DIY Sewing Organizer

I know I said I would be back Wednesday with my project, but I got a little caught up with work and am just now getting to post. I found this project on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to do something similar to it, but hers was a little too complicated for me, being that I've only sewed a couple of things. So I waited until my Memaw was in town and showed her the tutorial. This is what we came up with.

I love it! We just made the easy version of this tutorial. I used Muslin and a cute fabric from Hobby Lobby. I used the same iron-on interfacing as the tutorial. I started by sewing the pockets onto the right side of the muslin first.

See that blue line? That is where I sewed a straight line down. I started at the top, went down a couple stitches, then back-stitched, then went all the way down and back stitched again. I also went all the way around the patterned fabric before sewing the whole thing.

Then I ironed on the interfacing on the other piece of muslin.

Then I made my stack of pieces ready to sew. I placed the piece above with the interfacing side down. Then I placed my other piece of muslin with the pockets, pocket side down and pinned it all! Then I started at the top corner and made my way around. When I got back to the top I left about a five inch opening so I could turn it all right-side out then top stitch it. I really like how it turned out! I also made a pincushion like the above tutorial did but haven't stuffed it yet.

So make sure to go visit Sherry, Katie, Erin, and Cassie and check out their cool projects!
Have a wonderful weekend! And Happy St. Patrick's day! :)
Jessica

Kitchen Cabinet Redo

When we bought our house last May (almost a year ago!), we knew we wanted to redo the cabinets. They were brand new but the color the seller stained them, wasn't very pretty. It was a pinky-orangey color. Yuk. So by July, I had had enough and I took myself to Home Depot to talk to their paint guy for some ideas. He really helped us out a lot in deciding which type of paint to use, and how to go about the transformation overall. Here are some before pictures:

Yeah, sorry about that mess. I'm embarrassed I just showed you that.

But first we used a liquid sander to remove any residue and prep the cabinets to be primed. For our primer we used Glidden Interior/Exterior White Primer/Gripper. For our paint color, we used Behr Premium Plus Ultra Pure White in Clear Moon-Semi Gloss.

Hunter hates white cabinets. He wanted to re stain them. I originally wanted to do the upper cabinets a light sage green color and the bottom cabinets a shade darker. We ultimately decided on white cabinets because the kitchen is so dark and we thought it would brighten the space up. Also, the two-toned cabinets may not be good in a resale. We plan on being here for about 2 more years and we decided that in our  next home we will do what we really want. I will say, we are very happy with the final look of the cabinets.

So next it was time to take off all the cabinet doors and take out the drawers. I cannot stress how important it is to number your doors and drawers as you take them off. Make sure to put the same number on the door/drawer and the place where it goes. Otherwise, when your are finished painting, you are going to have to try to put together a puzzle....not fun.

So once you have all the drawers and doors off, it's time to prime and paint!

Looking back, I can't believe how big of a mess my house was during this process. And now for the final transformation:

I really like how it turned out, but we are definitely not done with the kitchen. In the picture above, you can see where I didn't finish painting the section by the stove. There is a big gap between the cabinets and the stove so we are going to fill it in and you won't even see that part. And two pictures up, there is a beautiful piece of plywood over the dishwasher. You see, when we bought this house, the seller had remodeled the entire house. But no appliances were included. And for some odd reason, the seller didn't even include a space for a dishwasher. I'm not really sure why? It's 2012. Who doesn't have a dishwasher? So we had to extend the counter tops. The problem with that? We can't find the tiles that the seller used. So what does that mean? We have to completely redo the counter tops and backsplash. BUT I will say that we aren't in love with what we have now. So we have picked out what we want for our new counter tops and backsplash and are currently saving for it. Hunter and his dad are experienced in installing counter tops so we are going to save LOTS of money by them doing it instead of hiring someone. We are hoping to only spend about $500 on them so hopefully we can get by with that. I think we are also going to put another cabinet above the dishwasher where there is an empty space. So overall we spent about $150-200 on this redo. That includes the deglosser, primer, paint, paintbrushes/rollers, and cabinet and drawer handles and knobs.
Hopefully we will get to our counter tops within the next month or two. I will share the redo with you when it's done!
Jessica

Pinterest Challenge Project

Last week, Sherry from Young House Love and Katie from Bower Power announced the fall addition to the Pinterest Challenge Project (not sponsored by Pinterest or anything). They shared theirs Wednesday, but since I was working, I decided I would share mine today. So enjoy and also, go take a look at Sherry and Katie's projects, plus their two cohosts Ana and Erin's projects.
I actually did several projects that have been on my list. What can I say? I'm an over-achiever. (Yeah right) First up, I made some Fall wreaths. These weren't really from Pinterest, but one of my friends made one and I wanted to try. So I made myself one then my mom and gifts for two people who helped me so much with my wedding and reception. I got everything I needed at Hobby Lobby and pretty much everything was half off. Also, always print out your 40% off coupon. You can also pull it up on your phone and show it to them at the register. The supplies I needed were a grapevine wreath, a letter, ribbon, and fall accessories that are made to stick right into the wreath. SO EASY!

All the inserts I used.

The wreaths before I put on letters.

Here is the wreath I made for our house! I love it!

I may have an obsession with making wreaths. This next one is a yarn wreath I made for one of my friends who is expecting a sweet baby boy at the end of December. (Crystal, if you don't want your surprise spoiled, don't read any further.) I wanted to make them special to hang on their hospital door. You can see my original inspiration here. I wanted to do a yarn wreath and I saw one that has a small chalkboard in the  middle to write the weight, length, etc. I thought that was so cute!

This is the wreath and yarn I used.

 I found a great and easy tutorial through Pinterest. It's pretty self-explanatory but I like to make sure to do it right the first time. Like she did, I marked off lines so that I could make sure all my sections were even. From there I just wrapped, and wrapped, and wrapped some more.

Next, I painted a wooden frame with chalkboard paint and tied it on. I also painted a wooden letter and attached it with some hot glue.

I think it turned out pretty cute and I can't wait to give it to Crystal and Drew!

Next up, I wanted to do a Christmas countdown. I ordered a decal from a website for super cheap so I'm still waiting to get that. But here is what I have so far.

I like it so far and can't wait to show you when I get my decal!

Last, is my favorite project! It is something one of my best friends, Michelle, and I have been wanting to try. Here is where I found great instructions.

Supplies needed are Matte Mod Podge, a sponge brush, any pattern of scrapbook paper you want, and a canvas and picture that are the same size (I used and 8x10). You want to make sure to cut your scrapbook paper to the size of the sides of the canvas, It's best if they are narrower and shorted than the actual size. Same with your photo. I printed my picture from CVS and it worked out great. No smudging or anything. Photo from our amazing wedding photographer, Amanda Pair.

First, glue on the strips with the Mod Podge. (I know this is different paper, but I did two. The one with this paper is a gift for someone for Christmas and I don't want to spoil the surprise. It's my favorite though and I'll be sure to share later).

Next, put Mod Podge on the canvas and back of your photo. Be sure to apply enough to the corners and edges so it won't lift up. Then once your photo is on the canvas, apply the Mod Podge on top of the photo. You can kind of see the streaks in this picture. It will look milky but it will dry clear, promise! Let that dry for about 30 minutes or until you think it is dry. Then go back with black, brown, or any color of paint you want. Fill in the places where the canvas is showing through. I also smudged it on the photo to give it an antiqued look. You really cannot mess this up.

I love the finished product. It looks even better in person!

So that's it! I made several things and I love all of them!

Pinterest-ed?

So. Let's talk about my favorite. website. ever. PINTEREST. If you don't know what it is, you're seriously missing out. Basically, it's a virtual pin board where you can save ideas that inspire you, Whether it's a new recipe, a cool DIY craft, a paint color, a fresh new outfit, how to style your hair a certain way, or just a funny quote, the possibilities are endless. It's really something you have a play around with for a little while to "get." It took me a couple of hours to figure it all out but once I did, my whole world changed forever. So when you go to the website, it will tell you that you need an invite to join. You can either request one on the main site or if someone you know has an account, they can send you an invite. Since I have an account, I would be more than happy to send you an invite if you want one. Just comment on this post with your e-mail address and I will send you an invite! :)

This list is very funny and so true. Once you join the world of Pinterest, you will understand every bullet on this list. :) (Image origiannly found here)

So get out there and start pinning your pinspiration people. Your world will never be the same.

Oh, you're welcome. :)