So I saw this thing on Pinterest...

Oops this is unlike me. I haven't blogged for 2 months! But I have been busy, as a new mom other things and a little person take priority.
We recently discovered mold in our  bathroom, yuck! So for the last month we have been renovating  a room thatwe first had other plans for, but with the mold, we vetoed those plans and just did a simple gut and renovate. It's not quite done yet but I will post pics after. All I can say is I can't wait to have a working and proper sized bathtub back. The old shallow tub was useless!
We have also been renovating our bedroom. Not big renos, just putting in a walk in closet and some paint to freshen up the room. again, it's not quite complete yet because we were using free skid wood for the wall and because of the ridiculous snow, the wood has been to wet and we need to wait for dryer weather to get more wood to finish the project.


So what have I been doing to be thrifty these past 2 or 3 months?

1. I made a new k'tan style carrier for myself.  My previous k'tan worked fine, but the material was thicker and it will probably be very hot if I wanted to use it for the summer, so I made anew one out of athletic mesh.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make myself a Moby style wrap as Hans get's heavier and bigger.

2. I saw a pinterest project online on how to make your own cardigan onsie. It was quite simple to do.
I bought a simple onsie fromthe thrift store of course, cut the front in have and cut out av-neck. The I sewed on some stretchy, ribbed knit and added some buttons. Pinterest told meto replace the cuffs to match the edging but I don't think it's necessary. I then made a little tiny bow tie which can be snapped onto the onsie underneath (rather than an around-the-neck elastic) I also sewed some fake suspenders onto the white onsie. And of course I HAD to make amatching

3. I have a pantry in my kitchen with a really bland door. The door is too solid looking. I had a menu board on it but it didn't help. Plus menu boards, as fun as they are to make (I have a post about it somewhere) are really annoying to use. I don't have a fancy glass door in my pantry but I need something to break up the colour on this door. So I created along chalk board. Now I didn't just purchase chalk paint and slap it on the door because chalk board paint is a rip off! it costs at least $22 for a small can. Instead I bought the cheapest can of paint at Lowes that I could find, it was $11 and a box of plaster of paris, about $4. So I only spent a little less, but this amount stretches a lot further. I mixed according to instructions : 2/3 C PoP mixed with 3 T water, add to 2 C paint and voila, calk board paint. Ad a border and  now I can write a menu on my door, groceries, to do lists etc. No more frantically looking for paper when I need to write down a message or number,I can just scribble it on the door.

I think a lot of things are going to get labeled with chalk....lets hope I don't go too crazy with this!

A New Spot in the Kitchen

the new project: kitchen cart/portable island/garbage
 and recycling bin hider

I have an older home with an older kitchen. It has no dishwasher, no fancy gadgets. MY cupboards are still the originals from circa 1950, and I have no intention of replacing them. I would like to update them with some fine molding, but I wouldn't replace them. About 1/4 of my kitchen is part of at later (c.1980's? perhaps) addition and was never properly insulated and so at some point we will have to address that issue. my main concern with it is that when we open the cupboard doors at that end of the kitchen, I am literally letting the cold air in and the warm air escapes. My mom used to say to us kids when we were young and we left her cabinet doors open to "shut the cupboards, you're letting int he cold air" . I just always thought it was an expression. Not in my house!
I love the look of 1950's kitchen's , though there is always something great about those grand and clean updated ones, I love the coziness of the older style with the mis-matched floral plates and little curtains in the window. At some point I would like to replace my baby blue laminate counter top with a wooden one and maybe re-tile the floor. I'm just not a fan of baby blue in the kitchen... or really anywhere for that matter.
This is my most recent project. At first it was a bit frustrating. I thought first that I would just purchase a cart off kijiji. I knew what I wanted, but none of them were quite what I was looking for or they cost more than I was willing to spend. So I decided that I was going to make it myself. I purchased my wood, cut everything to the appropriate sizes, got out the drill, with the battery pack that had been charging for three days to prepare for this project, .... and the battery was still flat. Well technically it had full power for about 10 seconds. then it was dead. I find it really frustrating when I want to work on a project and I can't because one little thing isn't working. so I immediately called my husband, and asked him if he could purchase a new drill set for me. It's a big request to make since they don't come at a small price, but he lovingly understood my terrible dilemma and purchased a new drill set for us. so I could once again continue to work on my project.
In this corner I used to have that tiered corner shelf that just collected things and served no real purpose. So I moved it into the basement and it's life purpose is to be a book shelf. In it's place I have made this kitchen cart/portable island. My garbage can and recycling don't fit under my sink, and I didn't like it just sitting out in the open. I wanted to cover it. so I built this over top at the same height as my counter, "antiquified" it  with some leftover paints I had sitting around, added a little curtain from the leftover's of my kitchen curtains and voila, a grand 1950's style kitchen shelf. I placed some nice things on it, including my utensils crate and it ended up clearing up my kitchen a bit. I left the one side open, because Olive's food dish and water bowl are also under there, and this way she can still access them.  And if need be, I can roll it over to my counter should I require an island.