DIY Lazy Susan

Whew!  The past week has been a real doozy for me at work so I haven't had a lot of energy in the evening hours... thus I'm just now posting my latest project, the DIY Lazy Susan that I shared in my No-Sew Halloween Runner tutorial.

I've had a dough bowl on my table for a while and while I love it, we had to do a lot of reaching around it when we were passing the salt or getting a napkin.  I thought a lazy susan would be a great solution - and a personalized one would be even better - so I picked up a few things and got to work.

To make your own, you'll need:

unfinished pine circular board (I found mine at Lowe's)

wood stain
sandpaper

paint

stencil

polyurethane

turnstyle hardware (found in cabinet section at home improvement store)

Instructions:

1.  Stain your board your desired color - I used weathered grey from Rustoleum - then sand with a fine-grit sandpaper.

 2. Stencil/draw your desired message.  I used a stencil for my smaller letters/numbers, placing them an inch away from the edge of the wood.  I freehanded the large U as I couldn't get the right size to print on my printer...

3.  Paint lettering.  I hand-painted all letters because I was going for a handpainted look, but you can certainly paint over the stencil if you want.

4. Once paint is dry, coat with polyurethane to protect the finish.

5.  Add turn-style hardware to opposite side of board.

6. I was worried about the turn-style scratching the surface of my table so I added a small piece of adhesive foam (from my craft stash) to pad it.  

That's all, guys.  Super easy, super inexpensive - I think this project cost me around $10.

I'm loving our new lazy susan - it's an addition that meets my criteria of being not only beautiful but also useful.  My girls enjoy spinning it to get their salt and pepper as opposed to reaching around the dough bowl/antlers that used to be in its place - I'll admit that sometimes they enjoy spinning it a little too much but oh well... they're only little for a while, right?

Hope you're having a great week - it's almost the weekend so hang in there!!

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DIY Oilcloth Fridge Liners

Hey hey friends!  Happy Friday to you!  I’m back from my unplanned but much needed summer sabbatical with a fun project that totally changed the look of my refrigerator: DIY Oilcloth Fridge Liners. 

Our refrigerator had some sort of mishap last week that involved the smell of something burning (according to Mr. home.made.), so we unplugged and unloaded it to investigate the issue… luckily it was apparently nothing major so we were able to put the fridge back in service, but not before cleaning it.  Ew.  I don’t think I realized how gross things had become in there until it was completely empty and out there for all to see: spilled yogurt, dried up lettuce leaves, and Lord knows what else.

After removing and scrubbing shelves for what seemed like forever, I was ready to not do that again anytime soon.  I found these great Fridge Coasters online, but I wasn’t ready to invest in them until I knew the concept would work for my family.  Instead, I got out what remained of my oilcloth stash.  A few measurements and cuts later, I had my own version of fridge liners that were just as cute and functional but didn’t cost me anything.  The plan is to remove these liners when soiled and simply wash/dry/replace.

I lined my produce and meat/cheese drawers with the liners, as well as the shelves on the refrigerator doors.  I chose to not line the additional glass shelves as the oilcloth is light-blocking, which makes it difficult to see what’s on the darker shelves below.

I made the door shelf liners by tracing the shelf onto the oilcloth, cutting in an inch from the outer front edge so the liner would fit the inside of the shelf.  Super easy. 

I couldn’t leave you without a shot of the organized, clean (and empty) fridge *hallelujah!* – the liners really go a long way to making it appear much cleaner and neater so I’m hoping it will stay that way. 

Note: must get wine to fill that empty bottle holder.

Hope you’ve had a great week – enjoy the weekend!

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Grain Sack Striped Barstools

Hey, hey friends!  Happy Monday!  The Texas weather has been completely bonkers as of late, with eighty degree temps one day and thirty degree temps the next… thanks a lot Polar Vortex.  I was able to take advantage of the warmer weather to get some projects completed, one of which I’m sharing today: my Grain Sack Striped Barstools.

I bought these barstools for our previous home about five years ago – time, moving, and my kiddos had slowly taken their toll on them.  The funny thing is, I originally took these out to my garage just to tighten the bolts on the seats which loosen from time to time.  Then I got a wild hair… and the rest, I guess, is history.  Here’s the before:

They look pretty good in this pic, but trust me about the scuffs and scratches.  If you’re wondering, these were purchased from WalMart, and they’ve held up okay for the price.

After tightening the bolts and cleaning them, I painted them with two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence.  I loved the color, but felt like there needed to be something extra… Inspired by my French Grain Sack Dresser, I decided to add some stripes in ASCP Old White and I love the end result.

I distressed these lightly with some 220-grit sandpaper, in anticipation that some natural distressing would occur anyway once these were in use.  I applied ASCP wax to the entire stool, including a thick coat of wax on the seat to help protect it from the little bums around here.

The center stripe was made using one-inch painter’s tape.  The outer stripes I just sorta eyeballed and added another piece of tape to make a thin stripe.  This part took less than ten minutes.

I’m quite happy with this little makeover – because my Aqua and White Hutch is painted in the same colors, these coordinate nicely and bring a fun dose of color to my dining area.

I do think I need one more stool to fill the space better, so I’ll be ordering another soon and getting to work to make it match.  Slowly but surely, this little kitchen/dining area of mine is coming together.  The big project still remains… repainting the cabinets.  *groan*  Anyone up for a painting party?

Hope you’re having a great Monday!

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Pantry Pinspiration

When we decided to buy our current home, there were things we loved about it and things we'd have to learn to live with.  One of these things was the kitchen pantry.  We built our prior home and it had a fantastic walk-in pantry, complete with automatic light when you opened the door.  *sniffle*  I miss that pantry.

This home has a tall cabinet that is intended for pantry use, which wouldn't be so bad if not for the depth of the cabinet.  Sometimes I feel like I'm reaching into a black hole when all I wanted is a can of beans!  (And I have long arms, people!)  I've made do for the past year with an assortment of organizers and baskets, but at best, this pantry is just organized chaos that DOES NOT WORK for our needs.

Did I mention that I miss my old pantry?

*sigh*

We're planning on a kitchen remodel to include fixing the pantry situation, but seeing as that's in the very distant future, I'm looking for ways to make our current pantry more functional.  Here are some of my fave ideas from my Pinterest pin board...

Source: shelving-ideas.com via rhonda on Pinterest

This is pretty close to my current pantry size, although they obviously live on much less food than I do!  Love the pull-out drawers, door storage, and planked interior.

Source: helpful-kitchen-tips.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Again, pull-out drawers and door storage - such smart use of space.  And those pull-out baskets?  Incredible.

Source: bhg.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Great use of space with the stackable containers, and the colorful background and labels add a great punch of color.  The organization makes my OCD very happy.

Source: flickr.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Pinned this simply for the color combo... aqua, red, and pink!  What's not love?

Source: Uploaded by user via rhonda on Pinterest

And a door storage solution that I found... love the idea of taking storage to other areas than the shelves!

What about you?  Any pantry dilemmas or is it just me?