And just like that, its done. Like I said really easy build, but after about 4 drawers… your really looking forward to being done, maybe its just me, repetitive work like that drives me a little crazy. Let me know what you think, and also what do you think about these little sketches I’ve been putting up? Do they help? Would you prefer them to give the dimensions like I have been, or step by step photos? Leave a comment below to let me know. Thank you for stopping by our little farm blog, we hope you are enjoying these fun little farm projects. Have a great rest of your week, and as always… Give Grace.