Make a Mud Room (with no constuction) Part 2

I shared part 1 of my DIY mud room here. The space I transformed in the garage leads into a little 3'x3' landing. On one side there are stairs going down to our basement, the other side had a small closet with accordion doors and the third side lead up two steps to our main floor.
This is the only before picture I could find.

The problem with the closet was when the the doors were open, they jutted out into the space making it even more cramped. So, we removed the doors. Then, when we redid the kitchen, we used the same vinyl flooring and continued it down the steps and onto the landing. We built a bench out of MDF supported by 2'x'4's around the sides for a place to put shoes on. While we were tearing the closet apart, I had my dad put in an electrical outlet so we would have a spot to charge cell phones (and the Dustbuster ;).) Next, I added some hooks and two sliding Ikea baskets underneath (can't find the exact baskets we have, but these are similar.)

I maximized this space by using walls that lead down into the basement. Here we have a cork board for each boy to tack up reminders, pictures, etc. I found the bell at a thrift store, and brought it home because it had the year our house was built engraved on it.

The other side has more family photos. I'm not a huge fan of photographs on the walls in any other rooms in our house, but I like them here.

So, the combination of the the two space (in the garage and here) make my wanna-be mud room. It works pretty well for us. :)

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Make a Mud Room (with no construction) Part 1

My house doesn't have a mud room. So unfair, right?! With two young boys I needed a solution to the pile of shoes by the door and the mound of coats/hats/backpacks.

So, I decided to make my own mud area using the space I already had. We have an attached two-car garage (that we actually park two cars in) so space is at a premium. But, I discovered if I moved the trash cans and recycling bin, I would have a little 3' x 10' space to use. I didn't have to think too much about how to go about it because Sarah at Clover Lane did it first! Hers is much nicer and grander than mine, but ours works pretty well for our little family.

I searched everywhere for a bench to use for the boys to sit on to take off their shoes. I really wanted something that had storage underneath, but that wasn't a deal breaker. The most important thing it had to have was a low seat height. My boys are 6 and 3, I needed something they could easily get on and off themselves (or it would have defeated my purpose!) And, I didn't want to spend much on it, at all.  After all, it was going live its life in my crusty garage. It took me a couple of weeks but I finally found what I was looking for at the thrift store for $10. It's actually the top/headboard for an old water bed (do they even make water beds anymore?!) Anyway, all I had to do was remove the supports (the part that raised it off the floor) and I had the perfect sized bench, with storage!

The shelf/bench was solid wood, but had a very dark stain. After I wiped it down, I used Kilz primer and two coats of some white gloss paint we had lying around. In retrospect I should have used a darker color to hide all of those scuff marks.

Once I had the bench painted, all I need to do was add a rug, some hooks and a boot tray. I found it impossible to find the right sized rug for this area, so I just layered two rugs I already had. Hooks are from Target, boot tray from Bed Bath & Beyond. In the winter, I add another boot tray so each kid has their own. They're really good about taking a big step so their wet boots get on the tray, slipping the boots off and then running across the rug into the house. No wet socks, hooray!

Next, I'll show you part 2 of our mud room (that's actually inside the house, fancy!)

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Thanksgiving table (with printable place cards)

We're not hosting Thanksgiving this year. After six straight years of doing it, I can't say I'll miss all the shopping, food prepping, cooking and cleaning. What I will miss is the table setting. So, I decided our little family would have our own special dinner in the dining room. A room that sadly is only used for dining a few times a year.

While we won't be eating traditional Thanksgiving food for our little dining room dinner, I did want the table setting (or table scaping as they call it) to be Thanksgiving-ish. I started with gold plate chargers from Target a couple years ago, followed by our simple Crate & Barrel dishes. The glasses are from my Grandma :)

The gold acorns I used in the centerpiece are actually ornaments from Wal-Mart. I found out about these from Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming, go check her post about other hidden gems at Wally World!

Candle holders are DIY. Candle sticks (bottom) are glued with glass epoxy to a glass vases, all found at the Dollar Store (how's that for a $2/each investment?!)

And no table, in my opinion, is complete without place cards. I mean, there were four of us eating dinner that night, how would we ever find our place without them? ;) I chose a cozy plaid background for the cards, wrote the names of our dinner party guests, folded and placed on each plate. You could also add embellishments to the cards: feathers, paper (or real) leaves, anything really.

Here's a printable sheet of name cards if you'd like to use them for your Thanks or Fakesgiving dinner. I printed mine on linen cardstock which makes the plaid look even more charming.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Kitchen before & after

This kitchen was original to our 1963 colonial. It was the first thing we tackled when we move in in 2005. Luckily, we moved in the summer and my husband, who works in education, was off and time to spend on the house. My dad came over for about a week and helped us tear out and rebuild our kitchen. All the labor was done by us!
This is what we started with:





Here’s after adding:
New flooring, cabinets, hardware, counter tops, lighting, and appliances. (Everything was purchased for under $6,000.)



Like I said, this remodel is about 7 years old so I’m a little fuzzy on the sourcing details.
Floors: Independent Flooring
Cabinets: Stock cabinets from Home Depot
Counter top: Menards
Hardware: Online, but I can’t remember the site. I do know it was significantly less expensive than the big box hardware stores.
Wooden blind above sink: Meijer
Bar stools: From the old Martha Stewart line at Kmart. They were $16 each! They started out white and I recently spray painted them cherry red.

If you have any questions, please ask!


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Pancakes and Pajamas Party

We had a Pancakes and Pajamas Party for my son for his last birthday. It was so much fun! He still talks about it (almost a year later) and would choose to have the same party again if I didn't talk him out of it. (A sledding party is scheduled for this year, details to come!)

Anyway, I just updated my Etsy shop with the invitation I used for his party, as well as a more girly, pink version.
Here's the table I set the night before. I love hanging balloons from the ceiling, you get the helium balloon effect without the price.

The birthday boy! I used a printable, iron-on sheet from Avery for his number three shirt.

All the cuties enjoying breakfast in their jammies!

Copycat: Ikea Candle Holder

While browsing Ikea the other day I came across this glass candle holder. It caught my eye because I've been wanting to add a little black and white to our family room. While it was affordable at $9.99 (candle not included) I knew I could recreate the look for less.

I already had a glass vase and candle that would work, I just needed some ribbon. Luckily, I found some leftover Halloween ribbon at Micheal's for 50% off!

First, I attached one end with hot glue (this will easily peel off the glass if I ever want to remove the ribbon) and wrapped the ribbon around.

 

 Fold over the raw edge and glue.

 

Then glue everything down, smoothing as you go.

 

Plop a candle in, and you're done!

 

I put a piece of black felt in the bottom to make it look a little more finished.

 

I love that this literally took me 10 minutes and I can update or remove the ribbon whenever I'm ready for a change!

 

 

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Halloween Printable Tag

I wanted to make up some little Halloween treats for the kids' teachers and a couple special friends. So, I made some paper tags to attach to the top of cellophane bags. Now I have to figure out what to make to put in the bags! I just threw in some candy for a quick picture, but I'd like to make something homemade to put inside. That's how it works with me, I can come up with the packaging, but always get stuck on the actual product to go inside!

Here's a downloadable PDF if you'd like to use the same tag. I just printed on cardstock, cut out with scissors, folded and glued (staples will work too.)