D-I-Y Notepad

I have been longing for a cute grocery list that is easy to carry to the store.

Usually I just write a list on my phone but who wants to hold the phone in their hand as they are trying to bag produce?  Definitely not me!  It's an unneeded annoyance and I'd rather do without.  

I loved the grocery list that Ellinee shared on her blog but the colors didn't match the theme of my kitchen and I wanted to be able to hang my work proudly on the fridge.  So I asked Chris to help me and this is what we came up with:

I think it is pretty adorable if I do say so myself!

It has mostly everything I get at the grocery store on a regular basis and spots to fill in extra items when they are needed.  This is going to be so much easier than pulling out my phone every time I can't remember the things I need to buy!

If you want to use it (or make your own) here is what you need:

Supplies:

-pdf file to print (download it here (personal use only please!)-- or you can make your own)

-8.5" x 11" paper

-printer

-paper cutter

-glue (I used mod podge)

-heavy books or clothespins 

-clip magnets to hang the pad on the fridge

How to:

1.  Open the pdf file on your computer and make sure your printer is loaded with paper.  Click print and print a test page to make sure everything is aligned properly and you like the way it looks.  

2.  If you love the outcome, go ahead and print as many pages as you'd like!  I printed twenty so I ended up with forty individual sheets for my fridge.

3.  Cut the printed 8.5" x 11" in half vertically so you end up with 4.25" x 11" grocery list sheets. 

4.  Holding the notepad upside down, tap the top edge on a table until all the edges are perfectly aligned.  Clip one magnet to each side of the top of the notepad to hold the pages together.

I used my finger to apply the mod podge .
Remember, less is more!

5.  Spread glue on top of the notepad.  Make sure all the edges are coated with glue but do not use too much because the paper will ripple!  After gluing, use an additional two clothespins to clam the center.  You could also just set a heavy book on top of the notepad to keep the paper together.

I kept the magnets clipped to the paper until
I grabbed a few books to put on top of it instead.

6.  Let the glue dry and remove the books.  I left the books on top for about fifteen minutes, but you can leave them on longer if you feel more comfortable with that!  If you opt to keep the magnets on it instead, remember that if you keep them on too long they'll leave indentions on the paper!

Chris's old college books came in handy for this project!

You're done!  That project was super easy and it turns out so cute!  

Total Cost?

Magnet Clips: $2.05 from Target.  

I already had everything else! 

Now, that is one heck of a deal!  

So..what do you think?!

Pantry Reveal!

Yesterday I told you about my small, narrow, and absolutely awful pantry that was put in our apartment.  Aside from completely gutting it and starting over, there wasn't too much I could do about those ridiculous shelves.

Have I mentioned how much I hate them?

I was on a mission yesterday to find the remaining items I needed for my pantry design and I wanted to try the Dollar Tree to see if I could find anything to use there.  Unfortunately, I spent half an hour there and found absolutely nothing.  Everything I saw online did not end up being what I thought it was and failed my expectations.

I found more satisfying items at Target, but I only bought two things.  The expandable shelf was cheaper there than at The Container Store (score!) and I bought a six pack of Command Strips too!

I then moved on to HomeGoods where I found a beautiful basket for my potatoes and a nice glass jar for my spaghetti noodles.  I was unable to find the desk organizers for my spices but I found that I don't really need them and everything worked out the way I wanted it too.

Now, here is the final price of the project:

Hardware (Command Strips) : $7.55

Expandable Shelf : $12.39

Basket : $9.99

Glass Jar : $4.99

GOAL PRICE : $40 

ACTUAL FINAL PRICE : $34.92 

I'm pretty pleased that I came in $5.08 under budget!  Yes, I bought four things and the final price was actually a little expensive, but when you're happy with the finished product then the money is completely worth it!  The pantry organization will probably be an ongoing project because I'll constantly be fixing it so it is more efficient for us to use.  As of right now, it works fine and I'm loving it!  I kind of wish we had a glass door so I could constantly look at my hard work!  

Ready for the parade of pictures?

This is one of my favorite shelves in the pantry now!
It makes it so much easier to find the cans I need!

Command strips are the most amazing invention ever!

Spaghetti, rice, spices, and pasta.  Yummy! 

I'm a bit of a popcorn lover!  And it's nice to have my coffee,
tea, and crystal lite all in one place!

This is my other favorite part of the pantry!  The basket is
gorgeous and I can easily slide it in and out to get what
I need!  And I can easily access all the cans too.
(Can you tell I love to shop at Costco?)

Breakfast foods!  And the jar for my SOS mix!

Last but not least is the top shelf.  It holds the larger items; like my
dehydrator, jar of flour, and some other appliances you can't see.

What do you think?  Much better, right?

Kitchen Pantry Organization Ideas

My pantry needs help.  I've let it become a clutter pit of anything and everything, and it takes forever to find what I need to cook with.  I am constantly complaining to Chris about the state of it, but I've always thought there wasn't much I could do because we live in an apartment complex.
If I had my way I'd take out the shelves, replace them the way I wanted, add some pull out shelves, and make use of the two feet of empty space at the top.  But that wasn't happening so I had to find some other way to make my dream of an organized pantry come true.

I took a lot of stuff out of the top shelves, but as you
can see the bottom is kind of a jumbled mess!

I'm a huge advocate for Pinterest.  I reference it all the time when I want to simplify a space in my home, otherwise I'll go into an organization project blindly and it won't come out the way I want it to.  So I grabbed my cup of coffee and began my search for a new and organized pantry!

This article from Apartment Therapy has some great
 ideas for containers to use for organizing your pantry! 

I love the idea from Domestic Imperfection of using
desk organizers to organize spices in your pantry. 

Organize with Sandy used command hooks to hang things in
her pantry instead of using nails. Great idea for an apartment! 

The one thing I absolutely hate about our pantry is how small it is.  It's very narrow and they did not utilize the space very well when building it.  I guess I should count my blessings that we actually have a pantry, no matter how small it is.

After taking the measurements I made lists of what I have and what I need.  

So I set off on an Internet quest to find what I need!  I'm always looking for cheap solutions so I like to find things online and then head over to my favorite store (HomeGoods) to see if they have what I need at a discount.  

Here are a few of the things I found online:

Pasta Storage Solutions

(Top Left): Potato Storage
(Top Right and Bottom Left): Drawer Storage
(Bottom Left): Expandable Shelf for Canned Goods 

I found all of these solutions at The Container Store.  They're all great solutions, but if I bought them from there I'd spend $79.40.  That amount is giving me slight heart palpitations and I don't think Chris's heart (or budget) would be able to take that either.  

My goal is to spend $40 or less.  Do you think I can do it?  Stay tuned to find out....  

Mickey's are Taking Over!

Have you ever heard of Hidden Mickey's?  "A Hidden Mickey is a representation of Mickey Mouse that has been inserted subtly into the design of a ride, attraction, or other location in a Disney theme park or elsewhere on Disney properties."  (source)

I think they're pretty awesome, and even though I don't spend my days at Disney World trying to spot them I thought they'd be a cool way to bring the Disney theme into our kitchen.  

My first thought was to use chalkboard paint on glass jars I use for bulk items in our pantry.  

As you can see, that didn't work out too well.  The paper I used stuck to the glass and the paint didn't come off in a clean line.  I was disappointed but put it behind me and moved on.

After doing some research on facebook and google, I found that you have to actually etch glass (or use sandpaper) so the chalkboard paint will adhere to it.  Can you believe that none of the tutorials from Pinterest even mentioned doing that?!  No wonder I was having a hard time with the chalkboard paint!  

Luckily I had some etching cream leftover from a different project and was able to use it for this.  But first I had to find a good Mickey stencil to use for the glass!  My friend Emily went to Disney World this summer and bought our wedding gift there, which included a really cool Mickey shaped pancake/egg mold.

I decided the mold was a great size for all of my glass jars and traced it out onto vinyl contact paper with a permanent marker.  Cutting out the shapes took forever, but I didn't rush and was extremely careful so there were no major incidents that deemed a Mickey unfit to use.  

Putting the vinyl onto the glass was fairly easy and I didn't want to try to be too perfect and make the Mickey straight or exactly in the middle.  I think there's a sort of magic to things if you have small imperfections.  I mean, life isn't perfect so why should you try to strive for such a thing?  

Anyways.  I left the etching cream on between 5 and 10 minutes until I wiped it off with a damp cloth.  

I bought the etching cream at Michael's 

Chris liked the look of it so much that he asked me not to add the chalkboard paint because it felt like more of a "hidden" Mickey the way it was.

I have to say, I agree.  

Magic in the Kitchen

Yesterday I had the brilliant idea to re-do our kitchen.  I say brilliant because my husband is actually okay with the idea, and I feel as though that is a big accomplishment in itself.  Usually he's only all for it if I don't spend any money, but this project cost me under $15 and I think he was pretty happy with that number.

Those who follow me on Pinterest already know that I love Disney.  Heck, you can even search through this blog and find that out!  The great thing is my husband loves it too.  We used to watch Hannah Montana together (we're not ashamed to admit it!), Wizards of Waverly Place, Sunny with a Chance, etc.  It's disappointing that all the good shows are off air, but thanks to Netflix we can still watch some of our faves!

So, when I went to Chris yesterday and said I wanted to do a Disney themed kitchen, he didn't hesitate to say what a great idea that was!  While he was at work I dove into Pinterest and began to look for ideas, and while I found a lot of utensils, dishes, and other accessories I couldn't really find what I was looking for.  I want a Disney kitchen but I don't want to over-do it which is what a lot of people (in my opinion) have done.

When we registered for wedding gifts I decided that I wanted a red/yellow/black/and white kitchen. Maybe I was subconsciously channeling my inner Disney goddess (haha) because those are all great colors to use for a Disney themed kitchen!   So imagine my excitement when I realized I didn't have to spend a ton of money on new towels, oven mitts, a tea kettle, rugs, etc!  I can just add a little Disney magic here and there until I'm satisfied.

In our apartment kitchen we have a lot of space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling.  I had always thought I wanted a Tuscan themed kitchen so I went to the Dollar Store and bought fake grapes and vines, used old Christmas lights, and put our wine/other alcohol bottles on top to give it that Italian feel.  I haven't liked it for a while (we don't drink a lot and the tops of the cabinets make us look like alcoholics) and felt like it needed a change.

I need a new camera...sorry for the bad pictures!

Insert Disney Printables.

What better way to start decoration my kitchen than with cute Disney quotes about food?  I searched google for at least two hours trying to find quotes from movies other than Ratatouille and had absolutely no luck.  It wasn't until I took my search to Facebook that I was able to find quotes that would work from my friends!  And I am ashamed to admit that the first one that popped in my head was not from my favorite Disney movie (Beauty and the Beast).

Next, I bought tabletop frames from Michael's to put my pictures in.  The frames were such a steal that I couldn't believe I walked out the store with them.  They're a little cheap but since they're going on top of my kitchen cabinets I wasn't too worried about it.

My beautiful artwork!  I'm in love!

And now for the total cost of this project:

Disney Printables: $1.23 for three 5x7 prints from Costco 

Picture Frames:  $0.50 for three 8x10 frames from Michael's
Designer Mats: $3.99 for three 5x7 mats from Michael's

Total:  $14.70

Not too bad for a quick and easy project!  I am so happy with the end result and Chris likes them too which is an added bonus!

The temporary solution is to put them on books to give the frames some height. I'll change that out soon!

**Side Note:  The printables are on my google site for you to download and I will be adding more later on!  They're all high resolution so you should have no problem printing a big print!**