Spring Cleaning

First off, Mr. Husband is sitting next to my while I'm writing this post, and he said that I can't call this Spring Cleaning because it's not Spring yet.

so...

I've asked him kindly to go make me some breakfast :)

All I can say is that it feels like Spring in Arizona, so I'm leaving it as is :) Anyways, when we came home from Georgia (for Christmas), I was definitely in the mood to do lots of cleaning. Particularly when it came to one closet, often referred to the "Wedding Closet". We moved in to our house a couple of weeks before the wedding and everything that had to do with the wedding was thrown in to this closet. Then, after the wedding, everything got thrown in to this closet. Over the months even more has gotten thrown in to this closet (spices, baking stuff, books, crafts, bags, household cleaning stuff, shoes, etc.). I finally decided it was time to tackle the closet, but that I was going to have some fun doing it :)

Don't you love the spice rack that's getting ready to fall?!?

I'm embarrassed even showing these pictures....

So... remember this post with our pantry (which by the way I had no idea people were still responding to... I have a lot of questions to answer!!!). I decided I was going to do the same with this closet. This time however, in stead of mod podging fabric on to contact paper, I was going to try spray adhesive. I've been wanting to compare the two methods....

Knowing how messy and sticky it is, I laid down plastic so it wouldn't get all over the garage floor. The process was the same really... I had precut the fabric to the height and width I needed and worked in sections. I sprayed about 12 inches worth, laid down the fabric, then sprayed, then laid down the fabric, etc.... you get the idea :)

I wanted to try the spray adhesive because you don't need to wait (if at all) to hang it, unlike the Mod Podge way, where I let it sit overnight.

Then you simply peel of the backing, and voila, you have a insta-cute closet :)

Then after buying a few jars, labeling, and putting everything in just the right spot, this is how it turned out :)

Here's a closer look.... Unfortunately you can't see the brown stripes in the pictures too well...

I had so many cupcake liners cookie cutters, and just baking stuff in general, so one shelf was dedicated to baking :)

I couldn't believe I had so much chocolate hiding in the closet (This isn't even half of it...lol) I am also a sprinkle junkie so of course I wanted those displayed as well!

Here is another shot of the brown stripes... I'm obsessed with it!... so much so I'm starting another project with them in another part of the house...

Here's another shot, with the magazine holders from last weeks post.

and the Recipe Binders as well....

I picked up these baskets from Michael's for 50% off. They were still a bit more than what I would have liked to have paid, but we just really needed them :( . One holds Decor items, one holds Cleaning items, and the other holds Linens (napkins, place mats, runners, tablecloth, etc.)

Here is one more before...

and after!

And now to compare the two methods:

Overall, I like the Mod Podge method better. The Spray Adhesive method is definitely faster, but I thought the Mod Podge produced much better results. The Fabric wouldn't always stick with the spray adhesive, and the corners especially wouldn't stick as well. The fabric in our pantry (which used Mod Podge) is still holding up so well, with no corners peeling off. But regardless, both methods work so now you can try either one :)

Now I'm off to paint brown stripes in my closet... and I'm scared to death!!! But I found a freakin awesome paint at Home Depot that I'm dying to share. It just came out on their shelves and I can't wait to use it... I'll be back soon!

Recipe Binders

Happy Sunday!!

Every Sunday, (for the most part) I like to make a good dinner... not to say that I don't like that during the week, but on Sundays I have a lot more time to cook than I would on a average week day.

I was starting to feel like I was getting in a rut when it came to Sunday cookings. I have two major problems... 1) Most recipes I make have lots of ingredients that go to waste. For example, when the recipe calls for "half" of a onion... the onion that gets sent back to the fridge most always goes to waste... and 2) I was starting to make the same thing over, and over, and over...

Well, when Mr. Husband and I went back to Georgia, we often times hung out with his mom (who I call Mama Schulman Sr.) in the kitchen. This lady can cook. Even more so, she doesn't let anything go to waste. She also had two binders that were just full of recipes that she had printed out over time... so I thought to myself "D, not only did you steal her son, but your going to steal her cooking habits too" :)

First task: Binders

You know how when you go to the gym, it's so much easier to actually go when you're wearing a cute matching outfit with pink Nike's? Well, I think cooking works the same way, for me anyways. I decided that if I had super cute binders to keep my recipes in, it would make me not only look for recipes to fill them with, but also want to use the recipes :)

Solution? Mod Podge Contact paper... This seems to be my solution for everything these days. After taking FOREVER to find "cooking" scrapbook paper, I simply Mod Podged it to some contact paper.


The only reason I Mod Podged to contact paper as opposed to right on the folder, was because I was worried the paper wouldn't like it when you open the folder (and it would come off along the creases). I figured contact paper would give it more "give". I guess I could have just inserted the paper under the clear inserts like you typically would with a folder, but who wants life to be easy?!?

After it dried, I simply peeled off the back of the paper, stuck it to the folder, added some ribbon and irresistible flowers that I picked up at the Scrapbook store, and ....

I'm ready to cook :)

I made 3... One for "Prospects (food we want to try)", one for the "Index" (mostly for our Food Network inserts), and the other for "Yummy's" (or food that we know we like/love).

Here's a close up of the paper... I wasted all day trying to find paper with a pink mixer, and all I have to say was that it was a good day wasted :)

One more look! See the closet to the left? That got a full make over and there's a special shelf just for these ladies... So there's something to look forward too :)

Have a great week!

Magazine Holders

Can you believe this will be my 2nd post in less than two weeks!?!?..... I haven't done that for a while! It's one of my new years resolutions.... I want to get in to a routine where I blog at least once a week. I have so many projects that never get posted because blogger just takes sooooo loooong to post and I clearly don't have the patience... I hope everyone else shares my frustrations!

Anyways... Mr. Husband and I flew out to Georgia on Christmas day and spent about a week there with his family... and apparently Georgia people have freakin awesome paper stores that we just don't have here in the desert.

Don't get me wrong... I have my absolute favorite Scrapbook store (Scrapbooks etc.) not too far, but they don't have really big sheets of paper like they do in the store that we went to...

We went to a area in Georgia called "The Virgina Highlands" and there were a variety of boutiques and restaurants. There was one particular store that caught my eye, and I darted over there right after we parked (with the entire Schulman family in tow.... a year ago I would have felt bad, but I'm their daughter in law now so they have to deal with me:)).

Well... right when we walked in, my jaw dropped, I smiled, and my heart started beating really fast, only to look at Mr. Schulman with the "oh no" look on his face :)

I'm sure many of you have been to Paper Source before, but we clearly don't have one here in AZ or I would probably frequent it every weekend. Not only are the designs sooo pretty, but the paper itself is really really big...

This one is my favorites...

I was going to use it as a background for our wedding pictures, but I decided I had a more immediate use for it. This weekend I decorated a closet (future post) and didn't really realize how many magazine subscriptions we have.... So off to Ikea I went!

They have cardboard magazine holders that are white, and come in a pack of 5 for $2. So I decided I was going to use the paper and Mod Podge it to the magazine holders...

I won't bore you with how messy I am with Mod Podge... I did have a little problem with the paper bubbling up, especially because I was working with cardboard. Has anyone tried the Mod Podge designed for paper? Does it work better?

Once they dried, I was pretty happy with how they turned out... eventually most of the bubbles subsided, but it still just irritates me :)

Then I wanted to add Labels to them. I always try and keep these label holders in stock. I get them at JoAnnes, and they come in a pack of 10 in 3 different sizes. I believe they are only $3.99 and most of the time are 40% off.

They come punched so you can put brads on the side of the labels (If using for scrapbooking), but they also are perfect for Rhinestones :)

Then, so they would go with the closet a bit better, and just for added "awesomeness", I added ribbon to the top.

Here's a close up...

And here is the end result! I am absolutely in love with them!

I never thought magazine holders could look so cute and make such a statement. Wait until you see the other friends that I've made to go with them!

Pantry Redo, with Mod Podged Fabric Contact Paper

Get ready for a long winded post! One of the things I wanted to tackle this month was our pantry. So what better weekend to do it than my birthday weekend (after we tackled the backyard course)!!

Here is the before picture of the pantry...

I was inspired over at House of Smith's and would have copied her entire pantry if I could have. But I still wanted to be somewhat original. I really wanted to buy wallpaper, but there were a few reasons I didn't go that route; 1) I could really only order if off line, and I am one of those people that has to see it first before I buy it, and 2) I wasn't going to pay upwards of $30 a role with a 2 role minimum to only cover half of the pantry! I also WAS NOT going to paint the pantry. Don't get me wrong, I love paint, but Mr. Husband and I paid a pretty penny to have the entire interior of our house painted... so I'm not about to paint the walls or shelves just yet!

So I improvised. I have had my eye on some Amy Butler fabric for quite a while, and thought "D, where can you use that awesome (and a little pricey) Amy Butler fabric.... ummm, your pantry of course!" Then I thought "D, how are you going to put fabric on your walls?" After thinking about it for a while, I had a vision...

I decided I was going to "Mod Podge" the fabric on to contact paper. This way, if i ever want to take it down, it would peel right off...

So off to the races I went! I only needed one role of contact paper, Mod Podge, 3 yards of fabric, and I ended up using 8 sheets of scrapbook paper, 8 ft. of decorative molding, and some fabric flowers... for cuteness.

**NOTE: Yes, Mr. Husband was totally okay with this fabric and color scheme. When I texted him a picture of the fabric asking if he was okay with it, he said "of course sweetheart, whatever makes you happy." Ahhhhh.... I heart Mr. Husband :)

After figuring out how long I needed the paper to be, I taped it together so I could just cut strips when I was done Mod Podging the fabric on....

Flipped over the contact paper, and Mod Podged! I thought this was going to take forever... but really only took about 20 minutes.

While it was drying, I decided I should probably empty out the pantry... and holy monkeys! I had no idea we had that much stuff hiding in the pantry, for two people no less...

Once the fabric dried, it really was as easy as cutting strips the right height for each shelf... then peel the back off and stick on the wall! It really is a awesome version of wall paper, because you won't have to rip down your entire wall just to take it off one day.

I then decided we needed some more height (our house as super high ceilings). So I mod Podged some scrapbook paper to some of the leftover contact paper and did the same as listed above.

Then to kind of cap it off, I added some decorative trim to the very top after spray painting it with "Heirloom White." As a side note, I also ended up adding clear contact paper to our shelves. With the jars and baskets I was going to end up using, I didn't want to have to deal with scratches.

Then the rest was simply a matter of collecting Jars, and buying some jars and wire baskets at Crate and Barrel (with leftover wedding gift cards). I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out!

A close up of the scrapbook paper with decorative molding...

I was so excited to finally be able to use my Pink mixer as a decoration... she hated her cabinet home!

The Pasta jars were sitting on our counter, but I decided they would be much more functional in the closet; we wouldn't have to worry about always keeping them full just for decoration!

I also took this idea from House of Smiths.... I went to our Ikea and used that jar to house the vegi oil... I hate those plastic containers they come in!

I am a cereal fanatic, so much so that we typically have like 7 different kinds of cereal at a time. So hopefully having just four containers will control my cereal collecting habits. Above the cereal I have my sprinkle collection, and used a cake stand I already had, added a layer with a candle holder and a wooden disk to give it a tiered effect...

I found these condiment holders at Crate and Barrel too. They were on sale for $4.99 a piece. But they were yellow... So I spray painted them green.

I also purchased these baskets at Crate and Barrel... you can find these anywhere for way way cheaper than at C&B, but I had gift card funds that needed to be used...

So here is one more BEFORE:

and AFTER!!!

Linking up to the Mod Podge CSI challenge and Thrifty Decor Chic before and after party!