Pantry Makeover

We have been working on a few projects in our house (which I will post about eventually), and I randomly decided I wanted to do something with our pantry. My plan was to simply paint the walls, add a little "wall paper", repaint the shelves, and organize. Figured it was something I could have done in a couple of days.

Here is what our pantry looked like before. 

 

Just your basic, plain, and messy pantry. 

When I told Lance what I planned to do, he suggested that we replace the baseboards in there while we were at it. I really thought it was unnecessary and kind of a bit silly. But the next morning, I started pulling out the baseboards. I am pretty sure those were cemented in place. It took me 3x as long to get the baseboards out of the pantry as it did our entire living room and hallway. 

They literally came out in splinters. Little tiny piece by little tiny piece. The first little section took me well over an hour to pry/cut it out. And once I started, there was no way to back out and leave it. It all had to go.

By the last area, I had figure out a decent system and was able to get that one bigger piece there in the middle. Those boards were sure stubborn, they even broke my puddy knife. 

 Pulling off the baseboards kind of set off a chain reaction. The old shelving had little adjustable panels on the side, that big long line down the middle of the left wall.  

I had to rip those out because our new baseboards were taller and they would need to be moved up. Pulling those out turned out being harder than I thought. In the end, they were bent and pretty ruined and we decided that we would just build new shelves. We had considered it in the first place, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  

Once I got the walls all patched up and painted, we put in our baseboards. 

 Then we began building our shelves. One of the hardest parts was deciding how to space the shelving. I wanted it functional for us, but also for the next person who might live here.  

I really wanted some sort of design or pattern on the walls directly by the shelves. But I didn't want to go buy a stencil and paint it. That seemed like a lot of work. And vinyl is expensive. I had heard that you can use fabric as wallpaper. So I did some research and decided that was the best option for me. 

Of course, I learned the hard way that it would have been so much easier to do the fabric before adding any of the shelves. Oh well, it just took me a little longer. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Basically all you do is get some liquid starch, roll some on your wall, put the fabric on it, then roll the starch over the fabric. It holds really nice, but it also peels off super easily. 

Next we added some corner shelves for our spices. The we caulked, touched up paint, and started organizing! 

 We got a ton of containers from The Container Store, and I made some labels for them.

We also added some racks to the side to hold our seasoning packets.

And here is the pantry, completely finished.

  Doesn't it look awesome!

It was quite a project and ended up taking much longer than I anticipated. However, I am super pleased with how it turned out. I love having everything organized and easy to see. It'll be interesting to see how long it actually stays this orderly. 

Recent Projects

It appears that I get the "crafting bug" while I am pregnant. For me, it's one of the best ways to pass time while also preparing a few things for the baby. It came as no surprise that there were about 4 times as many crafts/ideas to do for little girls as opposed to little boys.

With Will, most of my crafting was focused on his nursery...making, blankets, etc. But with baby girl, I've done a lot more accessory type things. It's definitely given me something to do and really helps get me more excited for her to come.

Here are a few of the things I have been working on the past few months:

My first project I did was to make this blanket. It's often referred to as a bubble quilt or a biscuit quilt. It was very time consuming and I spent  many hours on it. Though I made a massive mistake (which most people wont notice hopefully cause it's on the backside), I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've also been making some skirts for her to just wear around. I have never really seen little babies in skirts, but thought it would be fun to throw one on her every once in a while. Fun way to dress up a onesie while just chillin' at home.

I've had some fabric lying around forever and wasn't sure what to use it for, so I decided to make a new carseat canopy.

I love seeing little babies with bracelets, so I had to make some bracelets. You can't just make one...so I made quite a bit. And I have a ton of beads still, so if anyone wants one, let me know. And it's hard to tell, but each of these are different colors.

And if you know me at all, you know that I love little girls in headbands and flowers. Might have got a bit carried away with the flower making, but I've had fun experimenting and trying different styles.

I made all of the flowers with little clip/barrett attachments so they can be attached to any headband. That way I can exchange them as needed and make them much more versatile.

And finally, this hat was made for a friend, but I like it so much I wanted to post it. I've been debating whether to make another one for my baby, but figure she already has enough hats and hopefully warm weather will come sooner rather than later.

Well, I think that covers most of the projects I've been working on. Definitely getting anxious to be able to use them! 

Crochet

About a month or two ago, a ran into a blog of a friend who is really good at crocheting. Her blog has some links for tutorials and other tips, and I decided it was something I wanted to learn.

Now, I had crocheted a bit when I was pregnant with Will. I made his blessing blanket, but it was terrible. I wanted to learn how to actually follow patterns and make something decent.

After watching many YouTube videos, I attempted my first real hat (not using a loom).

I was able to to follow the pattern and I think it turned out great for my first one! Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good pattern and the hat is very short and doesn't really cover Will's head. But it was a good start and I knew it would be an easy adjustment for the next time.

There is something really exciting about trying something new and seeing a project form before your eyes. There are moments when I'm just not sure how it's going to work, then suddenly it's finished and actually looks like it is supposed to.

I've become a crocheting madwomen. I love it for so many reasons:
1- It gives me something to do when I am bored and need to pass the time.
2- It's a fun and cheap gift!
3- It keeps me distracted and takes my mind away from my stomach aches.

Here are some of the different projects I have been working on:

I have made me a few pair of boot cuffs. Here is an example of what they look like.

 I made Lance this USU hat as well as a hat that looks like a football.

 I've made several hats for our little girl.

Matching sock monkey hats for Will and baby girl.

With some inspiration from a variety of other hats, I came up with this design. Lance wore it to class once and had a guy from USU football team ask if I would sell him one.

 
So I made another one, but a larger size and with larger horns.

He also requested to have his number on the side.

 I was pretty proud of this hat, and somewhat see it go. Lance just got a text from that player saying that 5 other players would like one also. I haven't decided if I'm going to make them or not, as they are extremely time consuming.

 Here is a little puppy hat I made my nephew for Christmas.

Made a hat and boots for my little niece.

 After I got a little sick of hats, I decided to venture out a little and make different baby booties/shoes.
I designed this matching set to go with a little outfit I made.

 I really hope these sandals will be big enough for the summer. Aren't they adorable?!

 And of course I had to make some headbands.

As you can see, I've been having some fun.

Check out theworstedcrochetblog.blogspot.com/  for some tips and free patterns!

DYI Shirt Dress

While browsing the internet, I came across this blog called Elle Apparel where she has several tutorials on some really cute skirts and dresses.

            Isn't that super cute? If you click on the picture, you can find the tutorial of how to make it.

Then while I was shopping at Wal Mart, I saw some decent fabric that I thought would look cute and it was on clearance. I decided to go ahead and give it a try.

I was so excited about it that I hurried through it and didn't do a very good job. I'm not exactly thrilled with the final product, but it was a good start. If I were to attempt making another one, I know several things I would change that would make it a bit better. I love the long sleeve with tights look, so I think I'll attempt making a long sleeve one eventually. Until then, here is how mine turned out.

Hopefully the next one will turn out a little bit better, though I was feeling brave that day and wore this out to the store.