Small Changes in the Entry

Do you ever have so many projects on the go that you just don't know where to start? Or what to finish? I tend to start more projects than I finish.

One thing I have been working on is freshening our front entry. Our entry is small but I wanted to add a bit of decor and continue to work on organization, so I borrowed an idea from Holly at Down To Earth Style, using some burlap to hang a little wood berry wreath on our closet door. Simple, super easy and using items I already had on hand, but I love the look.

I was also frustrated with the dog leashes and doggie bags that we had in a basket in the entry cabinet. Whenever the kids took out a leash, they would just drop it on the floor or leave the cabinet door half open. I chose practical over pretty and decided to paint some shaker peg hooks charcoal grey and hang them behind the door. No more leashes on the floor! A little rose toile bag holds doggie bags (I may switch the pull close top to handles.) I still need to cover the screws on the peg hooks but that is another project completed.

We are now on March Break from school/work for nine days and I am looking forward to squeezing some extra time into our schedule to hopefully complete a few more projects I have started. The major project I will be working on is prepping and painting my sister and brother-in-law's kitchen (ceiling, walls and trim.) That is a pretty big project but my sister is taking two days off work to lend a hand. Luckily they only live two streets away.  Today we picked paint samples and tomorrow we start the prep work.

Are you the type that loves to start projects and has many on the go, or do you start and finish each project before moving on?

I'm sharing this with...
SNS #124 at Funky Junk Interiors

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Mason Jar -Collection Updated

I love mason jars and today I am sharing my updated collection all in one spot.

Mason jars are just so appealing and practical.

My favourites are the aqua jars with zinc rings and matching aqua glass seals. I have about a dozen of these, many so old that there are very distinct bubbles visible in the glass and they are a bit mis-shapen.

Mixed with my little collection of silver, or my growing collection of white dishes, ironstone pieces  and linens, it is hard for me to resist photographing them.

I always keep part of my aqua mason jars on an open shelf in the kitchen, and enjoy decorating the shelves seasonally.

This past Christmas the mason jars on the kitchen shelf were filled with old Christmas lights just for fun.

Miniature mason jars make great tealight holders. Simple twine was wrapped around the rims for some texture.

We also use mason jars, new and vintage, for food storage. In the little beverage center beside our stove a vintage jar holds tea bags and a new jar holds hot chocolate mix. I switched all my spices to  small mason jars and used my label maker to label them.

I love to use my vintage mason jars to hold fresh cut flowers from the garden.

In my hobby room/studio I use vintage mason jars to hold paint brushes, buttons, knitting needles and trims.

Using lamp kits, I made a few little lamps out of bigger jars.

And of course we use new mason jars for jam and frozen soups and stews.

Almost all my vintage jars, aqua or not, are Crown jars made in Canada. I found a pair recently that have the Improved Gem lids...

one an Improved Gem and the other with a Mid West logo, both also Canadian Made.

I shared my first mason jar post with Funky Junk Interiors' SNS Mason Jars the first time around here, and now I am sharing this updated collection at SNS Special Mason Jars #123 here. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Planning

Getting Organized!

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Cute ways

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I spent a few hours earlier this week looking for ideas and inspirations in preparation for my whole-house reorganizing plans.

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I LOVE having a place for everything and everything in its place!

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So, I Pinned away several ideas – mostly from several bloggers. I created a Board – Organizing.

One of my favorite finds was printable Blogger Planners!

These are perfect!

Printable Blog Planner

Printable Blog Planner 2

Printable Blog Planner 3

Printable Blog Planner 4

Some of you clever bloggers have discovered a new-great online organizing tool

Olioboards!

This takes Pinning to the next level!

Olioboard

Remember, I shared I was creating a “Mood” or “Inspiration” board for my life –

Olio Boards help you create inspiration boards for any and everything in your life!

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My first board is my Organizing board.

This was very easy and very fun! I have placed a

Olioboard widget on my sidebar if you’d like to follow along as I create boards from time to time.

 More terrific organizing finds:

 Chalkboard Labels

 

 Menu Plan Board

Ribbon storage

Well, now, I guess it is time to get started!

Feeling inspired?!

I am sharing this post with

Metamorphosis Monday

Mosaic Monday
Pinning and Singing on the Weekend

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How To: A Kitchen Pegboard Wall Organizer

As I promised a couple of weeks ago, here is a fairly-easy DIY (and very inexpensive) that can save you at least one cabinet's worth of space. For tiny kitchens, like mine - our pan and utensil organizer is a lifesaver. It can also look good and blend into your existing kitchen aesthetic with a couple of coats of paint.

The pegboard - finished!
(I apologize for the weird look of the photos - our camera is on the fritz)

We simply didn't have enough cabinet space to hold all of our pots and pans, and our kitchen only had one very small drawer in it. We purchased a baker's cart, (our's is from Ikea), which definitely helped the situation, but we still needed more storage options if we wanted easy access and organization of our most commonly used kitchen wares. I thought pegboard would be the perfect solution (Julia Child made the idea famous), and figured above the baker's rack would be the perfect spot.

First, I wanted to see how other people had implemented a pegboard into their kitchen so I could get some tips and words of wisdom.

The below proved to be valuable resources:
• Apartment Therapy "How To: Make a Pegboard Wall Organizer"
• DIY Network "How to Install a Pegboard" (gives thorough directions on how to measure, frame, and install the board).

The Price break-down:
• Pegboard: $17.48 (We also had it cut to size - most home improvement stores provide this service
• Framing wood: Scraps leftover from a previous project
• 32 piece assorted pegboard hooks: $3.87
• Tool rack: $2.97 (See where I used it for holding measuring cups)
• Anchors: $1.98
• Screws: $1.18
• Paint: (Leftover high gloss and flat paint (I mixed them to create a finish more durable than flat, but less shiny than gloss) from when I painted the kitchen.

Also note, we did this without a drill, but it is definitely easier to use a drill than drive the screws by hand.

We started out with 2 pieces of wood to "frame" the pegboard, and a piece of white pegboard cut to the desired size. The purpose of putting the "frame" behind the pegboard is to create enough space between the wall and the pegboard to insert the various hooks. I painted the wood and the pegboard with leftover paint from when I painted the kitchen. I wanted the pegboard to blend in with the wall.

From this side angle you can see how the frame creates enough space between the wall and the pegboard.

Chris has much more patience with measuring and prep work, and is better with math, so he did the measuring to attach the frame to the pegboard. We chose to attach the frame to the pegboard, than mount it to the wall, but it might be easier to mount the frame to the wall, and then mount the pegboard to the frame.

Chris also carefully measured where to put in anchor screws so the screws in the frame would line up.

Then tighten the screws into the anchors!

Now comes the fun part - getting to arrange pots, pans, and other utensils on the pegboard!

A variety of hooks

My package of hook assortments also came with hook locks - the black piece you see over the hook, which I didn't know about, but they are great at keeping the hook from falling out when you take a pan down.

I was lucky that the bottom of our baker's cart's shelves were slatted, and our pot and pan lids fit perfectly in them!

The magnetic knife strip I actually found on the curb in someone's giveaway pile.  I simply purchased screws long enough to go through the knife strip, pegboard, height of the frame, and then into the wall - and now have easy access to my knives.

What do you think?  Would you ever consider a pegboard organizer in your kitchen?  Do you currently have one?

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