How I Plan On Tackling the Piles

I had to finally give in and get a filing cabinet.  I searched and searched for different ways to handle all the paper that comes into this house. They all seem like great ideas but none of them were exactly what I wanted. Part of the problem is that I don't like "stuff" out on the counters.  There are some great home organization options for a sort of command center that all incoming paper goes into. I love the idea but that means stuff on the counter. I just.....can't.....do.....it.

That's why the majority of everything gets put into different piles and stashed away in the "office".  It's an eyesore in our house to be honest. Piles everywhere. Important papers just hanging around.  Coupons, restaurant menus, even my diplomas from college.....all just in a pile.  Why are my diplomas in those piles? I'm not sure. I worked my tail off for both so they are more than just a scap of paper to me. I need to find a nice frame for them. Sorry for the diversion.... back to the piles.    I finally went through them and had a shred-fest.  It was so liberating.  Then I went online and ordered a filing cabinet from Home Decorators. 

Now, I'm trying to convince Big G or my sister to help me put it together. So far I'm not having any luck.

My 1st Re-do Ever.

This is the piece that got it all started. It was about 5 years ago that I found this garage sale item. My aunt was in town and wanted to go to a few garage sales in the neighborhood. So off we went to see what we could find. Now, this is one of my aunts that is incredibly good at the whole DIY thing.  Her work is pretty impressive.  She's also a master at garage sales. You should see all the treasures she finds. Wow.  I had the best of luck that day. Ended up with a wicker chair for the patio, a bench for the porch and this wonderful beat up old dresser.

I don't have a "before" picture of what it originally looked like. It had been in this couple's garage and they kept tools in it. I wanted it for a gift wrapping station.  It has since become my gift wrap station as well as my craft & office supply storage area.  I bought it and took it to my Dad's shop and there began my love for sanding and refinishing furniture. My Dad reinforced the bottom with wood and added wheels to it for me.  I lost the doors to it somewhere along the way and it sat like this until a few weeks ago. Pay no mind the clutter on and around it. That is a constant battle of mine. Still working on overcoming the "piling" problem I have but we won't talk about that. ;-)

I was ready for something different so I stripped the stain and sanded it. You can see a small hole I cut in the back of one of the cabinets.  You'll see the purpose in just a minute.  I primed it with Rustoleum 2x white primer. I had every intention of spraying the entire thing inside and out.  I hooked up the air compressor to my paint sprayer that was full of paint.  Turned it on. Waited a few minutes for it to build up some pressure. Aimed and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I tried it again. Still nothing. So I called Big G and asked him, "what's up with the air compressor?" I need it "RIGHT NOW". It apparently stopped working the last time he used it. We knew it was on it's last leg but I had no idea it had stopped functioning all together. Now what???  Well, to be honest it sat in the garage for a few weeks just like this.

I finally brought it inside the house last weekend and got to painting it by hand with a sponge roller. I wanted to paint the inside but I quickly lost the desire once I got started. Here it is now with no sew curtains in place of the missing doors.

I put the paper shredder in the cabinet with the hole cut in it. I just slipped the cord through the hole and plugged it right in. I also store my paper cutter in there as well. They both fit perfectly. They other cabinet has my trash can in it.

 

It was a great opportunity to declutter the items I had in it. I was able to reorganize and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. What do you think??



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Kitchen Redo - Sort of

I mentioned before that we don't own the house but I'm allowed to make small changes here & there. Well, this wasn't really a small change but it was very much needed in my opinion. About 2 years ago, before I started blogging, I had one of my "moments" and just couldn't take it anymore.  The kitchen had this horribly busy wall paper with pink and blue flowers. It was EVERYWHERE. Seriously.  Here's proof.

 I bought a steamer that I found on Craigslist and went after that wallpaper. It was certainly an experience. That steam kinda burns (ouch!) but it works wonders at getting that wall paper off.  I did try other methods, like spraying it with water and fabric softener. I will never do it that way again now that I have the steamer. It's so easy to use.

 I decided I was going to texture the walls. My parents had their walls professionally done and I of course thought I could do it myself. Ha! It wasn't hard but it sure didn't turn out anything like my parents' house.

I'm not sure why I wanted to paint the walls brown after I textured it but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I wanted the contrast of a dark wall and bright white cabinets. Now, I think I'd do it differently but I'm not ready to tackle it just yet.

The cabinets were off white and I wasn't brave enough to paint them myself so I hired someone to do those for me. Now that I've learned so much about the DIY process, I know it wouldn't be all that hard to do. I bought new knobs and painted the drawer pulls to match. Oil Rubbed Bronze of course. ;-) Love that stuff.

 Here is what it looks like today.

    Yes, we've lived with no outlet cover for almost 2 years. Wow. I'm replacing it TONIGHT.

Sorry about the flash. It's hard to get a good picture in this house. The lighting isn't so great and the chocolate walls don't help in the kitchen.

It isn't my dream kitchen but it is a big improvement compared to what it was prior to the changes.  I'm happy. :-) Now, if we could just get some new appliances.......

Now Where Did I Put Those.....?

Have you ever tried to finish a project and "misplaced" some very much needed pieces to it??? I began a project many months ago and I'm just now getting around to finishing it.

The problem is... I can't find some of the necessary pieces. I could go out and buy some more but I don't want to have to do that. Ugh!!!!!!  Guess, I'll keep looking for a little while longer.

Wish me luck :-)

A New Addition to My Craft "Room"

This isn't one of my normal tools LOL.  I had the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter that I bought 5 years ago. I decided to upgrade to the Cricut Expression and found one at Joann Fabrics on sale. Well, I decided to take it back for a few reasons. I learned that the design software was no longer an option for Provo craft products and I really didn't want to purchase more cartridges. I have high hopes of creating my own designs and didn't want to be limited in my options so the software issue was a biggie for me. So, I took the plunge and bought the Silhouette Cameo. 

I've only used it a handful of times. It's actually a little intimidating but I'm learning.....slowly. There are a ton of tutorials online and I am a member of a facebook group that is really supportive. Those ladies are so talented. I sometimes have no idea what they are talking about LOL because I don't know all the lingo but it has been educational.  The cameo has so many capabilities that are really amazing & I'm glad I made the investment. Hopefully soon, I'll have some projects completed with the Cameo that I can post. Crossing fingers. :-)

Toodles,





Easter Decor

I attempted to do some decorating for Easter. I saved a few ideas on pinterest and downloaded some subway art. This is what I ended up with. :-)

Maybe next year........

Toodles,

It's The Little Things Part III

I have a strong dislike for mini blinds. Seriously strong dislike. We have them on every window in our house.  I just don't like them. I blame it on a job I got when I was about 20 years old & even went back to in my early 30's before I decided to go back to school in 2008.  It was there that I developed a love for plantation shutters. I worked for Sunburst Shutters in Dallas. Twice. LOL.  Great company, great owners and some great friends.  If you are in the market for plantation shutters, I wouldn't go with anyone else and there are locations all over the U.S. 

Anyway, it was there that I first began to really learn about window coverings. I LOOOOOVE the crisp and clean look of plantation shutters.  They let in the perfect amount of light and really open up a window. Take a look.

Back to the mini blinds. I didn't care much for the kitchen blind in particular and one evening while I was doing the dishes I decided that I had looked at it for the last time. Now, we don't own the house we live in but I'm allowed to make small changes here and there.  Since plantation shutters aren't an option I decided to go with the next best thing that I could easily do myself. I installed faux wood blinds!!  Woohoo!!  Here are the before, during and after pictures.

 Oh my goodness they were so dirty and gross. Yuck!!

Tada!!!!

I have to admit that it wasn't that easy. I measured the window, ran to Walmart, forgot what size I measured, bought what I thought was right, tried to install them while standing at an awkward angle reaching over the kitchen sink. Then realized that they DIDN'T FIT. So I went back to Walmart only to find that they didn't carry the size I needed. Ugh. Ran to my favorite home improvement store. The big blue one. Bought what I needed and then had my "Tada" moment.

I'm thinking I just might add them all over the house. They aren't very expensive and I've seen them at the local habitat store for super cheap. They don't make my love for the kitchen or cooking even the slightest bit stronger (not sure anything could ever do that & if I could hire someone to cook for us every night I sure would do it) but at least they make me happy when I look at them. ;-)

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