DIY Nail Polish Display!

Two days of my Easter holidays I dedicated to this project. I Googled images of nail polish holders around dinner time and by the evening I'd been to B&Q and began constructing this little work of art. When I've got my mind set on something I just have to run with it.

First off, I can't sit here and make out like I made it all because I didn't, my Dad pretty much built it and I just whipped the paint on. Nevertheless, today I'm going to show you how it was done!

I bought door architrave to make it from because it was the only suitable thing really. I didn't want just basic blocks of wood and this was much prettier looking. It cost around £14 for a pack of 5 of which I only used 4. 

First thing was measuring the space I wanted it to go. Then I cut 2 planks of architrave into equal lengths to fit that space; these would become the shelves. I got 8 shelves out of 2 planks of wood. 

Then I cut the two end pieces which I made 2cm longer than the shelves so the side pieces could sit on top of the ends. If that makes sense? If you scroll down to the penultimate picture and look at the corner you'll understand what I mean. You can cut the corners diagonally so that they blend together but with the engraved wood it was too much effort lol. 

Then I got really mathematical and tried to space the shelves within millimetres of accuracy from each other. But I failed so I kinda winged it in the end. Then I marked where each one was going and screwed the shelves in down the side that wasn't going to be visible. That made life so much easier. If your's will be visible from each side you might have to persevere and glue both sides. You'll need a really even surface to work on in that case. 

I used a hot glue gun to attach the other side of the shelves. The glue dries really fast and burns like a mother if you get it on your skin so handle with caution!

For extra strength I used Evo Stik and coated the corners. This is also pretty handy for filling in any cracks that you may have as it's quite thick. You don't have to be super neat because you can sand the glue down when it's dried.

I left it over night to dry. 

In the morning I sanded the whole thing down. All the corners, edges and shelves felt as smooth as a baby's bottom once I'd done with it. 

Then I began painting it. I used B&Q's finest undercoat (no expense spared) and just kept lashing it on until I felt happy with it. 

The picture on the left shows the 2nd coat and the right shows the 3rd coat. I was pretty happy with it after the third coat so I left it there. I didn't use paint over it in the end because I quite liked the 'shabby chic' effect the undercoat gave. 

All that was left to do is tack it up to the wardrobe and colour co-ordinate my nail polishes!

Considering the ones I was looking at online cost around £40 for pretty much the same thing I'm really pleased with my £14 bargain. And the fact that I can say 'I made that!' (Well painted it).

I'd really love to hear your opinions and whether you're going to make one yourself. I can imagine that everyone will make really cool ones to match their own room!

Thanks for reading everyone :)

Leanne x

P.S. Let me know if you'd like to see a nail polish collection. I'm feeling really inspired now I have them all on display haha!