Roman Shade from Broken Vinyl Blind

As you may have seen from my previous post, I have been updating my kitchen. Well now the 2" vinyl blind that is dirty and has a broken string does not look good any more. So I searched the web for an idea and found this roman shade idea. 

 So after and hour at the fabric store, I picked this one. It has a bit of gray, and I had just painted the walls gray. But I really wanted to add an accent color, thus the pretty blue.

 Then I measured, measured and measured again, and cut the fabric 2" longer that the blind both ways (length and width. My blind was 34" long, so I cut the fabric 36". Then I folded it over the excess divided evenly on all side and ironed the seams.

 Then I untied the knots and the very bottom of the blind to the main string that lifts the blind, pull that string out of the slats and leave it out, but don't cut it. Then cut the ladder string shown in this picture, they are no longer needed, they can go. I then laid out the fabric and put slats even place on the fabric (I did them about 8" apart measuring from the center of the slat). Next, I restrung the main string back through the slats and back through the bottom rail, attaching them as they were before it was disassembled. I used fabric glue to glue the slats to the fabric all the way across and glued the seams down. Then I used the hot glue gun to attach the top rail and bottom bar (they were heavy and the fabric glue I had wasn't working). You will want to leave a couple inches on each end of the top head rail unattached so you can get it back into the brackets. I attached those ends to the brackets with Velcro.

Teapot Wind Chime

 I made this teapot wind chime for my mom for her Christmas gift.

Step 1:
 I went to my favorite second hand store "Needful Things" in Murray, UT, and picked out 10 random spoons and a metal teapot.












Step 2: We bought some chain at the local hardware store, about 12 feet.

Step 3: We used a drill to drill holes in the bottom of the teapot and smaller holes in the spoons. I drilled holes in the top of some spoons and bottom of others so they would be alternating when I hung them. I strung the chain up into the teapot and out another hole (so used one piece of chain per 2 holes and 2 spoons. Then my husband drilled a hole through the top of the teapot and the bottom and strung chain all the way through to hang it.) We used an S hook as the hanger.

Roxy Update

Roxy is still with us. She was given 2 months to live in Sept. of 2014 due to having cancer in her mouth. She is still eating and happy to see me when I come home. She does sleep all day and night, you can tell she doesn't feel well. I think she is nearing the end, but I am grateful she has made is this long. She is a wonderful pup, I have been spoiling her rotten too. I take her out and buy her pepperoni sticks every other day, the human ones from the gas station. I carry her up and down the stairs (even though she do it herself).We love this gal!
UPDATE: The cancer finally became more than Roxy could handle. She was in pain and could not do more than lay on the couch. It was time to let her go. She passed away on Monday, March  2, 2015. We will miss you Doodle!

Wedding Sutff

Here are just a couple of more things I made for my daughter's wedding, the 150 cupcakes.

Then I was afraid I would not have enough center pieces, so I bought 4 bouquets of daisies from Costco and put them in my extra vases and tied them with bows. Simple, pretty and they added a lot to the venue. I did these the morning of the wedding.(Bought the flowers day before).

These are the flower girls baskets I made. I bought 3 clearance brown baskets from Joanne's for about $1.50 and painted them with white craft paint, wrapped the handles with ribbon and used left over porcelain flowers from my own wedding years ago. They turned out quite pretty, if I do say so myself.

Kitchen Update

Painting Cabinets

I decided that my kitchen needed an update. My aunt showed me the before and after pictured of her cabinets that she painted. They were wood and she painted them black and grey. I was amazed at how nice they looked, and her kitchen looked so much more modern. I started researching how to do it. There are a lot of bloggers that have posted their experiences. It was very helpful. Pintrest is an excellent place to see before and afters. 

Step 1:  I spent 5 hours removing the doors, hardware and wiping them down. Everyone recommended labeling the hinges. I chose not to, but I found not tightening the hardware until everything was back on helped, all but one door went up without a problem. 

Step 2: I primed everything with a good primer, sanded the rough spots.  

Step 3: I started the first coat of paint. I used Valspar Woodland Bedroom White, it is a white with a gray in it. 

Step 4: After the first coat dried, I sanded the rough spots and did another coat. I wanted a antiqued look, but did not want to loose the integrity of the white. 

Step 5: So I sanded the edged with a hand sander and then used a tiny paint brush to run stain along the sanded line, then wiped it with a paper towel. 

Adding Back Splash

We then added the back splash, we glued them up with Loctite adheasive. the we grouted with light gray grout. I also painted the walls with Valspar Montpelier Ashlar Gray, which I love. I need the paint the rest of the house now. We also want to redo the floors, but that is for another weekend :) For the total project, we spent about $300 for a great kitchen make over.

Cupcake Tree I decorated for the Wedding

I took this cardboard cupcake tree I purchased online for $29.95 at save-on-crafts.com (they have amazing things) and used modge podge, glitter paper and trim to make it match my daughter wedding colors. I used a stencil and white paint to add a rose. I actually plan on adding more and covering the holes that should not have been cut out :( I will update the pic when I can.

Alfredo Sauce

My Alfredo Sauce recipe is the Best! You have to try it.

1/4 C. Butter
2 Cloves of Garlic
8 oz. Cream Cheese
3/4 C. Milk
1/2 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese

                       Melt Butter on Med. heat in a sauce pan, then add 2 cloves of pressed garlic.

                                      Saute garlic for 2 min. and then add the cream cheese.

 Warm cream cheese for just a bit, until it starts to melt, then add milk and whisk together, continuing to stir until everything is melted together and smooth. Then add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese cook and stir over med. heat until melted and creamy. When you pull the spoon out, it should not be stringy.

 Then serve over any pasta. For this dinner, I used spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli, I bought it at Walmart in the refrigerated section. It was a family size, cost about $6, which I thought was pricey for pasta, but so worth it. It was the best ravioli ever.

I also like to top with various things such as grilled chicken strips, or green onions, tomatoes and bacon bits. It is one of my family favorites.