Red, Black, White Kitchen

Here is the start of my kitchen decorations that I posted little awhile ago for my Frugal Red Kitchen. I finally got the rest of the kitchen done~ WAHOO! I added some smaller prints above my sink after I got really tired of looking at a white wall. Since I couldn't find any more fruit/vegetables that I thought was worth looking at, like the ones above, I decided to go for flowers.

I then worked on the shelves you see below. They used to be this brown shelf with the heart shape in the middle. Not exactly fitting with what I am doing with my kitchen. I decided I'm NOT such a fan of spray paint. I think I need to learn a little more before I attempt to use it again.

I started out by covering the hearts with cardboard which ended up cracking when I added the spray paint. I tried to paint over it but that obviously didn't work. I then took plaster and covered the cardboard, sanded it all and then tried again to repaint it. It worked that time and now I have my beautiful black shelves!

I found all of the decorations on the shelves at thrift stores or on clearance somewhere. The awesome beads are actually Styrofoam from the Craft Warehouse. I am planning on doing some more to the items pictured above. I don't feel like they are the right color of red. I will probably paint the apples and add some paper to the candles.

Both of these shelves feel a little bare to me but I'm not quite sure what else they need. Flowers maybe? Please give me some suggestions on what you think I should add.

How to Yard Sale

Everyone who is new at being a buyer or seller at yard sales should check out the Nesting Place for her input on How to Yard Sale.  Even if you are a pro at yard sells, she gave some great advice.  

Hallway Remodel

Since we've lived here, I've had a bookshelf in my upstairs hallway that seemed to just get cluttered with everything that needed to go downstairs.   When my mom gave me the tile for Christmas and then a few months later got me the wooden box from Real Deals, I figured out the perfect place to put them.  

The two books are from Barnes & Noble from several years ago.  They were one of their speciality collections around Christmas time.  I wish I had more!  I decided to use the same colors that I am doing my living room in to help incorporate the colors throughout my home.

We got this at our local Farmer's Market and found the frame at Walmart.  Translated in Chinese it means; Obedience, Diligence, and Service (I'm not sure if it is in that order).  At least we hope it means that because we would never know!

Seat Belt Covers

Alex has needed the use of these covers for a long time.  No matter what we do, the seat belt always rubs his neck pretty good or gives him red marks when we loosen up the straps.  I feel bad for the little guy.  I figured I could make them myself but then I came across a great tutorial from Make It and Love It which helped me to move myself to actually get them done.  Since I had some left over fabric from the wedding gift that matched my car seat, I didn't have any excuse anymore.  

  

I did a few things different then the tutorial did.  Instead of using Bias Tape I just sewed the two pieces together and then flipped it out and then sewed the opening closed.  Also, instead of filling the entire thing with batting I just used a 2 inch strip of fleece in the middle.  I felt that my batting made it to big.  I also used Velcro that you iron on.  It is MUCH easier and I think it looks better. 

  

Table Runner and Place Mats

This is the wedding gift that I made for my best friend from my high school. She is getting married in a few weeks and her colors are green and brown so I decided to make them some home decor. I don't know if these are her exact colors but I thought they looked good together.

The table runner is almost 6 1/2 feet long. I had a pattern for both, the table runner and place mats, but I remembered right off the bat why I gave up sewing cloths after trying to figure out patterns. I pretty much got the dimensions from the pattern and then just looked at the picture to fill in the rest. The pattern did have me use fleece for the batting which I loved. It gave the runner and mats a thick look instead of looking poofy. I might use fleece more often now! I think they turned out pretty good but like any of my projects there are A LOT of "oh wells" and "maybe they won't notice" areas. Congratulations Sarah and Hal!

I definatly want to do at least a table runner for myself. I've learned from the mistakes that I've made. I now know how to do it better.