A Painted Ceiling

I know I've been talking about it for ages, but I finally went and painted the kitchen ceiling. It was a lot less difficult than I thought, and I'm hoping this little project will propel me out of my mid-winter rut.


Before pictures...

Note all of the water damage, greasy residue, and my personal favorite- about 13 putty filled holes I made when I was trying to figure out how to hang our three tiered basket.
 

I tried my hardest to take it nice and slow with the painters tape. Both the ceiling and walls are textured so I wanted to make sure that they adhered properly.

I shouldn't admit this, but I didn't use a drop cloth except for directly under the paint can and tray. I removed everything from the shelf above the pans and just tried to be as careful as possible. What can I say? I like to live dangerously.  :)

I finished after a good afternoon of painting with minimal dripping and just a few corrections. Taking my time with the painters tape really payed off.

After pictures!

So much better! The pictures don't really show much difference between the white and grey, but its there when you see it in person. This is definitely my proudest achievement with painters tape. Not only did it come off cleanly without very many touch-ups, but it also pulled away from the walls in two giants strips so I didn't have to scoot my ladder all along the whole perimeter of the kitchen.

I was going to tackle the trim today too, but that didn't quite work out. Grrrr. I have words about that I'll share later on this week.

All in all I'm so happy with how this turned out. I can officially say that I am not embarrassed of my kitchen anymore. Well, besides the state of our dishwasher (but that doesn't count). Now I just have to make the rest of the house look as nice....

Bringing Things to Light

 Another busy weekend, although not much interesting to write about. A lot of cleaning and organizing. While not all that fun, its definitely a welcome distraction from everything else over the past week.  The porch looks much better. I scrubbed the walls and moved all the junk that was sitting out to the garage. Added some summer porch lights, spaced out the wind chimes, and.....

Tada! Don't mind the missing lattice, that's another project for another weekend.

Besides that I also tried making a mason jar soap dispenser. I've seen the idea around the internet and its really easy. Literally a five minute project.

All you need is a mason jar (any size will do) and an old dispenser top from any disposable soap pump. I saved mine from a used up Bath and Body Works soap. I initially tried to drill a hole through the jar lid, but to be honest I've never been great with power drills. After a few tries and only leaving a small dent, I just ended up hammering a screw through the top. This was much easier for me. I stretched the hole to the size I needed using a pen, and then trimmed the pump tube to size. The fit was so perfect I didn't even have to glue anything together.

The dark blue dish soap is a little intense, but it definitely beats having an industrial sized Costco container next to your sink!

The last major project of the weekend was cleaning and switching out the kitchen lights. After all the work I've put in I'm still very self conscious about the kitchen. Those glaring white cabinets and checkered floor show every spec of dirt and flaw imaginable. There's simply not enough time in the world to clean a white kitchen. I've even held off on sharing projects because the photos have always seemed a bit dingy, even after working my fingers to the bone scrubbing. Well, I finally realized that the disappointing photos weren't so much my fault, but an effect of the lighting  

Regular fluorescent bulbs were casting a yellow light over everything. In most rooms I don't think its much of a problem, especially with neutrals. With cool tones it can even lend some much needed warmth. However the lights in the kitchen made everything look yellow and old. I replaced them with natural fluorescent bulbs, which are supposed to imitate sunlight with a slight blue tint. I can't believe the difference it's made.

To make up for lost time, here are some projects I never posted on because I couldn't get a decent photo.

Old liquor bottles as storage for dry goods (Legumes, Rice, Pasta, etc.)

Pot and pan wall

Old school faucet and nobs 

(I can't take credit for this one or the pots and pans above. My husband's not half bad at this stuff!)

Cute seed packets

(Found these at Farm chicks)

Three tier fruit basket

(See all those white specs on the ceiling? It really helps if you have the right tool for the job. I literally tried 15 or more holes before I realized I needed a toggle hook. Hopefully my dad doesn't see this. Har Har Har.)

One last thing... Russia is now officially The Creaking Floorboard's  largest audience outside of the United States! To celebrate, here are some matryoshkas from my collection. So cute.

Dasvidaniya!

Weekend Projects 6/8-6/10

What a busy weekend! I was hoping to get some things done outside but the weather decided not to cooperate until late Sunday. Anyways, I was able to tie up some loose ends and finish a few projects that had been lingering around the house.

Winning the award for least interesting...

I put in a sliding shelf under the kitchen sink! Its not nearly big enough, but its a pretty good start. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more cheap under the sink organizers. Very convenient for the things I use most. Okay, moving on...

Kitchen Cabinet

This one has been in progress since I started working on the kitchen a few months ago. The interior is painted the same Chinchilla Grey as the west side of the kitchen but the exterior still needs a fresh coat of white paint. I lined the shelves with an adhesive black and white toile patterned liner, and just today finished painting the inside of the door. I'm really happy with how crisp the edges came out. I must be getting better at using painters tape. The black is done in a matte chalkboard finish, which in three days I will be able to test out. I'm thinking for grocery or to-do lists. Overall, it looks much better than it did before, but the mismatched hodgepodge of dishware inside kind of spoils it. Oh well, another project for another day.

Mounted Antlers

I found this beauty at Orphaned Decor a few weeks back and just had to have it because of the red plaque. originally the plaque was a duller, burnt red and the deer's fur was still showing. After asking around and doing some research, I decided it would be a lot simpler and much less disgusting to hide the fur rather than try and remove it. Twine really is just about the best crafting material ever.Taxidermy? Why not. I used a thick hemp twine to wrap around the skull, gluing just in key areas. I repainted the plaque a more vibrant red and then finished it off with some furniture brads around the edge and on the front to cover some old screw holes. It looks a little lonely on the wall right now, but it'll liven up once I freshen the wall paint and add some more stuff around it.

Silver Plated Recipe Holder

Last but not least, I picked up this gem at Farm Chicks last weekend. I had been looking for one of these antique silver plated trays for the past few months, and although I was hoping to find more of an oval or rectangular shape to fit above the stove, I couldn't help but fall for the intricate details all along the edge of this one. I attached a heavy duty flat magnet to the back (unfortunately magnets don't stick to these plates, so a heavy duty magnet on the back is necessary if you want to have any magnets stick to the front) and then used double sided adhesive to attach this to the back splash behind our stove. I am really hoping to avoid using any nails, so with a little luck, the adhesive I used should be able to withstand a bit of heat and humidity, otherwise I may have to look into more traditional mounting methods. For now its still standing. 

Happy to have gotten all that finished. Lets see what this next week brings.