DIY: Corks-Cork Board

Recently it seems our fridge has turned into a paper catcher for grocery lists, business cards, coupons, schedules, etc.  You name it, it's probably on our refrigerator, and the moment you open the door...down goes the papers!  I finally decided it was time to clear this baby up.  

I had pulled out an old cork board but that seemed to plain, so after searching the craft room I found three bags of corks I had purchased at a local craft thrift store.

 They were so cheap and I knew eventually I would find the perfect project for them.

I pulled together supplies from around my house; an old board I had been using in the pantry, a bottle of wood glue from the garage and I a nice sharp knife to cut to corks in half...

 Important Note: Real corks are VERY hard to cut through.  If I had to do it over again I would purchase a cutting tool from a hardware store.  Synthetic corks do cut very easily, however they do not look as nice as real corks.

 Here are the easy instructions:

1. Cut all your corks in half, this is the hardest part...

2.  Decide on the pattern you want to use on your board.  Lay the pattern out to be sure you have enough corks to cover the space and your design will work.

3.  Once you have your design, measure the center and make a tiny mark.  

 4.  Put a small amount of glue on the back of each cork and place it onto your board.  You will need to push down hard and hold for a minute to be sure the cork half's adhere to the board.

5.  When all your corks have been glued down place a flat heavy object, like a book, on top of the corks and let dry for 24 hours.

5.  Drill your board into the wall and viola, instant cork board!

I love love LOVE how the alternating design on my board turned out...

And how does it work....

Beautifully!  The corks hold nice and tight, it has become quite the conversation piece and is a great addition to our growing family command center.  Since I had everything on hand, this "Cork" board was F-R-E-E!!!  I may just need to make another one for my craft room.

Happy Crafting!

DIY: Va-Va-Va-Vase

Since taking down the Easter decor I decided it was time to start on a summer centerpiece for our dining room table.  A friend had told me about a segment on The Chew where Clinton Kelly had made a summer table scape out of hardware supplies.  After watching the segment on the internet I was inspired and decided I needed to start with a vase.  Enter this beautiful bottle I have had in my stash awaiting the perfect project...

 I pulled out two of my FAVORITE craft supplies, Jute and Mod Podge!  I wanted a vase that was functional and earthy so it wouldn't take away from brightly colored summer flowers...

I started by painting mod podge onto a section and began wrapping the jute over the mod podge.  It did take alot of mod podge and I will admit it was a messy project...

But when I was finished it was worth it.  I decided to make a design in the middle and space out the top to show some of the beautiful glass below.  I put the vase by an open window to help it dry...  

Before to long my vase was dry and I love how mod podge dries clear!  It is the perfect summer vase (if it would hurry up and be summer).  I added the only two flowers we had in our front yard, along with two candles I had on hand.  The candle holders are actually plumbing gaskets that I paid $1.50 for at the HD!

I absolutely LOVE the start of my summer centerpiece.  It has a ways to go, but this is a great start and since I had everything on hand, with the exception of the candle holders, I spend a total of $3.15 for everything, not bad!

Blessings!

April Showers bring...May-heim???

That's right, April Showers in our house bring about a bit of Mayheim!  Why you ask, well April is traditionally my quarterly spring cleaning month and because disorganization and clutter are like complete mayheim to me, the overhaul of April will keep us from the two being an issue.  What do I love about spring cleaning...EVERYTHING!  SC allows me to keep a grasp on what I own, what I need to donate and what I need to trash.  And since we have not spring cleaned since moving into our current rental (less then 3 months ago) it's about that time.

So here is the plan of attack for the Spring Clean/To-Do List:

Living Room:

• Organize Buffet (donate anything not used in 6 months)
• Find new storage for blankets
• Repurpose old lamp
• Make window treatment
• Decide on fabric for arm chairs
• Deep clean sliding door, buffet, shelf and frames
• Vacuums out couch (remove cushions)
• Switch out blanket to summer

Dining Room:

• Work on "Our House Rules" for the big wall
• Find MEGA carpet cleaner
• Summer centerpiece
• Deep clean window, baseboards and overhead light

Guest Bathroom:

• Finish decorating
• Deep clean window and baseboards

Entry Hall:

• Make summer door hanger
• Make front door mat
• Make shoes/purse shelf
• Make purse hooks
• Make "Please Remove Your Shoes" decor
• Deep clean front door and base boards

Coat Closet/Pantry:

• Pantry shelf re-model
• Pack up winter coats
• Donate unused kitchen stuff
• Install low hooks for little man's jackets

Kitchen:

• Make a menu board
• Make a weekly calendar/appointment/to do board
• Clean out cabinets (donate anything not used in 6 months)
• Find storage solution for wraps and baggies
• Finish spice jars
• Deep clean fridge, floors, cabinets, counter tops and window

Master Bedroom:

• Find a dresser!
• Clean out closet and donate clothes/shoes 
• Organize shoe madness
• Re-organize purses/scarfs/accessories
• Purchase other side table from antique store
• Find a free shelf or make one
• Finish putting up decorations

Full Bath:

• Re-organize bathroom cabinet
• Organize make-up
• Make magnetic make-up tray
• Find storage/caddy for shower stuff
• Find hooks for loofa
• Find free shelf!

Little Man's Room:

• Short clothes - Change out sizes
• Pack up 12-18 month clothes and take to basement (too fast...insert VERY sad face!)
• Clean out closet and prep for makeover
• Rotate books
• Sew seam on throw pillow
• Make more shelving 

Craft Room:

• Empty remaining boxes
• Clean and organize closet
• File all loose papers
• Look for twin bed, night stand, dresser, etc.

Playroom/Man Cave:

• DECORATE!  YIPPEE!!!!
• Find shelving
• Make chalk board table top
• Make curtains
• Hang lamps
• Clean kiddie rocking chairs and move them in
• Find storage solution for dirty laundry
• Post couch and chair on craigslist
• Wipe down and organize laundry area
• Organize dry storage closet
• Hang storage solution for mop and broom

Garage:

• Take old Rx to county for disposal
• Purge spray paints and take to county for disposal
• Donate old fridge
• Organize Christmas into corner
• Organize dry storage shelves
• Dispose of old boxes
• Organize tools
• Make a wood working/furniture repurposing area
• Change out curtain to add more light
• Spray down garage!

Outside:

• Back - Rake out leaves in back yard
• Back - Spray down slider and CLEAN!
• Back - Spray down slab
• Back - Hang lights from deck
• Back - Plant flowers
• Front - Weed front flower bed
• Front - Find free chair or swing
• Deck - Spray down deck
• Deck - Look for free patio set and swing
• Deck - Bar-B-Que Grill!

I know it looks like alot to do, but the reward for this hard work is a well organized, well maintained home.  Since my handy hubby loves to help out it makes much of this list go by in a breeze.  If some of the list bleeds over into May, that's okay, after all it is my list, my goals and my plan.  The only one holding me accountable to finish is your's truly.  One thing I refuse to do is allow my list to get in the way of time with my guys, they are my first priority.  

So bring on the rain of projects and the mayheim, I'm ready!

Blessings!

March Madness - Spice Jars

You win some, you loose some and then some just take a little reworking.  So it is with my spice jars.  If you read THIS post from March, you remember these...

The plan was for these simple peach jars to become my new spice jars.  Long story short I spray painted each jar and lid, let them dry and then sealed them.  I was excited until...I went to screw the lid on the jar.  Enter my small paint shard issue...

Unfortunately since the jars will hold spices, and shards of paint potentially mixing in with food could be very dangerous, I am having to start from square...er...round one.  So more peaches it is!  

Blessings!

Pinterest Project - Our house rules...

This weekend I tackled ALOT of projects including our gallery wall, moving our newly refurbed buffet into place and making a set of house rules.  I had seen these on pinterest and chose a few that I REALLY liked.  I mixed them together and ended up with one for our home and let me say I L-O-V-E it!

 I also found this print out on one of my favorite blogs, Beautifully Rooted, and knew it needed to find a place in our home...

 So both are hangin out in between our dining room and our living room.  Eventually I would like to paint our house rules on a big board to hang in the dining room, it will be a good reminder at dinner each night as our little man grows.

Blessings!

March Madness - Gallery Wall

Since moving into our current house I have had the strong desire to put up a gallery wall, due in part to the fact we have some amazing pictures from our little ones first birthday (thanks to the crazy amazing talent of Amy Grebe Photography).  This weekend I decided it was time to get this baby up.  

First off let me just say putting up a gallery wall, NOT EASY!  It was harder than I thought it would be, mainly just configuring the way you want the pictures.  I searched pinterest and several other websites and thought I knew what I wanted.  I tried the whole cut paper and tape it to the wall, but honestly it didn't cut it for this overly visual chickadee...

After seeing all those pieces of paper I finally decided to go about this a different way.  I started by pulling out all the available frames I had, that I wanted to use.  I decided where the middle would be, based on the placement of the couch, and worked my way out from there.  I used the top of the area rug to be sure it would all be straight (the hubby got a good laugh out of that one).  This is what I ended up with...

My little helper came over to supervise my work :).

I had SO MANY frames in boxes, by doing it this way I was able to save money by using what I had.  After I did a little measuring and adjusting it was time to get hanging.  Now measuring this would have been murder, so instead we decided to use wax paper (since we had some on hand :)) to make the a template for the wall.  We ran 2 pieces across the back of the frames (sorry forgot to take a picture before I hung the top piece on the wall, but you get the idea).  We taped the wax paper to the end frames...

 Then it was just a matter of locating all the picture hangers and marking their locations with a pen...

After all the picture hangers had been located, we very carefully taped the wax paper to wall using the center marks as a guide.  We took one of the frames and held it up to the top to be sure we had the height we were looking for...

 Then it was just a matter of hammering nails into all the marks...

Once all the nail had been hammered in we pulled down the wax paper.  We took our pictures we printed at home, put them in the frames, hung them up and viola!  Our gallery wall was complete!

To break up all the pictures we chose one of our favorite songs to put in the frame on the far left and placed a nice big J in the mix...

I have to say I L-O-V-E my gallery wall.  By using the wax paper I didn't have to move a single nail, that's a first for me!  It has added so much to the room and made the big space feel warm.  My total cost for this gallery wall was $6, thanks to the Dollar Tree and the fact that we decided to print our own pictures, which turned out beautifully!

But my favorite part of this whole project, watching our little guy enjoy playing with the wax paper after it came off the wall :)....

Blessings!

Pinterest Project - Dates that changed us for better...

Lately I have seen alot of these on Pinterest and I wanted to make one for our house.  Most of them say dates that changed us forever, I decided to make our dates that changed us for better...

 I decided to put it on our new buffet where I can see it constantly, a reminder of how blessed I truly am...

Blessings!

What's For Dinner: Monday Menu Planning...

Menu planning has been something I have strived to do for years, but even more so now that we are down to one income.  On average our grocery bill is about $90 every 2 weeks.  To help all those out there who may need help and inspiration, I am adding our weekly menu's to the blog.  Bon Appetite!   

Monday

Dinner with our Small Group

Tuesday 

Main: Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin / Side: Sweet Potatoes and Glazed Carrots

Wednesday

Main: French Onion Soup / Sides: Tossed Salad

Thursday

Main: Broccoli and Chicken Alfredo (one dish dinner)

Friday

Main: Chicken Piccata / Sides: Potatoes and Green Beans

Saturday

Main: Taco Salad (one dish dinner)

Sunday

Main: Baked Ziti / Sides: Tossed Salad

March Madness: Easter Table Scape...

One of my favorite home projects is changing out my table scape with each holiday/season!  With the conclusion of Valentines/February it was time for a little Easter Decor.  I pulled out the items I used last year and began to put together my table scape.  

In no time my table was set, but it seemed to be missing something.  Did it need small place mats, perhaps a table runner!  I wanted to have a little more green to tie in my new no sew curtains and possibly more pink.  After I few minutes I remembered the remnants of classic bunny fabric I had from a past project.  

Using some left over Heat 'N Bond I made a simple small table runner.  I have learned with a very active 1 year old you don't leave anything hanging over the side of a table!

It seemed to be the piece I was missing.  It fills in the space without being overwhelming.

I LOVE this new addition to my table scape!  The jury is still out on the placemat size and color.

So what do you think?

Blessings,

hj

March Madness: Weekend Warrior...

This past weekend I decided it was time to get a few projects marked off the list!  Since it was a bit to cold and windy to be sanding furniture in the garage, I chose a few indoor tasks.  First on the list was completing the curtains for the dining room.

In our last rental we had a small window in the kitchen and a large window in the dining room.  To save money I made some no sew curtains for both windows.  Unfortunately the kitchen curtain was far to small for the kitchen window in our currently rental, so I chose to use the existing dining room curtain in the kitchen:

That left us with a large dining room window and no curtain.  I wanted to live in the space for a bit before we decided on what to do with the DR window.  After a few weeks and tossing around a few idea's, I landed back on the current curtain fabric.  I really do love this print and it already works with our decor.  So I headed off to hobby lobby to pick up 3 yards and my best friend "Heat N Bond"!

Armed with my iron, ironing board & scissors, I started the no sew project.  In a little under an hour these babies were finished!

 Aren't they cute!  I do love the way they frame the window and mesh with the wall color which seems to have a bit of a green undertone that the camera doesn't quite pick up.   Since we cannot paint the walls working with the currently color has been a bit tricky.

A few side notes about my no sew curtains:

Yes, those are pole pockets at the top and Heat 'n Bond does a fabulous job with that as well.  Initially I was going to use the same clips as the kitchen, but decided not to spend the money.
No, they are not lined.  Since these 2 windows (kitchen and DR) are a major source of light for the main floor I wanted light to bleed through.
No, they do not close all the way.  I would have needed about 6 yards of fabric for full curtains.  I chose not to make them full curtains because our main floor is actually the second floor from the back side, which is where the dining room window is located.  We have a drop off in our backyard so our view is completely unobstructed.  Simply no need for a full curtain.

So there you have it, project one of March Madness is complete!  Did you do any fun projects this weekend?

Blessings,
hj