Kitchen Storage Organizing

I have two "closets" in my kitchen area. Once is clearly a pantry, as it is right next to the fridge, has shelves, and well, it is where I keep most of my food. The other closet is in the area that is kinda my kitchen but not. It is probably where most people would put a dining table, but I use the dining room for that, and I really don't need 2 kitchen tables. Plus, a dining table there blocks the doors to go outside, and makes it just too crammed and tight. I instead have a cute setup that has a nice path to outside, which is especially nice for my less that graceful lab when he is coming and going.

Back to the closet though. I don't believe it is a coat closet, because there is a closet around the corner utilizing the under stairs are, and it has a rod, and a shelf, and is closer to the front door. I have been using the closet in the kitchen area as storage for pots and lids and misc crap, and it is MESSY!!! Don't believe me?  Take a look-

See, I told you. Not only is it messy, it is also dangerous to my health. Do you know how many times I have been attacked by a rogue lid? They are glass...and heavy...and I am usually barefoot. Yeah, I think you understand. Since I don't work most of the summer (ahhh, the luxuries of being a preschool teacher) I have decided to complete one organizing task a day, and I am beginning with this one! AND, I got to do a few  little crafty things along the way. I started by clearing out he whole thing and giving it a good scrub down. I actually considered a quick coat of paint, but that just got a little involved for a closet right now.

My first order of business was detaching the shelves, easier said than done. They are 2 sets of 3, and it took me about 10 minutes of pulling and pushing and banging and swearing under my breath before I figured out they SCREWED together.  Then I used a few things I had in my craft hoard stockpile and I was in business.

I screwed the coat rack to the wall. This used to be in my mom's apartment, and then my apartment many, many years ago. It had random holes drilled in it already, so I went with those. That is why they are randomly placed. I normally would try to center them, or hide them somehow.

Now everything has a nice little home and I can find what I need. I have plans to buy a couple more S hooks, as I discovered they hold the lunchboxes extremely well. Oh, and I am going to make a plastic bag holder to hang on the door itself. Let's see how long we can keep it this way.

Watch out pantry...you're next!

I wasn't allowed to do a turtle, So a Seahorse it is

I have a thing for turtles. I have no idea where this came from, but I love all types. So when I went to do this project, I asked my husband for suggestions on the sea life I would use, and he instantly said something to the effect of, "Oh please anything but another turtle." Now, that isn't a direct quote, but that what was what appeared in the little thought bubble above his head. I threw out a couple of beachy animal, sea life type suggestions, and he gave me an ever so helpful, "Yeah, any of those would be cute."


I ended up choosing the seahorse. I think I recently saw something with a seahorse on it, and that has kinda stuck in my head. Then I got to work. Let's start with the awesome find- the wooden sign...or plaque...or whatever you want to call it. I call it awesome since I scored it at Goodwill for 99cents!

I sprayed it with a couple coats of white spray paint. Once it was dry, I made my stencil. I cut out the Seahorse using my Cricut, and the "Life's A Beach" cartridge. I have about 5 other projects lined up this month using the same cartridge. I stenciled the seahorse on and then used a Plum colored acrylic paint and painted him on. After he dried, and yes, I have decided the seahorse is a boy, i took some black paint and just lightly brushed it along the edges and a little across the picture with the grain. Once everything was dry, I sanded the entire thing. This gave the entire thing a great weathered look. I think it turned out pretty darn cute, what do you think?

Apothecary Jars

I have been seeing these  jars all over blogs, and I have also seen a few tutorials on them. I finally decided to make my own. Here is where I found my directions-  Till Death Do us Part and here too Lolly Jane boutique.  I did not spend a lot of money on these at all and they turned out super cute! I got the wood bases and pieces at Michael's and the candlestick is glass from dollar tree. The glass vases are from dollar tree as well, and the lids are leftover from candle jars!

I painted on three coats of paint here, first primer gray, then a sage green and finally a light brown. I lightly sanded a couple spots to give it a worn and distressed feel. I am going to have fun changing out the items for different holidays and seasons in these!Right now I have some plastic eggs in one, and I am trying to figure out what to put in the other.

Barbie's New Digs

I just began a new project for my daughter and her Barbie Family. I am turning two bookshelf things we got for FREE into a cool, funky and totally fun Barbie Dream House! First, let me tell you about the shelves. I got this set of cabinet/dresser things off of Freecycle about 2 years ago. They had a hutch shelf thing on top, not screwed in just there, and they weren't quite deep enough for my storage bins. Plus they were UGLY!

One of the shelves, after I added a base.

So I decided they would make an awesome Barbie house. My husband looked at me like I was crazy, which is not abnormal or untrue. The first thing I did was add a base, as these did not have one and I did not want them to fall over and crush my daughter, plus barbie furniture would just work better on a nice smooth surface. I checked out the cull lumber at my local Home Depot, and I got two of these shelving pieces for 50 cents a piece. They have a nice curved front edge, are slightly larger than the shelf providing stability, and a little longer too. Now Barbie gets a little patio for BBQ's, and maybe a hot tub. All I did was secure it with 4 L brackets. 

Now, not to deceive you, but I have had it in that exact state for about, well, 6 months. I had a lot going on, and my little one still played with it and Barbie just had a very plain white house. I just pretended that she was still in talks with her interior decorator, deciding on colors. 

Then today, I decided it was time to get started. I am moving slowly, but I got a few things painted. First, the dining room accent wall. 

Check out the Zebra rug!

Yes, that is black. And I am using scrapbook paper as a wallpaper. I am going to Mod Podge it on tomorrow.  I know I got paint on the other wall, but it will scrape right off and I was not in the mood to tape it off tonight. And yes, that is a zebra print rug. It is a piece of scrapbook card stock that I covered on both sides with contact paper, so she can move it around.

I also painted a pink and a red room. I know most Barbie furniture you purchase is pink, but my daughter even said Ken doesn't like pink. After the first coat of red, it looked like a little Barbie CSI scene. The second coat looks better but I think it will need at least three, and I am going to clear coat it all. 

The other bookshelf. See what I mean about the red?

 

I will keep posting as I get more completed. I would love to hear ideas for decor and flooring. I am hoping to do this very cheap, using stuff I have been hoarding for the past few years in the craft room. What do I have planned? Check back to find out, but it does include scrapbook embellishments, vinyl and much more.

My New Obsession??

I saw these exploding albums one day on TLC, and decided I HAD to make one. I finally gave it a go, and here is how they turned out. They are super easy for the most part, and make a really neat gift!

These are awesome stamps!

I was recently introduced to a new stamp company that is totally cool!

These stamps are like vintage style tattoos, and the can be used as bosy art as well. Just purchase the body ink stamp pads. How cool?!?!?

New Inspirations!

Lately I have been kinda slow in the crafting area. I DID finish a giant scrapbook for my family's Pierogi Fest. that was a big job! Now I am moving and it is hard to find time for anything for myself. So today I decided to take a few minutes, update the blog, and add a few cool new things. First, i have recently stumbled upon a site called Craftster.com. It is oh so cool, and there are so many neat tutorials and ideas. I LOVE this site! If you go there, you will also become addicted, I swear. My next new addiction is PaperCraftPlanet.com. It is all things paper craft, which is just right for me. I have already seen about 20 projects to add to my ever growing list of things to do.