Pinterest Christmas {2016}: Hanging Kitchen Wreaths.

Welcome back to Pinterest Christmas! This Pinterest Christmas blog series (in its sixth year!) started as a motivation to actually do some of the DIY projects we pinned on Pinterest & a way to share them with friends & family. Over the years other bloggers have joined & we have spent the month of December DIYing & sharing our Christmas projects. Sometimes the posts are tutorials with step-by-step instructions & other times it is simply sharing a completed project! We aren’t doing anything too formal this year, but did want to share a few festive things. You can check out past Pinterest Christmas projects here!

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I know that a lot of catalogs and magazines and blogs show Christmas décor all over the house, not just in the living room with the Christmas tree. I am mixed on whether I will ever have Christmas sheets and bathroom towels, but I have liked the idea of continuing the holiday cheer into the kitchen!

 

{original Pinterest link – Mini Wreaths}

This was the simplest DIY I think I have ever done. Seriously. I don’t even think it’s a true DIY. The hardest part was getting the ribbon to be the same length so that the wreaths were even on the doors. I hung a 3M Command hanger (not sponsored, they are just the best ones!) upside-down on the door (per the inspiration post), cut the ribbon, looped it around the wreath, and tied a knot. I sort of want to hang a wreath on every door we have now…

If you are interested, I used these faux boxwood wreaths from IKEA. {I wanted to use these faux spruce ones that I added to our dining room windows last year but they added some yellow ombre to the needles which I really didn’t like!} These wreaths are really inexpensive but are well-made (even for IKEA) since they don’t shed and have a pretty sturdy metal frame and don’t look too fake!

And here’s one more shot. It is super hard to photograph our kitchen since it is a pretty small space, so that explains why there are just the pantry doors.

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And be sure to check out what Kendra’s up to all December long over on The Gilbertson Family! {Here’s her first Pinterest Christmas post!}

Do you decorate your kitchen (or your doors) for the holidays?

M

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DIY IKEA kitchen hack.

As many of you know from my Christmas post, Santa brought Eloise a kitchen for Christmas. Specifically, an IKEA kitchen. And more specifically, a hacked IKEA kitchen, by yours truly. There has been lots & lots of interest in this hack, so I thought I would share!

To start, here is the original kitchen. It isn’t awful, but it’s a little plain & boring (in my opinion!). We opted to get the top section as well, but you can get just the bottom here if you want something more compact.

DUKTIG Play kitchen IKEA Encourages role play which helps children to develop social skills by imitating grown-ups and inventing their own roles.

{via IKEA DUKTIG Play Kitchen}

For the holiday season, IKEA ran an IKEA Family special where you got both pieces for $79 (normally it is $99) which is a GREAT deal for a play kitchen (considering most are over $100 & some are over $500, what?!).

So, in full disclosure, I am not the first one (& won’t be the last either) to hack this kitchen. I perused this Apartment Therapy post to get some ideas. I wanted to give Eloise a kitchen that was really similar to ours, or what I want our kitchen to look like (a lot of my sake since it will be in our house/living room for years likely!) so I decided to give her a two-color cabinet (white on top & grey on bottom), marble countertop& a white subway tile backsplash. Traditional with a modern twist – pretty much my style, right?

I don’t have really any “during” photos since I didn’t plan on doing a tutorial, but this is what I basically did:

  • assembled the top piece (without the microwave door)
  • assembled the bottom cabinet (without the stove or cabinet doors)
  • primed the top, cabinet, & doors
  • painted the stove & microwave doors (using this silver spray paint)
  • painted the top piece white (using Benjamin Moore Cloud Cover)
  • painted the bottom cabinet (using Benjamin Moore Cinder)
  • replaced all of the handles (using these IKEA TAG ones)
  • added marble contact paper to the countertop
  • added backsplash (I drew grey “grout lines” with Crayola marker on a white foam core poster board)

And for those of you who are more visual, here is a picture:

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Finally, I made Eloise a tiny little oven mitt (using this tutorial as a guide) & appliqued hand towel (this was my first time & doing non-straight edges was tough!) using this Dwell Studio fabric I have had around for years (which I first used to make these IKEA upholstered stools). Santa also brought her these IKEA utensils & veggie basket, & Aunt Anya (Yaya) brought her these adorable green dishes.

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At some point, I hope to “style” her kitchen a little more & add some cute decorations, but honestly, she is at the point where everything is thrown on the floor, & I don’t keep extra décor in my kitchen, so I don’t even really know what to add. A faux plant or flowers maybe? For the sake of the photos, I used the little hooks on the backsplash (there is a little rail there if you can’t tell) to hang her utensils & oven mitt, but in real life, she is still too little to reach those hooks & just pulls really hard on whatever is hung on them, & the hook pops off!

Also, one thing of note: there are removable plastic legs that you can add for height which we left off (for now) since the kitchen is a good height as is (she can barely open the microwave, for reference). But it is nice to know we can add height as she gets bigger.

Does your little have a play kitchen? Did you add any personal touches?

M

This post contains affiliate links.

highlights of 2013.

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happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

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february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

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march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

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april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

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may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

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june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

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seattle dog blog thank you

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

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august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

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september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

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october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

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november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

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december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

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reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

M

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.

west elm kitchen light pendants.

after i did the big kitchen update last spring, i wanted to live in the space & use it for a while before we did any other big updates. i have always disliked the lighting in the kitchen – track lights – and i had big plans for an update to them. luckily for us we were able to upgrade without bringing in an electrician – hooray!

i have been searching for light fixtures for months, & fell in love with these globe pendants some time ago. they are from, you guessed it, west elm! {this is my go-to place for anything home décor! the best i tell you!} while the junction boxes – is that what they are called – aren’t perfectly located {i would have preferred them closer together & centered over our kitchen island} these lights are far better than the old track lighting!

you can shop for your own here: west elm globe pendant.

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we still need to patch up the holes from the track lights & find round, frosted bulbs {right now we have frosted LEDs that have a weird plastic top}, but overall we are very excited about these lights – such an improvement!

{in the bottom two pictures it looks like there are two bulbs in each pendant, but it is just a reflection off of the glass}

have you been changing out any light fixtures lately?

M

we bought an island {kitchen update}.

our kitchen has an “L” shaped{ish} counter so when we moved in last spring with two kitchen tables, one went in the dining room & one went in the kitchen. it was nice to have two big surfaces in the house as one typically acted as our eating area while the other acted as a crafting/project space. but, it did seem weird to have two kitchen tables in our small, little house, so we i have been on the hunt for a kitchen island for the past few months.

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{the kitchen right after it was updated.}

i was randomly searching on craigslist a few weeks ago when i found a simple kitchen island that seemed to fit our my wishlist: butcher block top, counter height, and allows for stools. we called the seller to ask if it was still available & we were confident enough in it to borrow a friend’s truck {thanks colin!} & drive almost an hour north to look at it.

well, needless to say we ended up buying it & hauling it home. once aaron tightened up the legs, it was ready to go! we are really happy with the piece & while it is not perfect {yet} it is really nice to have extra counter space.

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we are content with the island for now, but do have plans to remove the shelf {it is right at sadie-height so not much can be stored there}, sand the glossy finish off the top, paint the legs, & add stools. it shouldn’t be too big of a project after tackling all of the kitchen cabinets last spring, but i think we will wait until it is warm enough to just move it out to the deck to do the work – rather than move it down to the basement – so basically anytime after july 4th! {for those of you not familiar with the quirky seattle weather, we basically don’t get summer weather – read: hot – until after the 4th of july.}

do you have an island or an eating area in your kitchen or both?

M

our house video.

if you follow me on instagram {@mishacslower} you know that a few weeks ago we were part of a video shoot about our house.

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our realtor, padraic, wanted us to be in a video to show current & future clients. we happily obliged knowing we could show off the house a bit!

i know a few of you have been anxiously waiting to see the final product & we just got the edit back this week. enjoy!

 

if you live in the seattle area & need a realtor, we highly recommend padraic!

how did you choose a realtor?

M

my weekend in pictures.

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{turns out sadie likes to cruise the kitchen counters while we are gone & chew on the plastic lid to our pyrex dish. #mydogisaninja}

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{the perfect saturday night.}

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{spent saturday afternoon at lowe’s getting paint for our projects this week. we also got christmas lights. so stoked for this week!}

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{sadie is still enjoying the huge bone she got for her birthday.}

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{watching the stanford cardinal beat the oregon ducks was glorious! #gostanford}

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{enjoying the christmas décor at starbucks as i waited for my gingerbread latte. #isitchristmasyet}

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{we had a photoshoot at the house on sunday to film an interview for our realtor about the house. those cameras were pretty legit.}

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{aaron started prepping for the big paint job on our bedroom this week by taking off our closet doors. it proved to be a bit of a challenge, but success! #whydidtheypaintthedoorhinges}

our weekend was busy, busy with lots of errands to run. we prepped for our big painting weekend this coming week & are looking forward to some time together to work on the house. how was your weekend?

M

my weekend in pictures.

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{late friday afternoon pick-me-up. hello weekend!}

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{lazy dinner on friday after a long work week. a perk of living in the city – zeek’s pizza is right around the corner!}

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{sadie was already missing us as we left to run some saturday morning errands.}

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{we bought a nest this weekend – sorry, terrible lighting! – as our little old house is already very cold.}

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{sunday morning just isn’t sunday morning without french press coffee.}

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{finally hung the beautiful wooden utensils we picked up on our trip to peru.}

sorry for the lack of pictures this weekend. we had a lazy, but also productive weekend – does that even make sense? – as the work week was long with aaron working all week at a conference for work. we have lots of house projects lined up for the coming weeks & i am already envisioning our house in christmas lights! {i know, one holiday at a time. i waited until the day after the election to start listening to christmas music, & will wait until thanksgiving is over to deck the halls in christmas décor.}

how was your weekend?

M

the big kitchen reveal.

this is the post that you have all been waiting for: the big reveal!

i have shown you the kitchen updates in pieces, but it looks so great when its all put together.

in case you missed the updates, here are links: painting cabinets, painting backsplash tile, painting counter, & roman shade.

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{a reminder of where we came from.}

{sorry in advance for the dark pictures. when we had lots of sun in seattle, the kitchen was still a mess. naturally, as soon as i was ready to take pictures, the rain came.}

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crazy, huh? it is amazing what a couple of coats (okay, a lot of coats) of paint can do to a space. when we first bought the house, we thought we would have to eventually gut & remodel the entire kitchen (including taking out the pantry). but, after seeing it, i think we may be able to replace the countertops & the appliances. {sidenote: i didn’t like the appliances when we first moved in, but come to find out, older appliances work amazingly! despite not getting consistent temperatures in our oven, i can get boiling water in two minutes!} also, we are thinking of eventually replacing our kitchen table with a kitchen island (since we have a table out in our dining room).

i also added a bit of art to our kitchen walls. i really loved the idea of framing vintage flashcards into sayings {see here} but i was too lazy (& cheap!) to find all the flashcards i would have needed. so, i decided to diy it. i also couldn’t find red frames either, so i diy-ed those too by spray painting white target frames red.

to make the flashcards, i just typed out the phrases i wanted, printed them out on resume paper, cut into long rectangles, & rounded the corners. then i glued the “flashcards” onto white cardstock.

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i would love to hear your thoughts about our new kitchen. is your mind blown? (mine is.) it doesn’t even look like the same room. i can’t believe it every time i walk into the kitchen. it is so much more light & airy.

i still need to add some more color back in, as well as find new kitchen lights (aaron & i both hate the track lights that are currently in there). future plans: globe pendant lights, brightly colored rug(s), fresh flowers, colorful trivet.

what have you updated lately? have you ever thought of painting your kitchen?

M

kitchen mini-blind update (or pinspiration: no sew roman shade)

the most recent update to the kitchen was to change the face of the mini-blinds. we have mini-blinds all over our house, including on our kitchen window {obviously}, but the truth is i really hate mini-blinds. we had them on our living room windows until we put up the curtains & i had aaron take them down about six seconds after the curtains were up! we also have mini-blinds in both our bedroom & the office, but until i find curtains or another window covering, those will be staying put. unfortunately.

but, more about the mini-blinds in the kitchen. we really don’t need a window covering at all since privacy isn’t an issue & we get lots of morning sun into the kitchen via the window. i would hate to put something on the window that would prevent the sunshine from filling the room, but since the mini-blinds were already there, i decided i would try to spruce them up a bit {& if that didn’t work, i would just take them down & leave the window bare}.

i had heard about being able to make a roman shade from mini-blinds months ago, & i found this tutorial floating around pinterest.

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{the original tutorial: no sew roman shade from a mini blind.}

i also found this image on pinterest around the same time i found the tutorial & knew that black & white stripes would look great in our now-grey & white kitchen. i also liked that the stripes are vertical.

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{image via}

supplies:

  • mini-blinds
  • scissors
  • glue (i used fabri-tac)
  • fabric (amount depends – you will need about 2 inches longer on all sides than your blinds)
  • iron (optional, but it would be difficult to iron your fabric after it is attached to the blind)
  • ruler or measuring tape
  • washers (optional. i used one on each string to help me not have to tie such huge knots)
  • needle-nose pliers (optional, but i found them helpful to undo the original knots)
  • masking tape (optional, but i used it to hold down the string while measuring)

this project was pretty simple & only took a few hours. just be sure you have a big table or do this on the floor (i opted for the table plus the ironing board since i didn’t want dog hair all over the fabric!). i followed the tutorial & only had to improvise when re-tying the knots at the bottom of the blinds.

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first i had aaron help me take down the mini-blind from the window & i laid it on the table. i took off the long, skinny wand that makes the blinds turn up & down (you won’t need that anymore). i also should have dusted or cleaned the blinds, but i didn’t.

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then i untied the knots below on the ladder string & clipped the string from above too. {the ladder string – this is what i am calling it since it looks like a ladder – is the one that holds the blinds & turns them, not the one that pulls them up & down.}

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once the top & bottom were free, i just pulled on the ladder string & cut each little “ladder” section.

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i decided to keep five blind slats for the roman shade.

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i spaced each blind slat seven inches apart, starting from the top.

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i taped down the ends of the string so they would stay still as i measured where each slat would go. be sure that you have enough string at the end to tie knots to re-secure the slats. i put the tape right at seven inches so i would be ready for the next step.

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when i got to the bottom, it was time to re-secure the end of the blind (that i had taken off in the beginning). i put it up on its side right against the tape (so it would be at seven inches) & began my knot tying.

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i ended up finishing the knot later in the project (you can see the fabric is already on) but i essentially used the washer in order to not have to tie an enormous knot. then i kind of stuck the washer into the bottom of the blind.

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{black & white stripey fabric from this etsy store.}

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i measured the fabric so that each side was two inches longer than the blinds, cut the fabric, & ironed it. then i ironed half-inch seams on all four sides. {sidenote: i originally planned to sew the seams because i thought it would look nicer, but because of the two-color fabric, you would have been able to see the seam.}

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{fabri-tac. this glue is great because it is very quick drying & clear.}

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finally, i laid the blinds over the fabric, re-measured the seven inches between each blind slat, & glued each slat down to the fabric (put glue on the rounded side of the blind). let the glue dry before hanging; i waited a couple of hours just to be sure.

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then re-hang your blind & admire. i sort of like the look of some folds in the fabric, so i didn’t pull the blinds all the way to the top.

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even though these roman shades didn’t add much color to the kitchen, i love the simpleness & whimsy they bring to the space.

this is the last post before i reveal the entire kitchen, so definitely stay tuned.

do you have mini-blinds you don’t like? would you consider converting them to roman shades?

M