Party Cart...y

How to turn an old rolling cart into a bar cart, otherwise known as a party cart...y.

OK, bad puns aside, this has to be one of my favorite projects, mostly because I love taking old junky things from the brink of disuse and bringing them back to the life of the party.

Old Rolling Tray Cart to Beverage Center Party Cart

When I found this cart for sale on Craigslist, it was quite sad looking.  Hospital cream color, rust peeking through, neglected, unappreciated.  But not for long!

It was begging for a makeover, and I was looking for a project.  With a couple coats of spray paint, some cork and jute, and a lot of TLC, it was ready for its night on the town.  Here's how I did it.

1.  Every makeover starts with a good wash-up.

First I scraped off the parts where paint was flaking, then scrubbed everything with steel wool, then a scrubby sponge, a sander, then good old fashioned soap and water.

This was physically the hardest part of the project.  (Think Karate Kid and "wax on, wax off.")  But hey, at least it got me out of going to the gym that day.

Also, you CANNOT skip this part.  If you don't prepare your surface well, the paint won't stick and you'll have to start all over, and then some.

2.  Then the foundation.

The whole piece got three light coats of glossy black spray paint.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I like Rustoleum.   When you're using gloss spray paint, keep layering on light coats until it looks uniformly glossy after it dries.  This can take a while, but is worth the effort.

3.  And now for a few highlights here and there.

I found cork board contact paper at Lowe's and thought that would soften the black metal nicely, but when I cut it out and looked at it on the cart, it didn't quite pop like I wanted.  So I found a stencil pattern I liked, drew it on with ballpoint, then went over it with a wide tip marks-a-lot.  Voila!  Pattern was just what it needed.

4.  And some accessorizing.

I was afraid the paint would scuff easily on the handles, so I decided that wrapping them in jute string would not only be functional, but right on trend as well.

This was a little tricky, requiring some coordination and a lot of hot glue.  But I think it finishes off the piece nicely.

5.  All that's left is getting dressed for the party!

I made this little project into a drink cart, but with a few different toppings, it would be cute and useful as a dessert cart too, or a craft supply center. The sky's the limit now that it's pretty enough to go in any room!