Find of the week, month, year... and inspiration

I bought myself an early Christmas present. Ever since we moved, I have had a pile of 'stuff' sitting in the office/craft room just waiting for a home... scrapbooks, fabric, paints, art supplies of all kinds. And we've debated the merits of various bargain units from Zellers/Expedits from IKEA/other assorted storage containers. I was on the verge of breaking down and buying some formaldehyde-emitting particleboard-based retail piece of crap that would at least get MY crap off the floor, and then... I saw the ad in the paper this week, for a vintage laboratory cabinet with glass doors, and I knew I'd found what I wanted.

I've written about my love of vintage metal cabinets before, and thought this might be a similar treasure. When I called the number in the ad, the guy I talked to was a bit incoherent, and he wanted me to meet him at an old, closed-down sugar mill to see the cabinet. I brought Chad along for the trip - wandering into a dark, deserted factory with a whack job stranger sounded like a very Jeffrey Dahmer-esque way to meet my end. The whack job even stood me up for our first appointment, but I called back and he met me later the same day. It was love at first sight. (The cabinet, people, not the whack job.)This thing is four feet wide and seven feet tall, with lots of adjustable shelves, thick glass doors that glide smoothly on the tracks, and a beautiful 1940s jade green colour that you just don't find anymore. It's not for everyone, but I think it's beautiful. Chad had his doubts but is coming around now that I have scrubbed the sugar residue off of it and loaded it up with some stuff. Bryce helped Chad heft it up the stairs, and I don't think he will ever come around, but that's OK. It's not to everyone's taste. I get that. :)

The top shelves are still empty because we need to bolt this sucker to the wall before I fill it any further - it is heavy as all get out, and would certainly crush one of the kiddos if they were able to tip it over. We're not taking any chances.It's a good thing my little craft room (sorry, Chad... OUR home office) is all fixed up now, because I just received a shipment of fabric this week (here are 6 pieces out of 34). I have a project to work on in the coming months, and I can't wait to get started.