"From Drab to Fab" File Cabinet

Slowly but surely I am working on creating a Home Office, but I refuse to have it look drab.  I found inspiration on Pinterest (shocker, I know).  Someone had taken book pages and decoupaged them onto a trashcan.  Since I am a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I LOVED it!  So I took a page out of their book (corny, yes) and went wild.

This is the poor drab creature getting a make-over...

To get him prepared for the decoupaging, I removed the handles and applied a coat of primer to the drawer fronts.

While this dried, I grabbed a hardback book from my bookshelf that I didn't like, but never got rid of.  (Names have been withheld to protect the poor innocent book.)  I tore the pages out and then tore them in half from the middle, making two fat rectangles. Then I tore the blank edges off, leaving just the text.

Once the primer was dry, I poured ModPodge into a disposable bowl and applied a thick coat over the whole surface of the drawer front.   I placed a half page on the drawer front at a random angle, making sure there was over-hang to the sides of the drawer.  Another layer of ModPodge went over the top of the page, including the over-hang, gluing it to the sides to secure it and make a clean, neat edge.  Repeat this step all the way around and overlap the pages, making sure to vary the direction of the text.  Some of my pages are even upside down.  This is what you will end up with when it is completely covered.

Next move on to the second drawer front and cover it as well.  Once you have both completely covered, apply another thick coat of ModPodge to make sure it is sealed.  When that coat is dry, use an X-acto knife, or scissors, to trim any excessive over-hang and then re-attach the handles.  And here is the final product:

I only used about 50 full pages for the file cabinet, so a thin book would have worked.  Since I have some many pages left over I am now decoupaging my printer stand (a.k.a an old microwave cart).