Kitchen Reno: Moving Out!

Now that we've taken a look at the starting point for the kitchen (it's not so hot, lemme tell ya), we need to get the ball rollin'.  Before swinging any hammers or pulling out any cabinets, there's a fair amount of prep work to be done.  I have to get real on you here - a kitchen renovation isn't pretty or fun.  It's a long, stressful, messy project, but the end result is well worth it.
To start the prep work, we moved a bunch of stuff around in our dining room to accommodate as much of our kitchen as possible.  To do this we took one cabinet to the basement, moved a side table & the dog crate to a different corner (to make room for the fridge later). We moved the dining room side board to a spot under a window (this is home to our dishes, toaster and a few other counter top items).  We then moved our butcher block "island" into the dining room (this is for the microwave and other storage).  Finally we moved our tall pantry cabinet into the dining room (this is where we keep pretty much all our food).   Here's our setup that I shared on Instagram recently:

Now all that work took a whole weekend, a lot of cleaning, and a fair amount of sweat to get the heavy stuff shifted.  But guess what, we weren't even close to being ready to get our smash on.  
Next up was clearing cabinets.  What's really surprising is how much crap fits into a small kitchen cabinet.  I started off by boxing up all the stuff that's hardly ever used.  I'll be honest here and say that a good bit of this will never again see the light of day in my kitchen - it'll end up in a goodwill box or a yard sale.   Once the "hardly ever used" stuff was put away, then I packed up the "can get by without it for 2 months" stuff - these are things we like and things we use, but not critical items. Then we took down the "not everyday" stuff - this is stuff we use regularly and will probably need in the next 2 months, but stuff I don't need every single day.  This stuff wasn't really packed away in boxes but is downstairs and easily accessible.  
The hardest part is trying to figure out how to deal with every day stuff.  There are a few choices to make - do we want to put away all the plates, bowls, glasses and silverware and use paper products, do we want to commit to washing dishes in the bathroom sink, or some sort of combo?   We're currently still adjusting and there are a few things that have not yet moved (fridge and a few random items), but we'll work it out as we go. For the immediate future I will be scouring the internet for Crockpot, microwave, and grilling recipes!  

Kitchen Reno: Meet the Kitchen

We have lived in this house for about 6 years now and the kitchen has been this one big ugly eyesore. It's a bigger renovation than either of the bathrooms, and yet as ugly as it is, it's been "serviceable" - meaning that we got new appliances and there's basically enough storage for our needs.  Only not really.
Let's take a look at it and talk about the problems - keep in mind that these photos are from our first day in the house.

Stove/oven - We got a new stove about 5 years ago and we really like it - it's black/stainless (not that awesome brown one in the picture).  Pretty much everything else you see here will be removed.  Yeah, we don't really dig the brown hood/vent so we'll probably replace it with a microwave vent.  It will cost us a bit of over-the-stove storage, but we'll make up for it in counter space. Also see that sweet brown plaid backsplash?  Yeah, that's gonna go too.
Sink/dishwasher - We will be replacing the dishwasher - we replaced the brown one shortly after moving in, but it's had a happy life and the interior racks are rusting.  I'll put it on CL and maybe get $20 for it because it does work.  We may be relocating it to the opposite side of the sink though.  In its place we'll have a nice cabinet and/or bank of drawers.  It'll be good.  

Fridge - We will also get a new fridge.  We got a new fridge - a stainless side-by-side and it is only 6 years old so we'll be CL-ing it for sure.  The fridge is great but it's just not working for us.  The position of the fridge next to the wall makes it so that the fridge door doesn't fully open.  It's really annoying, actually.  The best decision we made so far was to relocate the fridge to the other side of the room and to have the cabinets wrap around the corner.  We'll get more cabinet AND counter space.  But we'll need a different fridge.
Back side - To add functional space in our kitchen, we got a butcher-block island/counter from Ikea.  It's really great, but our new kitchen design puts the fridge - a new counter-depth fridge over here.  And we'll have tall pantry cabinets on either side of that.  
Sliding doors - NEW!  The current doors are in rough shape.  The handle falls off, the lock doesn't work, the screens jump the tracks and are all ripped.  The best way to go is to just do a full-on replacement.  
So what's it gonna look like?  We're thinking white cabinets, probably a blue/green tinged composite counter, a dark cork flooring, and some to-be-determined tile backsplash.  We don't have much paint, but that will be a light color that will coordinate with the counters or tile.  Floors are still a question - maybe dark cork?
I'm pretty excited.  We are in the very early stages here, but it's going to be great!    

DIY Memo Board

WOOT WOOT!  It's Pinterest Challenge time!  The folks over at Young House Love, Bower Power Blog, The Remodeled Life, and Decor and the Dog are hosting yet another Pinterest Challenge - and I just had to join in on the fun because I love those guys and I love Pinterest too!   Here's how it goes - pin something great then DO IT and put your own spin on it!

I've been a little slacker-ish in the DIY category lately (chalk it up to extra mopping & laundry that comes with potty training), but I wanted to hop straight back on the hobby horse.  There are tons of ideas I have for the house, but since half of them need to be done in the kitchen (which would be much improved by a can of gasoline and a book of matches), I decided to do a project for my current favorite room in the house - the Big Girl Bedroom!

So here goes - the pin - there are a lot of these out there on Pinterest, but this one caught my eye - probably because of the frame:

{pinterest source} Basically, it's a memo board.  You can stick pictures, cards, postcards, whatever, behind the ribbons to display them.  I prefer this for a young kid to a bulletin board because I don't love the idea of tacks.  I had thought of a magnet board, but I like the softness of adding a textile to the room rather than just stenciling something on metal. Anyways...here's what I used:

• Frame (Target) = $17 <==  I suppose I could have found a better deal or thrifted one, but I didn't have time!
• Fabric (had it) = $0
• Batting (had it) = $0
• Ribbon = $2 (clearance)
• Buttons (had 'em) = $0
• Foam board = $1.50
• Craft tape = $3

First thing's first - cut down the foam board to the size you need.  Simple enough, I just popped the glass out of the frame and traced it onto my foam board.  I cut it with scissors, but it would have been easier if I could have located my craft knife (where is that thing??)

I put it in the frame to check the size.  Better safe than sorry.  I actually had to trim it a bit more, which is a good call because there's going to be some fabric and whatnot going on this guy. I also cut a piece of batting (like for a quilt) in the same size.  
 I trimmed my fabric about 4 inches bigger on each side (after ironing it, of course).   Now comes the fun part - put it all together! I lay the fabric on a table, wrong side up.  I put the batting in the middle (carefully making sure my zig-zags were straight) and I put the foam board on top of that.  I used tape to secure everything - I pulled the fabric tight on 2 sides and taped it down with clear packing tape.  Then I taped the other 2 sides and the corners.  

Next step was the ribbons.  I sorta "dry fit" them by laying things out on top and used some straight pins to hold them in place on the edges while I taped on the back.  Smarties can use things like rulers and protractors to get the ribbons parallel, square, or even. I just eyeballed it.  I secured the ribbons on the back with more packing tape and pulled out the pins. 

I flipped the board over and used plain old thread and a sturdy needle to attach buttons at each cross of the ribbons.  This was a bit tedious and I'm not sure how well they'll hold, but I'm not sure of a better way.  

As a finishing touch, I used craft tape to jazz up the edge of the frame - hot pink with white polka dots!

I hung it with some handy dandy Command Adhesive picture hanging strips.  Super fast and easy! And here's the finished product! She LOVES it!

Check out some of my previous Pinterest Challenge posts!

• Improved Kitchen Storage
• Lotion Bottle Cell Phone Holder

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House On The Way

Valentine's Day Wreath

Last year I did quite a few Valentiney things (and with V-day nearly a week away, there's still time, right??).  This year, I've been pretty busy with regular stuff.  Life with an older toddler requires a lot more mopping and vacuuming than it did last year.  I'm so glad we don't get many drop-in visitors because I'd have to turn off the lights and pretend nobody was home. One thing I did want to do is give a try to one of the more popular DIY blog and Pinterest crafts:  

   So here we go:

• Foam wreath form - there were a variety of sizes and shapes at the craft store, pick whatever you like
• Fabric for covering the wreath - I got a yard and a half and I have quite a bit left over
• Fabric for embellishments - I chose some coordinating quilting fabric
• Ribbon or Rickrack for embellishment
• Pins - no sewing or glue!!!

I started off by tearing a few strips of the fabric.  I wanted to tear because I wanted the slightly frayed edge to show as I wrapped it.  And because I chose a chevron fabric I tore the fabric across (rather than down) to keep the pattern oriented the way I wanted it to.

I just started wrapping the fabric, making sure it overlapped a bit all around. I pinned the strip and started a new one right there.  I started each strips on the same side of the wreath so that side would be the back side.  I had to trim the strips short to make it work.  

Once you have your wreath covered, make some fabric flowers.  I checked out Pinterest for DIY fabric flowers to get some ideas of how one might make some.  I mainly used these two methods both of which involve cutting a bunch of circles of fabric.   First off, to get a good circle I traced a cup onto some cardstock to make 2 different sizes of circles (for big and small flowers).  Then I layered the fabric and cut four circles at once.   Method 1 - layer 3-4 circles, creating a fringe edge with scissors.  I used 3 big circles with one smaller one on top to create a nice fringey look.  I attached the flowers with a pin.  I didn't do pics here...sorry! Method 2 - fold a circle in quarters and put it on a pin, repeat several time so that there are 3-4 ruffles attached to a pin.  Fold a circle in half and attach that to the pin.  Repeat several times.  Put a whole circle on the bottom.  Then attach it to the wreath.

Pin the flowers in as you go.  Rearrange however you like.

I used random little ruffles of fabric to fill in a few gaps, but that was it!

I hung the wreath on the door with some big rickrack and taped it to the top of the door.

Here's what I like about it -

• It's pink for V-day but isn't covered with hearts, so it won't have to be pulled down right on Feb 15.

• NO GLUE OR SEWING!  So all the materials can be re-used.  Look for version 2 of this wreath for spring/Easter time!

• Quick and free-form.  With raw edges, perfection isn't critical here, making this a good project for crafting novices.

Happy Valentine's Day!
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Becoming Martha  *  Design, Dining & Diapers 

Dino-rrific!

As you all remember, Chris moved into a toddler bed in late spring.  It was time.  And we went with a junior sized bed from Ikea.  It was the right choice.  The big downside is that it's a nonstandard bed size so you can't just buy sheets for it.  Ikea has sheets and we have 2 (blue and white) but now that it's winter, I thought he might like something cozy, soft, and warm.  And so last week I made him a microfleece fitted sheet and matching pillowcase!!! Here's what I did :)

To make a fitted sheet for a bed you basically need to create a box shape by cutting a rectangle of fabric that is the size of the mattress plus depth on each side plus some overlap for the elastic. I did a full-on tutorial here!!
First I measured the mattress - it measured 63" long, 27" wide and about 4" deep.  I determined that I needed about 3 yards of fabric, so that's what I got.  I was able to find some super soft dinosaur microfleece on sale.  If I had remembered to bring my coupons (grumble grumble) it would have been even cheaper.  Of course, if you're making a fitted sheet, don't forget elastic.  I used 5/8" braided elastic.  I honestly don't know how much was in the package, but I used all of it (helpful, right?)

Based on the mattress size, i decided to make the overlap 7" (to account for a 4" mattress plus 3" for the casing & elastic underneath - if I did it again, I'd make it even wider).  I even added an inch to the length & width to make sure it would be big enough.  So I cut the rectangle to be 64+14 = 78" by 28+14 = 42".  I then clipped out a 7" square from each corner.
Sewing went pretty quickly - I just sewed the corners together and then eyeballed the casing and sewed that around leaving an opening to work the elastic through.  Now since this is fleece, the big benefit was that I didn't have to fold the fabric over twice - it won't unravel.  And no ironing :) I learned from my first sheet sewing experience that threading the elastic is a pain, so I made the casing  for the elastic extra wide and it went much better.  Once the elastic was through I used a zigzag stitch to secure it.  Then I closed the opening in the casing.

Once the fitted sheet was done, I made a pillowcase.  I made a sham-style pillowcase where the back has 2 overlapping pieces rather than an open ended pillowcase.  To do this, I measured out a sham I had, added an inch to each side (for seam allowances), then cut 2 pieces with significant overlap for the back side.  I sewed up hems on the 2 pieces for the back, pinned everything in place and sewed all the way around.  Super easy!
Here's the Before -- 

And After --

Chris LOVES his super soft bed.  It's soft and warm and he loves to cuddle his face up against the pillow.
Chris is also the proud owner of his very own down comforter.  He had been rolling around on ours saying he really likes "mommy and daddy's sheeps".  He's happy to have his very own.  It does have a cover (it was in the laundry on photo day!)  Ikea.  Of course :)

What do you think??

Big Girl Bedroom - For Reading

It's been a while since I did an update of Sarah's Big Girl bedroom - so let's take a peek at one little corner!
One thing we have been meaning to do is get her set up with some sort of reading light.  She has a table next to the bed where she keeps a cup of water and a few books, but it's way too low for a table lamp, so when I spotted this little gem at Ikea, I jumped on it!

{source}

It's one of those fantastic Ikea pieces that can just slip into any style room and look like it was made to be there.  And at $15, the price was perfect!

Chris zonked out on the ride home from Ikea and I was able to slip him into bed without waking him up, so I actually had time to get this thing installed!  WOOT WOOT!

OK, so installation went like this:

1.  Open box (duh)

2.  Read instructions - this is always a good idea.  This light has a base plate you screw to the wall then attach the light to the base plate.

3.  Plan where to put the thing on the wall.  There's no "right" place to put something in your house.  You need to figure out how you're going to use it and then put it where it needs to be.  This is a reading light for a kid, so we centered it above the bed and hung it high enough so that she wouldn't bonk her head on it.  

4.  Using the base plate, mark on the where it's going to go.

5.  Using a drill, make a few pilot holes.

6.  Using anchors (depending on your walls) and your drill, screw in screws.  Leave them sticking out a bit.  

7.  Slide the base plate on (they have those little keyhole shaped things on the back).

8.  Holding light in place over the base plate, insert screws and tighten with a handheld screwdriver.

9.  Install shade

10.  Steal lightbulb from bathroom and screw that in - ok so this light doesn't use a standard 40 watt bulb.  You need these special "G" bulbs which aren't particularly exotic but not something you just have laying around.  They are what we use in the bathroom so that's what I used.

11.  Plug it in and turn it on!

Wow, that's a lot of steps for about 16 minutes of "work".  

The end result was perfection!  Sarah can now read in bed without a flashlight.  I really like it - the wall above the bed was pretty empty and this really helps fill the space.  I think it still needs something - artwork?  Vinyl decals?  We shall see!

Make it BLUE!

I mentioned this a while ago (read about it here), but sometimes home improvements happen because a repair is needed rather than an upgrade.  It was sometime earlier this fall that Jason leaned over a baby gate and used the wall for support.  Sadly the wall just wasn't up to the challenge and we were left with a wall to repair.  There's a whole long story about termite damage, but I'll say that it's amazing the wall lasted as long as it did. To repair the wall, the first thing we did was to excavate a bit.  Because the wall busted due to termites, we knew we should see how far the damage went.  Little by little, Jason chipped away at the crust of plaster until we had a hole that was about 3 feet tall and probably a foot and a half wide.  It was a HUGE mess.

Jason cut a piece of drywall and screwed it in place.  He used mesh tape to seal the seams with the existing plaster walls and then started in with a first layer of joint compound.  

Now one thing to notice is that the plaster & backer board walls are a lot thicker than the drywall, so a lot of joint compound was needed to make the patch flush with the wall. A.  Lot. The first few courses of compound took a few days to dry fully.  It was ok though.  He did one after work, then one a few days later.  It's not a good way to go if you're in a huge hurry, but by investing 20 minutes here and 20 minutes there, he could get it done. The patch was officially complete midweek last week!  YES! 

The finishing touch for a patched wall is generally to prime & paint the patched section.  We were out of the green paint, and really I was over the color so I picked out a new one and sent Jason to Home Depot.  Here's a progress shot after I did some cutting in -- 

I don't know if I'm a very slow painter, but it took me about 4 hours to cut & roll out the whole room.   At the end of the day I was sore, tired, but very satisfied with the color and how it looked.   (the color is Basin Blue - Finneran & Haley).  When the color was being rolled on, Jason kept saying it was purple.  It isn't purple.  It's grayish-blue.

Yes, the curtain needs to be re-hemmed.

So there we have it - this marks the 3rd color we've used in this room since moving in way back in 2007.   How often do you change paint colors?   Do you agonize over the choice or do you just pick something and go with it?

Snowflake Ornament - Christmas Craft

Woot woot!  I got to do something crafty again!  After quite a long time where I was busy with school stuff, I finally got to shift gears this week back to some holiday related stuff and, of course, crafts!

I signed up for an ornament exchange about a month ago, and I'm super excited to have finished this up and pack it up for mailing!  By the time the post is up, the ornament will be in the mail on it's way to it's recipient!  And I figured, if I'm making one to send, why don't I make another one for here?   Materials

• Wood snowflakes - various sizes 
• White paint (already had this)
• Wire 
• Beads
• Glitter
• Sequins (optional - I had some snowflake ones)
• Glue/ModPodge
• Drill with a tiny drill bit
• Paintbrush
• Needle-nose pliers

So here's how I did it!  

• Paint the snowflakes on all sides & the edges, letting it dry after each side
• Mod Podge both sides and add glitter, letting it dry after each side

• Drill holes in the center of each shape, and one at the tip of a point on the big guy

• String one bead on to a length of wire and twist it so that it's secure - this is the stopper!

• String up the whole ornament in this order:

sequin

small snowflake

bead

medium snowflake

bead

big snowflake

bead

medium snowflake

bead

small snowflake

sequin

• At this point you're ready to finish it, so string on the last bead, and keeping the wire as tight as possible, wrap it around the bead like you did for the first one and secure it

• Cut off excess wire
• Use another length of wire (and beads if you want) to create a loop for hanging, and you're done!

Ready for the tree!

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Unplanned Projects.

Thanksgiving is over.  Black Friday has come and gone.  Now is the time when we should be decorating for the upcoming holiday season!  I love Christmas.  If I didn't have a destructive toddler, I'd decorate Thanksgiving weekend and leave it all up until a week into January.  That's not happening.  I'm really not sure I could handle all the "don't touch that" and "NOOOOOO!" comments that would come along with it.  So we'll decorate little by little and may not put everything up. My sanity is worth more to me than having a picture perfect Christmas.  I still have a ton to do this holiday season.  Shopping, baking, crafting, etc.  One thing I hadn't planned on was a wall rebuild in the dining room. 
Yes, that's right.  Here we are, 4 weeks before Christmas and we have this:

A little backstory here...

When we purchased this home in 2007, the home inspection indicated termite damage.  And there was a lot of termite damage.  Termites eat from the ground up, and they apparently LOVE the fiber board that's behind the plaster in the walls.  We replaced the interior front wall of the house from the dining room all the way past the front door and under the window in the living room.  We reinforced the floor joists.  We tore out window trim.  It was a mess.  And there was a hole in the floor - the hardwood floor.  Like you could see into the basement if you peeled the carpet back.  And we still bought this place.  

Anyway, it was about 3 weeks ago that Jason put his hand on the wall to steady himself when bending over to pick something up off the floor and his hand went through.  Turns out this wall has termite damage too.  Yuck!  So basically the hole in the wall was evidence of a problem we still had to take care of.  And so now here we are, just a few weeks away from Christmas and we're repairing a hole in the wall, and I guess we'll paint the place too!

I hope to have a final reveal of this in 2 weeks!