"Get people back into the kitchen and combat the trend toward processed food and fast food." - Andrew Weil

ORGANIZING YOUR KITCHEN CUPBOARD

My culinary boyfriend likes to buy more natural foods from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or The Sunflower. Unfortunately for our small cupboards that means more plastic bags tossed around and either tied up or not tied up again (we all know that leads to beans everywhere!) 

I needed a solution! A quick, cheap, and creative solution of course. I am falling hard for the chalkboard paint! 

I got the Krylon Chalkboard paint from Hobby Lobby for $6 (30% on sale.) I got the chalk for $1 from Hobby Lobby as well. I already had stencil paper and wanted to use that to cut out the correct size of square I wanted on the jars. 

The jars were given to us, so they were a wopping $0!!! They aren't the ones that'd I'd have picked out, but the ones I wanted were $8 each (ouch) so I will do with what I can. 

I origionally made the stencil and used it on a practice jar. The paint bled bad and it was difficult to keep it flat on the round glass. So I decided to use just tapeto make the square I wanted on each jar- that actually worked out better because I could leave it alone to dry. I noticed that there was still a little bit of bleeding. 

So I took an exacto-knife and scraped off the chalk paint that I didn't want. It was easy to scrape off, so it was no problem that the paint bled through the tape. 

WOW!!! What a mess. You know the saying "out of sight out of mind"? So true for the bags that are stashed away in the back of the cupboards. Pulling them out and putting them in glass jars will put your beans, chocolates, snacks, rice, whatever you want out on a pretty display so you will use them all up before hitting the grocery store again. I have mine on the counter for now, but the jars might all end up back in the cupboards for storage space, which is even better! Even this keeps your shelves clean and snack foods in a safe, organized, and labeled space. 

I like the chalk idea because you can change out what you put in the jars and re-label them in two seconds. Easy functionality is the key to organization in the kitchen. New ideas, new food groups, new nationalities, and new diets are in and out of my kitchen all the time, so this is a great idea for us to keep track of things. 

This is also a great idea for desk organization and kids' play rooms. You can stash paper clips, rubber bands, little girls' barrets, boys' lego pieces, scrapbooking items, and so much more into little or big labeled jars. Recycling the jars will also add the the feel-good vibe of the thrifty-ness of this project. 

DON'T be afraid to do this!! Start collecting a few things here and there and soon you will be ready to do this quick, inexpensive project on your own. Make sure you find the jars you like and filling them with things that fit into the space you love. 

"But I don't think that sculpture belongs in everyday life like a table does, or like a chair." - Anthony Caro

Kitchen Chairs: Done!

Remember my chairs I picked up from Goodwill months ago? I finally had the time to finish them and now the time to put them up. All I needed was a new stapler, more black spray paint, a sunny, dry day, and the time. 

I picked up a stapler for $24 and four cans of black KRYLON spray paint that was good for plastic @ $6 each.

Plus the previous price of $28 for the chairs and $22 for the spray paint and fabric.

I didn't use all of the spray paint, so I'd say this project comes to $86, which is steeper then I'd like to go for re-doing a set of chairs. But it is all about trial and error and starting somewhere with these projects. That and a lot of love.

List of the steps I took: 


1. Wiped down with soap and water, getting any dirt, dust, or grime. 


2. Sanded by hand all the plastic, just to rough it up. (I noticed a red color underneath the green, and I smiled becuase I was excited to be continuing a project on these chairs that have seen it before.) 


3. One coat of spray paint, let dry, then two, three, and finally four coats did the trick (I wanted to make sure I got every inch of those suckers black.)


4. I measured and cut the fabric to each chair. I used an exacto-knife to cut around the corners. 


5. I used a heavy-duty Gorilla glue to tuck in the edges around the bases. 


6. Starting at one side, I pulled tight underneath and tucked in as much edging as I could before stapling around the previous brass brads that were in it.


7. Then you go directly across to pull tight that side. Then do the other two sides underneath the same way. 


8. As the chairs were flipped upside down to staple on the fabric, the tops of the chair posts got scratched up, as well as tucking in of the fabric exposed more of the previous color, leading to...


9. There is a much better way to make sure the paint doesn't get on the fabric once you do wip that out AFTER the fabric is down. For some reason, not sure if my fingers were cold, but I couldn't manage to miss the fabric. Oh well, adds character to my new, first re-done kitchen chairs. 


10. They now sit it my tiny kitchen and are ENJOYED, bringing color and comfort to the tiny room. 


And it wasn't that hard. I'd say a total of 3-4 hours including picking up the tools and going  back to the store. I hope that it inspires you to work on some things to add spunk and glimmer and personality to the space that you love!