My Solo Mini Kitchen Renovation

Hello Everyone! 

I am so proud of my recent mini kitchen renovation and want to share it with you! 

The cabinets you see in the before photo are super cool! They're tall, metal, and retro like the rest of my kitchen, but there's another set on the opposite side. With a kitchen of this size who needs 12 cabinets? Not me! It felt closed in, so I took on the challenge of upgrading this wonderful space. I love, love, love how it turned out. When it was done I just stood there staring in awe of it for about 25 minutes..... sweet winning jesus.

Note: Never take uppers down by yourself! 

I'm one of those people where if it needs to be done I do it. 

However, taking these cabinets down by myself was completely insane and much caution was needed! Not only were the cabinets bolted in, but they were also glued down. There was a lot of yanking, then slamming the cabinet against the wall to slowly slide it down. Utter craziness! Luckily for me, I didn't get hurt and I found a secret window!! 

HELL YEAH! 

HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!

So at this point, I was like okay let's take a moment to think about what the hell you just got yourself into:

1. You have to sand the wall like crazy 

2. You also have to drywall 

3. And learn how to frame a window

4. There's no such thing as a weekend project

5. I need another beer

6. Here we go people

I bought my first sander and a couple of different grades of sandpaper and went to town. To say the least, there was dust everywhere. 

Note: get fitted bedsheets from the store and throw them over all your kitchen stuff. This saved me from having to move every little thing out of my kitchen and made clean up super easy.

Once everything was sanded down, I went after the drywall (get over here drywall!). Luckily for me, I've seen someone drywall before (in real life not on renovation reality, but bless those people's little hopeful hearts), so I kind of knew what I was doing.

Cut drywall

Hang drywall

Tape

Sand

Repeat

Let me tell you something - I found out I have mad drywall skills. Check it out...

BOOM!

Those lines are cleaner than an art student's first geometric tattoo.

So here's what's happening at this point...

1. Filled the holes from the mega screws with spackle

2. Sanded the spackle down

3. Painted the wall twice

4. Finished the drywall like a female carpenter superhero

Then comes the time to frame my first window.

Can I get an AMEN for Pinterest??! I searched for "framing a window" and some wonderful, amazing genius had the best tutorial. I discovered all you're really doing is cutting and nailing up wood to fit around the window.

You use these finishing nails and this tool to tap the nails down into the wood. 

Fill the holes with spackle, sand it down, and paint. 

Again, another BOOM moment for me.

Okay, so now I have the wall painted, drywall is up and painted, the window is framed...

I'M GETTING CLOSER!!

Now, I need to figure out where I want my shelves. Beer me, please.

Note: Use painters tape to figure this out. I saw someone do this on Pinterest. Genius moves people. You can easily tape them up, move them around, shorten them... it makes it SO easy to figure out your layout. 

SUPER NOTE: Find your studs, then put your tape up. Mark your studs on your tape. This will help when you go to put your brackets on your shelves (more on that later) and you won't mark up your freshly painted wall. 

Once you figure out where you want your shelves, take the tape off the wall and put it on the wood you're going to cut. Perfect measurement. Mark and cut your wood. Once you cut your first shelf measure it, then cut your second piece based on those dimensions. 

Okay. Now back to using your tape to attach your brackets.

Take the tape you used to cut your wood and put it on the side of the shelf where the brackets will be attached, then align your brackets over the stud markings you made on the tape. Play around with it a bit, because it's not always this graceful.

Get one done, then repeat this on the second shelf.

People, your life will become so much easier by doing this! It eliminates having to go back and forth: measuring the wall - measuring the board - measuring the brackets - double-checking the measurement for the wall - are the brackets going to hit the stud. - on and on... praise painters tape ya'll. 

Sorry for the lack of photos here. I had no idea I would be sharing this process with you!

Here are my shelves all ready to be hung.

Note: Let's come back to doing things like this by yourself. Just like taking cabinets down alone is not a good idea... neither is hanging shelves. There was a lot of weird balancing. My head was holding the shelves up at some point, there was a strange elbow/knee thing happening... good lord just get a friend to help, please. 

Lucky for me, with hella patience, my first shelf was born!

And then my second shelf was up!

This was an even bigger struggle. 

I'll leave it up to your imagination. 

PEOPLE! 

I did it. 

I DID IT! 

I went around my house and collected things to put up on my new shelves. Things include: spices, a plant, oils, a scratch art Buddha my sister made me when she was a teenager, my great grandmother's 65-year-old teapot.... so many treasures. 

  

Thanks for taking that little trip with me.

I am so proud of this. 

Where's the Girl Scout badge for this one?

Probably in the mail. 

What projects have you been up to recently!? 

Show me everything!

<3 CHEERS! <3

DIY Geometric Home Decor Wall Art Paint Project

I've been seeing this all around the internet. Could it be as easy as everyone is making out to be? The answer is YES! Not only is this project super easy, creative, and fun it also looks super cool when you're finished! I did this in a corner of my kitchen and it turned out great!

What do you do?

1. Use painters tape like crazy!

2. Paint like crazy (acrylic or interior)!

3. Let it dry, then pull the tape off like crazy!

All in all, it took me about two hours to do.

It adds some creative character that I love so much!

What are you doing still reading this? Get to it!

CHEERS!

DIY High Waist Bikini in 5 Minutes NO-SEW!!

I've been looking all over the internet for the perfect high waist bikini. I mean all over. I've Googled them, looked on Etsy, and scrolled endlessly on Pinterest and found.... nothing.

Then I came across this video on Youtube from Piece of Cheap Cake and my mind was blown!

She made a high waist bikini out of a one-piece in less than 5 minutes.

Whoa.

I had to try it.

Pretty cute, right!?


I broke it down into four steps.


WHAT YOU'LL NEED

One-piece swimsuit: I bought 4 of them from a local thrift shop for $1 a swimsuit

Scissors

Marker

Ready?
Here we go.


1. Put the swimsuit on inside out
2. Draw a line 1-2" above your belly button with your marker.


If your swimsuit has a low back, I would suggest laying your swimsuit flat
and cutting right below the lowest part of the backline.

3. Take the suit off. Lay it flat. Cut the swimsuit in half.

NOTE: Make sure it's laying flat. You don't want any weird jagged cuts.

4. Put the suit on and tuck in the raw edges.

If you want to hem the suit, make sure you use a zig-zag stitch.

YOU'RE FINISHED!!! 

Is your mind blown yet?


ENJOY!!!

DIY Fabric Button Earrings

This week I was inspired by a shop on Etsy called Caroline's Hammock.
I recently purchased these button earrings from her and I instantly fell in love, so today I'm going to teach you how you can make your own button earrings!

Here's What You'll Need:

Fastener Kit: it should include 5 -3/4" Aluminum Buttons, a Mold, & a Pusher

  You can pick any button size. Mine are 3/4"

E6000 Glue or any glue that will bond metal

10mm Flat post with clutch (typically found in the jewelry section of a craft store)

Pliers

Scissors

Small pieces of scrap fabric (thrift stores are great for this! Think bed sheets or pillowcases.)

Let's get to it!

1. Cut out a piece of fabric and fold it in half.

2. On the back of your Fastener Kit there is a grey half-circle. Cut that out. Once you've done that put the straight edge of the circle on the folded edge of the fabric.

3. Cut the fabric around the round edge of the half-circle.

4. Open it up and you should have a fabric circle. 

Do this twice, so you have two circles. 

1. Take out your Mold (white rubber cap) and place your fabric circle right-side down over the Mold.

2. Now place the Button Shell face down over the fabric. Make sure the Button Shell is aligned with the Mold. 

3. Push the Button Shell down into the Mold with your finger. 

4. Fold in extra fabric toward the center of the button. 

Now, take your button back and remove the loop from the button back with a pair of pliers.

1. Take the Button Shell and place it on top of the Mold. You can put it right-side up or upside down. 

It will work either way. Use your finger to push it into the Button. 

2. Use your Pusher to force the Button Back into the button itself.
Push, Push, Push!!
I put my hand over the Pusher and pressed it against a table. 

3. Remove the Pusher and you should see the Button Back is pushed in. 

4. Pop the button out. 

Do this twice.

Now use your glue to glue the earring post to the button.

Allow your earring to dry over a 24hr period. 

Once dry,

YOU'RE FINISHED!!!

ENJOY! 

Learn To Make A Loom Out Of Cardboard And Weave With Scrap Fabric

I've always wanted to learn how to make these!!  Etsy posted a great tutorial for these this week, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here's how mine turned out. Not too bad for my first try! 

Want to make one for yourself? Click the Etsy link above or follow my instructions below!

What You'll Need:

Ruler

Craft Knife/Box Cutter

Head Pin or Closed Pin

Scissors

Glue Gun and a Glue Stick

Yarn, any color works
Packing/Masking Tape
Marker
Scrap Fabric (at least 30" long) or Yarn (Get Multiple Colors)
A hard piece of cardboard (see what I used below)

Optional:

You can use a large needle to weave the fabric or yarn through the loom. I just used my hands and it worked just fine.

LET'S GET STARTED!!!

Making Your Loom

For my loom, I used the back of my watercolor paper book.

You can use any type of cardboard as long as it is sturdy. 

Next, get out your tape. 

Fold a piece of tape over the top and bottom edges.

This will give your loom a little more support.

Now, we will mark our slits on our loom.

I am using a 9" X 12" board.

I measured in 1 1/2" on each end.

The more inches you measure in on each side, the narrower your piece will be.

The fewer inches you measure in, the wider your piece will be.

I would suggest placing a mark 1"-1 1/2" in on each side.

Once you have done this, make a mark every 1/2" until you meet the other side like so...

Do this on both sides, so your loom looks like this:

Now, get your craft knife out.

Cut a slit into the cardboard.

 My slits are about 1/8" deep

Threading Your Loom

Now, tape your yarn about halfway down on one side.

Starting from the back, where you tapped, go up to the first slit and put the yarn into the slit. 

Begin wrapping your yarn top to bottom.

Wrap the yarn tightly 

enough so you could strum it if you wanted to have a mini jam session.

Continue wrapping the yarn until you reach the end, then cut and tape the end piece to the back of the loom like I did below.

Cutting Your Scarp Fabric Strips

Now, it's time to cut your strips. 

I cut 1/8"-1/4" strips that were at least 30" long.

If you are weaving with yarn, cut a piece that is at least 30" long.

Here are what my strips look like:

Here comes the fun part!!

Weaving

1. Start from the right side: Thread the fabric Under-Over all the way over to the opposite side.

2. Pull the strip through the loom until there is a 5" strip left on the right side.

3. Now, weave the opposite way, Over-Under, back across the loom.

See Below.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

When you are weaving, you want to keep the strand fairly tight. 

If it's too loose, it will be baggy. 

If it's too tight, the loom will start creeping in on itself.

Don't worry if this doesn't make much sense right now, you will find a rhythm. 

4. Keep weaving until you have about 5" of your strip left. Allow the ends to just hang out for now.

To Start Weaving A New Strip

1. Start on the right or left side of the loom. 

2. Begin to weave the strand opposite (over-under or under-over) of the weave above it.

3. Once you get through to the other side, pull the strip through the loom.

4. Leave a 5" tail like you did before.

Once you are finished with a strip or want to start a new color,

Push the strips up.

Bunch them together.

Continue the above steps until you reach the bottom of the loom.

Make sure you continue to push the strips up as you go along.

Hiding The Extra Fabric Strips On The Sides

1. Take your pin/needle/closed pin and put it through the tip of the fabric strip.

There are two ways to finish your weave:

1. Weave the strand back into the loom until it is blended in with the rest of the fabric

OR/AND

2. Weave the strand a little bit into the loom, but not all the way. Just enough to get it away from the side. Weave the strip so it rests between the middle of the loom and the piece.
You will glue it down later instead of weaving it.

See "Gluing Down Your Extra Fabric Stands" below to get a visual.

Cutting Your Strings

1. Once you have your side strands hidden or tucked under, flip your loom over and remove the tape.

2. Take your scissors and cut the strings in the middle of the board.

Securing Your Yarn

1. Take the first two pieces out of the loom slits and tie them with a box knot.

2. Do this to the next two strands until you reach the other side.

3. Do the same thing to the bottom of the piece.

Gluing Down Your Extra Fabric Strands

I don't believe this is the proper way to secure your fabric strips, but after all this hard work I would hate for the loom to fall apart! 

1. I took my extra fabric strips, that I weaved to the back of the piece, and tied them to each other.

Make sure you do not make tight knots that are really close to the piece. You don't want to alter your weaves.

2. Next, I glued down any extra strips just to make sure they were secure.

Feel free to add glue anywhere else. 

Making Your Hanger

You should have a bunch of little yarn strands on each end.

1. Find the top of your piece. 

2. Cut the extra strands down to the knots except for two strands on each end.

3. Tie these strands together. This how you will hang your piece.

4. Cut the strands at the bottom to your desired length.

YOU'RE FINISHED!!!

 Hang and Enjoy!