Kitchen Shenanigans

I just realized it's been 2 months since I last posted. I can't believe it had really been that long. I know shame on me. In my defense though, I have been working on a really big project that I am now in the second phase of. I hope to have it complete in the next few weeks. It's one of those *I can't believe I am really attempting this* kind of projects, so I'm excited to show you the finished product. I have also been doing some commissioned artwork. So stay tuned to Instagram and Facebook for the completions of those. 

Well now that that is out the way, let's talk kitchen shenanigans. While I don't care to spend insurmountable amounts of time in my kitchen, I do enjoy delicious food. Therefore, I am always in an efforts to make it more organized and flow better. Last week I decided to tackle a few projects. First up is a new spice rack. Contrary to popular belief as a single and childless woman I do cook, and one of the biggest messes is always caused from spice bottles on the counter. The pantry is few feet away from the stove. I end grabbing an armful of bottles, hoping I make it to the counter, use them, and then they stay there. I know, sheer laziness. I admit my short comings that I am not the best in putting them back right away.

I went on a hunt for ideas. I loved the overly organized and labeled spice racks. However, I do not have the counter or drawer space for that. I do however have an empty refrigerator side. So, I decided on a magnetic spice rack. First thing I needed were the containers. I wanted something that wasn't too heavy, but not flimsy either. Quite a few pictures I saw used small metal tins, and I actually like this idea the best. They do sell these in stores, but the most cost effective option was to buy them whole sale online. I used this site, and they were around $.80 a piece. I chose the the round ones with the clear tops.

I had read about people getting the tins and being smaller than they anticipated. To make sure I had no problems, I used the measurements on the site and made mock ups so I could test what would be the best size for me. I ordered 40 4oz tins. Some were small enough to fit in the smaller 2.5 oz size, but for the sake of uniformity I went with all the same size.

Now for the labels. My original idea was to do chalk labels. It's such a thing these days, but I haven't had the need to use them yet. My main objective was labels that were easy to make and change out if need be. You would think this would have been no problem seeing as how chalk labels are EVERYWHERE. Well after doing some research I realized how expensive they were. To buy labels was pretty pricey, and to get them into the shape and size I needed would be another headache. Apparently, you can also make them using chalk paint. While this seemed more cost effective, it would have also been super time consuming. If I had 2 labels it would have been fine, but for 30+ that was a no go. Then I had a EUREKA light bulb moment. Why not use adhesive vinyl. It is not a permanent adhesive and would be easy to remove and replace. It was easy to get, and I already had a black sheet in my stash. For the actual spice name I could use a paint marker. I traced 32 circles, cut them out, and then stuck them to the top of the lids. It was a little tedious, but I just turned on the Olympics and got cutting.

For the magnets I used the super strong kind, and strong they were. I almost lost my life and finger tips a few times. I had no idea magnets could be deadly. I turned the bottom of the tin over, and roughed up the surface with some sandpaper. 

Then I added a dab of E6000 glue and a magnet to the back.

For the labels I used a silver Sharpie Oil Based paint marker. I did write them in pencil first to make sure I got a good placement. Then I wrote over it with the marker. I am just way too anal retentive to have sloppy labels or crooked words.

I let both the magnets and labels dry overnight before moving on.

The only thing left was to fill them with spice and add them to the refrigerator.

I must say I kind of love this. It's just so visually pleasing. No more trying to hold on to 6 bottles, hoping I don't drop anything. What can I say, it tingles my senses. A few things I learned in case anyone wants to attempt this. I got the metal tins where the lids just pushed on. There were also tins with lids that screwed on. I had watched a few tutorials and people had complained about the tops slipping off over time. Well I have noticed that I need to be careful in the way I handle them. When I remove them from the refrigerator, I cannot pull from the top where the lid is. I  must pull further down from the base of the container. Also, I cannot fill them too much. The side of my refrigerator is textured, so the hold is not as strong. If the tins are too heavy they slip down. All in all though, I am pretty happy with the new situation.

Next I made a coffee tin. I am a big time coffee drinker, and have a cup almost every day. While reading my HGTV magazine I got the idea to make a mini counter coffee bar. Like my spices, the coffee is in the pantry and has to be brought to the coffee maker each morning. I grabbed an empty tin from my project closet. I just so happened to have an extra metal tin I purchase during an after Christmas clearance sale.

I spray painted the entire tin red. I know, it was already red. Not the color red I wanted though. Once the paint was dry, I created a label in Photoshop. 

I added that label to adhesive vinyl, and then cut around the entire shape. I used the adhesive vinyl because it comes off easily if I wanted to change the label without the paint peeling. 

Even though this was the smallest of the projects, it might be my favorite. It makes getting my morning Cup-O-Joe so much easier and mess free. 

Now, this last project has nothing to do with flow. It has everything to do with the fact that I built shelves that I outgrew the day I started using them. Can you guess what it is? Yup, the Mug Shelves. Take a look at the original post here. 

 Above is the original setup, and like I said then don't be surprised if you see me doing this project again in 6 months. Well here we are, right on time. The original idea was great and looked cool. However, I had a lot more mugs than I thought and before I finished filling them I ran out of space. Next thing you know I bought a few new ones, and it was warfare. They ended up spilling on to the table next to the shelves. So I am expanding it, and this idea is going to be much cooler than the last. Well at least I think so.

I headed to Home Depot and got my supplies. I bought 2-6ft 1x4s, and 5-8ft 1x4s.

I primed and painted them all first. I went with an off-white this time hoping that the shelves would blend into the wall a little. A few of them were rough, so I concentrated on pre-sanding more than usual. I cut all of the pieces to size. 

The cutting didn't take me nearly as long as I thought. Once I got into a rhythm it went pretty quickly. I glued each piece with its partner, and let them set for a couple of hours. After they dried, I added a small L-bracket to the back for extra support.

Next I started putting it together. I started with the longer side and carefully glued the pieces to one of the longer 1x4s. Then I repeated the process on the other side. I was originally going to add the the longer pieces to the sides, but I realized attaching it to the back would open it up more, and make it not look so bulky in the space.

I did have to bring the project indoors. My office floor was the flattest and cleanest surface for something of this size. It was too heavy for the glue to completely hold while I added the nails. So I brought the nail gun and air compressor inside to finish it up. I propped the entire project up on the work table and completed gluing and nailing the pieces together.

Sorry for the mess in the background. There were no less than 3 projects, not including the shelves on the table. For hardware I wanted a slightly more industrial look. I got steel pipes from the plumbing section at Home Depot. It was funny how many people came to ask me if I needed help. Only to have me say "No, I'm good. I'm doing a DIY Project. No actual plumbing involved."

I laid them out in the garage and spray painted them gold.

Once everything was complete and dry, I just had to put it all together and finish it up. I brought the shelves and pipes up stairs. I propped it up and checked the placement of where everything needed to go. Then I screwed in the hardware.

All that was left was to stand it up and screw into the wall. Let me tell you this was no easy task. I almost had more than one catastrophic event. It was a lot bigger and heavier than I thought. I mean honestly I don't know what I was expecting. I clearly designed it, and knew just how tall it would be. Somehow I still seemed shocked none the less. Once it was up I cleaned it up a little bit. I added some more glue for reinforcement, and painted any unfinished edges. I let it dry over night, and waited patiently. I was a little nervous considering the weight, and that it may fall. I was good though. We had success!

Once I was sure of it's security, I added the mugs back.

Woot! WOOT! What do you think? I LOVE IT! I love that they're all showing and easy to get to. Looks like I have more mugs than I knew. I thought with this design I would have plenty of space left over. Not so much. Go figure. I definitely have a bit of space before this one fills up though. So I'm good. YAY!

So that's it! What do you think?! The kitchen has been organized, and I am in love with the changes. After spending a week really using them, I have to say things are definitely flowing a lot better in there. Now if I only got the dishes to go straight into the dishwasher instead of making a pit-stop in the sink, I would be golden! 

Until then...It's on to the net project!