Pantry from Cheap Sears Bookshelves Part 2

A while back Ages ago I started a project to create a pantry space near my small kitchen to help supplement the tiny amount of cupboard space I have. You might remember it if you've been following along, if not you can find Pantry from old Sears bookshelves Part one here.

Well let me tell you what happened.  I got the shelves stacked together and being in desperate need they ended getting filled up with pantry stuff. Then winter hit hard,  I went into hospital and had a total knee replacement done,  I was busy recovering and doing my physiotherapy.... And .... time just flew by..  

Spring has finally arrived, the snow has melted and it's getting warmer every day. I'm walking without a limp and am happily getting back in the swing of things.  ...those ugly bookshelves are full of stuff and staring at me like I completely forgot about them.  I keep staring right back, but I've finally realized  I cannot live with the guilt of an unfinished project any longer.  Something needed to be done.

I was babysitting a little fellow but he had just gone down for a nap, so I knew I had approximately 1 hour.   I immediately dug the hinges I had purchased for this  project out of the bottom of the junk drawer (they were at the very bottom) and brought in the shutters I was going to use from my stash. 

The shutters had been separated for a previous use so I re-attached them using hinges in the middle and then I hung the shutters to the shelves using the same style of hinges.  Nothing fancy just little 2" hinges from the hardware store.  The doors were an exact fit side to side but not top to bottom.. I left the bottom up a bit so give it good clearance and I will have to find a solution for the top.

Then I added a couple of magnetic latches on the inside to keep the doors shut. 

About this time the little fellow I was looking after woke up from his nap.... so I guess part two of this project is done..

So I don't really have a lot more accomplished,  and you will definitely have to stay tuned to see what else I have  planed next.  At least the shelves are covered and  I promise not to wait three months before I get to part three. 



Kitty cat storage.

I absolutely love my kitty.  What I didn't love was the big bag of dry cat food sitting on the floor of the closet.  It inevitably gets  spilled and I was tired of cleaning up the mess.  The simplest solution of course is to pour the bag of food into a bucket with a lid.  I couldn't just have a plain bucket of course so I had to paint it.

I put about 2 tbsp. of plaster of paris into a little bowl and mixed it to a paste with a tablespoon of water. To the paste I added about 1/4 cup of regular acrylic craft paint. 

I used a sand block to gently rough up the surface a we bit and then painted the bucket.  I left the upper part of the bucket white because I figured it get too much handling to not chip and start looking.... well .. ugly.  Going to the ridge gave it a nice clean line.

When the paint had dried for about an hour I used a piece of dowel to "write" on the bucket. What it actually did was remove the paint to let the plastic show through. I wouldn't have been able to do this once the paint had cured for a few days. I could have used chalk or white paint to label it then.  This chalky paint  is pretty durable on the plastic..

There are some really great  paints out there that are great for using on plastic, like the Fusion spray paint,  if you would like to use them, but for me it's all about saving money and using what I have on hand. 
It's been over a week now and I am very happy with how well the DIY chalky paint holds up.  I'll be using it to make a few more of these buckets to solve some small storage problems.

Pretty Bathroom Storage

In December I made a few Apothecary Jars for storage in my bathroom. You can read that post here.  While I loved the idea I wasn't happy with the metallic champagne colour I choose.  The fixtures in my bathroom are chrome so I wanted a display to match.  I bought a can of chrome spray paint and brought together a few items I thought would make a good display.

I had this vintage dressing room tray that was a yard sale find many years ago.  I never really used it, it just landed in my stash of future projects.  It had a metal frame, a mirror that slid out  similar to  a picture frame and there were tiny little feet on it to protect your dresser top.  As much as I loved it I was never sure what to use it for.  Of course I always have jars in my stash and I had a couple of candlesticks as well.

I put the tray frame in my spray booth a cardboard box and gave it a good chrome paint job.  I painted the jar lids and the candlesticks as well. 

I used an epoxy to glue the candlesticks to two of the jars, I left the other two without stands.  I want some little glass knobs for the tops of the jars, so I left them for now hoping I will find just what I want later.

I assembled the tray, the jars, and my little perfume bottles on the bathroom counter below a shelf that was already there.

I like this little display much better than the original jars. All the little odds and ends for hair and nails are gathered in one place and my necklaces are hanging and easy to find,  instead of all tangled in a drawer. 

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

A Pantry Storage Idea

I've see this little can storage box made from a pop can case in a few different places.  I can't remember where I saw it first so I'll just show you the one I made. 

I had a few paper options for covering this.  Craft paper, or wrapping paper would have added some nice colour, but I chose to use this scrap bit of wallpaper because it was nice and stiff and because it had a vinyl washable surface. 

First make a few cuts in you box.  The piece that comes out naturally for pop can removal is fine for the front removal of your cans but you will want an opening in the back at the top as well, for restocking the cans. This way you are always using the oldest cans first and don't have to worry about items becoming outdated.




















Lay your box on the paper you are using for the cover and carefully fold the sides up and over the top of the box until they meet, like you are wrapping a gift.  I used some spray adhesive on the box to glue it on.

With your scissors make some cuts in the paper so you can wrap over the cut edges in the box and glue the pieces over . Clothespins make a great extra hand to hold the pieces down until dry.

This is really easy and makes keeping the smaller cans in your pantry organized.  I use mine for soups, beans, smaller cans of fruit and any items that are small enough to fit. No more stacks of small cans tumbling over and making a mess.

I just marked my contents with a marker, but I think some chalk board labels would be great on the front of these boxes and make it a lot easier to change contents.

Tip: using the washable wallpaper was a really great idea and a lot of times you can pick up out of stock rolls at the store for very cheap. One roll would cover a lot of these boxes, and wallpaper also makes great shelf liner.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Create Book Storage... that's both functional and a piece of art.

This is an idea that I came up with, while trying to create a cozy place to read to my kidlets, when I was still doing my home daycare .

All I did was use one side of a crib.  I used some two inch square blocks and screwed the crib rail directly to the wall. By placing the blocks between the rail and the wall as spacers this left just enough room to hang the books over the rungs so the covers showed, like a giant book collage.  You could even use some thread spools as spacers if you had them.  All done. Easy peasy. 


The addition of a big arm chair creates a perfect cuddle up and read spot.

Our favorite Dr Seuss quote and "Oh... The Places You'll Go"


 
 


























The kidlets could choose their favorite books with just a glance.





















This is such an easy upcycle project and would look great in any child's room.  It takes up no room if you are looking to reserve floor space for other activities.   A few pillows on the floor would be a great addition if there isn't room for a big chair.  Plus, I didn't even paint mine as hardly any of the rail shows when it's loaded up with books. Of course it would only take a short time to give your crib rail a coordinating colour.  
 I love the cover art on children's books and this is a really great way to store your favorite stories close at hand and add some art to your child's room at the same time.


I didn't even paint mine because not a lot of the rack shows, but you could do a room co-ordinating colour if you choose

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Nesting? Not just for pregnant women.

I know that ladies purge, clean and nest when they are waiting to have a baby but we tend to do it at different times as well.  I am scheduled for a complete knee replacement in a couple of weeks and I have a real need to clean and purge before I go to hospital so that anyone who comes in after I get home doesn't have to see my mess.

Yesterday I started by working on my kitchen counters and coffee station.


This is what my cluttered counters looked like before.  Ewwww. Please don't judge me. Its a really tiny kitchen and I'm not the best at finding permanent homes for things so they tend to pile up.

First I moved everything from the counters to the island top . I didn't think to take a picture of this but just imagine a pile about two feet high balanced and ready to fall over.

Then I just sprayed and scrubbed everything with my homemade all purpose cleaner.  This stuff busts grease like nobody's business.  I works on everything from the walls to the stainless sink.

Then I started putting things back.   I purged as I went so some things got tossed and others found a new home, but it all got wiped down so it's nice and shiny.  I love how it looks now.

I had to do the coffee station too while I was on a roll. Here is the before.

I moved everything once again to the island and gave the shelves and buffet and good wipe.
then put it all back nice and clean.

I made the tiles freehand because I couldn't find a stencil I liked for here.

And the apothecary jars are just pickle jars and candlesticks. I love how they look and keep the tea bags, sugar and sweetener close at hand.  As you can see I have a thing for old rolling pins. A couple of those were from my grandmother and mom.

The coffee pods are in the drawer right below the coffee maker.  I use these ones and I keep them filled and ready. I like that they come in two colours for dark roast and decaf.  You can find them at Canadian tire at this link.  http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cafe-cup-0430480p.html#.VKrxWSx0zVI   The cost savings are great and I don't have a ton of pods to throw away,  I just buy some special coffee once in a while.  And besides I need to keep my grounds for the garden.

I feel great now that it's all done.  I just have to keep it this way. Now when my friend comes to stay with me after I get home from hospital she'll have an easy time making a coffee.  Everything is handy and in a great spot.. Loving it

I guess my next job is the Fridge and bottom cupboards.  Don't know if I'm gonna get to that right away though.

Every Child is an Artist

I absolute love the saying "Every child is an artist".  But to be an artist a child has to be able to create when they want to.  I threw together this little caddy about two years ago and it is holding up really well so I thought I'd share it here today.

Six pack crayon storage.

 Crayons , coloured pencils and drawing tools are sometimes hard to keep organized and this little caddy does the job perfectly

The little muffin crayons are made by melting crayon bits in a mini cupcake pan (using liners) and then just remove the liner when the crayon cools and hardens.

All you need to make this handy caddy is a six pack carton from the beer store, and six empty soup cans. The cans fit the six pack holder perfectly.

I used  DIY chalky paint and painted the carton . It took two coats to get good coverage.  This makes the carton a chalkboard too.

The  white paint is from my stash of the little 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint.  I simply used a brush and hand lettered. You really won't need a stencil for this, it's so easy.

My granddaughters love being able to just grab this whenever they want to colour or draw, and it's to easy to store away when they go home.

So if your looking for craft room storage for kids art supplies this caddy will hold almost anything you want to put in it .  It could also hold paint brushes,  coloured chalks,  or markers.  Just imagine what you could add if you used a twelve pack.  I bet it could  be a complete portable craft station.

And if your wondering how this holds up, I used it in a home daycare for almost 2 years and now I have it for my grandkids.  A few of  these pictures were taken about two years apart and if the first ones weren't so blurry you wouldn't be able to tell which was which. So yes.. It is very sturdy and holds up to a lot of use.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Packing Away Christmas

I love my house decorated for Christmas but there is a great deal of work getting it out and packing it all away.  That's what I am going to be doing for the next couple of days.  With that in mind I  am on the search for some packing ideas that are a little more organized and secure for my packing options this year.


I really like this idea from Mom's Party Café where she glued plastic drink cups to cardboard and stored them in storage bins. It's a great place to keep all those little ornaments. 





















Because I hate untangling lights I was considering just leaving them on the tree, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't end up with a huge ball of "stuff" by next December. I think wrapping them around a hanger like this is a better idea. Then I could add a tag to each hanger about where the lights go.

There are a ton of storage boxes and bags for storing wreaths but I find most of them a bit on the pricey side.  And I'm addicted to wreaths so imagine how much I would have to spend.  I found this little idea on  Good Housekeeping, and because I plan on utilising a closet space for Christmas storage I think this one is perfect. I picture a whole row of wreaths neatly bagged and hanging side by side, right next to all the hangers with the lights on them.

I am going to add all my wrapping supplies to my new  wrapping station, when I get it done.
All I need are a few storage containers for all my angels and snowmen and other knick knacks.  One more for linens where I can keep them protected using these cedar balls from Amazon and I might just have this storage thing under control.