Kitchen Mini-Remodel Phase 1

 Hello Everyone!

I am going to attempt a mini series on our mini remodel.  I am hoping I won't get so involved in the whole process that I forget to take pictures along the way.  I'm already a little behind because I forgot to take some before pics before I started making changes.  These were little changes but changes none the less.  I will try to do better.  First off, what do you do if you want to remodel your kitchen?  Well, you get rid of stuff. Here is the start of that.

Garage sale items.

I started working on cleaning out my cabinets and getting rid of the things I didn't use, need, or want.
Then, we started thinking about colors, new counter tops and whatever other changes we wanted to make.  My hubby's nephew is a cabinet builder so we were talking about adding a built-in hutch and coffee bar cabinet thingy to our dining room.  He is also going to repaint the existing cabinets and new counter tops.  After getting an estimate, we decided we couldn't do it all right now.  We decided to get the most bang for our buck. We are going to go with repainting cabinets and walls, and installing the counter tops.  The hutch thingy will have to wait.  But... then I had a brain storm.  Scary, I know but I sometimes get these ideas and it always makes my hubby shudder with dread.  Not really.  I already have a hutch in my dining room that is going to eventually be relocated to the living room.  I decided I could add my own temporary coffee bar off to the side of it until I could afford the built in.  I took a cabinet that I used at my niece's wedding and repainted it white. Then, I took an old metal filing cabinet that I had upstairs and painted it white.  It was the same depth as the other cabinet but not quite as tall.  So my enduring hubby added some little feet on the bottom.  Then, we got one of those glued wood panels from Lowe's and stained it a dark walnut color for a counter top.

Now, you are probably wondering why I used a file cabinet as part of this unit.  Well, I do have a built in desk in my dining room/kitchen.  We wanted to take it out because it kind of takes up space in the dining room area.  I don't really use it much except for the file cabinet drawers and as a clutter catcher.  That needed to go.  But, I did need a place for files, bills, etc. hence, the metal file cabinet.  I don't have a pic now but I have the coffee maker and other things on it and it is working out just fine. I still have dreams of the built-in.  We are also going to re-do our dining room table. We can't afford a new dining room set so we are going to take the one we have and paint the legs and put a new top on it. It will have the same walnut stain like the coffee bar. This maybe doesn't make a lot of sense without pictures of the whole room.  I'll try and get that up as we go along.  So this is just the beginning of Phase 1; getting rid of stuff and deciding what we want and can do. Stay tuned for more episodes. ;) So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

T-Shirt Upcycle to Dress

Hi Everyone!

I tried something new the other day.  Actually, it has been a few months ago but am just now getting around to sharing it with you. :(  I was really excited about this project. I got the idea after reading this post from Make it and Love it.  She took a t-shirt and turned it into a dress for her daughter.  Now, mine isn't exactly like hers but the principle behind the downsizing is what I copied. And, like is my habit, I forgot to take a before picture of the shirt so you will just have to trust me that I really did downsize it.  The shirt was, I believe, a size 5 or 6. I cut it down, put it back together and added a few contrasting stripes, and came up with this.

A toddler dress.  Isn't it just too cute?

Made a matching headband to go with the dress.

I just love how it turned out and that I actually cut up a shirt and put it back together again.  I've wanted to try a few more but haven't gotten around to it.  I'll just have to add it to my never ending "To Do" list.  Have any of you tried this approach to clothes making? I'd love to hear about it and see pics if you have them.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Custom Etsy Order

Hello Everyone!

Just thought I'd share a quick post about a special order I did for Etsy. I love how it turned out and the verse that my customer chose to use.

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She ordered it off of the name one I have listed as a base idea on Etsy. This verse took me much longer to do than the family name one.  I will have to charge more for these.  She was very pleased with her sign but told me that I didn't charge enough.  That's not very common to have a customer tell you that you need to raise your price.  I'll take that as a compliment and advice to follow. So, if anyone is interested in a family name sign, the price is still $25.00 plus shipping.  If you want a verse, the price will probably be more but will vary according to the length of the verse.  If anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me.

Here is an example of the family name sign.

Hope everyone has a good week.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

New Toy and a Recipe

Hello, Everyone!

I got me a new toy last week.  It is a Ninja blender.  Now, just so you know, I'm not being paid to endorse this blender.  I have to say, it is wonderful.  I have never had good luck finding a good blender that doesn't bog down. This one is compact, has the motor on top, easy to clean and easy to use. It has a double blade which makes a more even blend. The price is great too.  I paid $39.00 and it came with a smaller version more like a mini chopper.

I made salsa in it today. That is the recipe I will share with you.

See how compact it is.  The containers also come with lids so if you are making say a smoothy but don't finish it all you can just put a lid on it and stick it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to finish it.  

Can you see the double blade?  There is my quart of salsa all done up fast and easy.

So, do you want the recipe now?  It is a wonderful tasting salsa that doesn't get watery. I have had many compliments on this recipe so give it a try and let me know what you think.

Salsa
1 large can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 bunch of cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice
canned jalepeno peppers (I usually buy the jalepeno veggie mix and use about 3-4 slices of the peppers)

Put all in blender or food processor and your done!  How easy is that? The pepper quantity is up to you as far as taste and how spicy you want it.  Give it a try and enjoy!
So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Skirts, Skirts and More Skirts

Hi, Everyone!

Welcome back.  Or maybe it is you telling me "Welcome Back".  Yes, it's been awhile.  However, you may be sick of hearing from me after this week as I have several posts coming up.  I've been saving up!
So, what have I been doing of late?  Skirts, lots of skirts.  It seems like there is always a birthday to come up with a present for. I had a 6 year old niece and a friend's 1 year old daughter to make birthday presents for this past month. So now I'll show you what I came up with.

This was my own creation.

This was a take off from a pattern found at Ruffles And Stuff

Close up of the trim.

This skirt I actually made for my Mother-in-Law to give to my niece.  She bought the sweater and I went out and matched the fabric and made the skirt.  

This one is a circle skirt that came from MADE. She has a lot of great tutorials.

This is the back that shows the cute polka dot ribbon that I used to cover the seam in the elastic.

My niece really loved this circle skirt.  What little girl doesn't like to twirl? My sister-in-law told me a funny story about the skirt and my niece.  She had been wearing it and wearing it.  Her mom finally was able to get it away from her to wash it.  Well, said niece went looking for it to put it on again and couldn't find it.  Her mom told her it was in the dryer but not quite done yet.  A few minutes later, the mom went looking for the daughter and found her in the laundry room, bending over, staring into the dryer, just waiting for it to stop.  That is what I call a satisfied customer.  I may have to make her another one just for fun!

Here she is in the skirt.  She was telling someone a story and just twirling back and forth with the skirt and her purse.  It was so cute to watch.

I also made my niece this cute apron.

This is made out of recycled blue jeans. The tutorial came from here.
 I didn't follow the tutorial exactly but got the general idea from her and went with the look I wanted.

Here is the close-up of the pocket.

Here is a close-up of the vintage trim that I used on the bottom.

Now for what I made for the one year old.

These skirts are the knit ones found on Ruffles And Stuff that I followed to make the cotton one for my niece.
This also is showing the back so you can see the ribbon.  These were so easy to make and fast.  I did the whale stencil on the shirt using the freezer paper method that is all over blogland. Then, two headbands to match.

Close-up of one of the headbands.

So that is my skirt rampage of last month.  I'm really liking the knit ones. I'm going to have to make a few for my daughter when I get the chance. Not sure when that will be because we have started another house project that is more on the priority list right now. I will post about that later.  Hint, it involves paint, new countertops and a whole new look for.....my KITCHEN! Yay! So, until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane