Built-ins for Ironstone

Before we started remodeling our kitchen, I scoured through Pinterest creating board after board of things I really liked.  This helped me narrow down what we could do in the space we had.  I knew I wanted a way to display my ironstone but also be able to use it.  I found my inspiration from this picture below.

Via

I would have loved to have used the Ikea bookcases shown, but they measured too high.  Hiring a Carpenter to do it all was an option, but a costly one. (We still need a Carpenter to add molding and give it that built-in feel).  I  spent weeks looking  online for the exact measurements I needed, but couldn't find one with 3 shelves that would fit. My next option was to find a small enough bookcase with 2 shelves at a reasonable price, and close to the height I needed. I found these bookcases below on Amazon.  I've purchased 3, which leaves room under the counter but not enough for a fourth bookcase.

Amazon

The plan now is to hire a Carpenter to raise the bookcases slightly, hide the gap between the top of the bookcase and underneath the counter, and attach molding along the fronts to hide the fact they are individual bookcases.

I use the magazine holders from Ikea to hold all of the kid's learning materials like workbooks, extra paper, and worksheets from School they might need.  The ironstone vegetable tureen on the bottom shelf holds things like pencils, calculator, and erasers.

I've also put to use a few tureens without lids and a compote to hold each of my children's candy stash from Christmas.

Close-ups of some of my pieces.

Currently filling out the space is our one stop pet feeding station for both the dogs and cats.  The original idea came from Pinterest from an uploaded user photo.  The vinyl decals and supplies label came from Craftcuts.

Ironstone pieces have come in handy in creating a quick pet treat station.

The pet dish station is no longer available but was purchased from Anthropologie years ago.

The mat was a very easy DIY project.  I used a place mat from Ikea, cut the indoor-outdoor fabric we used for the window treatments and hot glued the fabric in place.  I then used Scotch Guard to treat the fabric and give it another layer of protection.

For now our pet station has found a home but I think eventually I will move it as I often do. I'm considering making this into our recycling center using the Ikea Trofast system.

IKEA

All of these projects will be done sometime in 2016.

Displaying Disney pins

Last November, we took a family trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida.  One of the highlights of the trip were collecting and trading the Disney pins.  When we got back from the trip, the pins along with the lanyard just sat in a bowl, with no further thought. Until of course, I was on Pinterest one evening and discovered a few fabulous ways of displaying them.  I created a small board here.

Source

I decided to do this one on a much smaller scale to see how I liked it,  plus I will have make a second one for my other Daughter's pins.

Etsy

I found a similar one on Etsy, but smaller is scale.  It's pretty ugly and thankfully cheap, it is only plastic after all.  The seller shipped it out in record time, and so the transformation began.

Here's what I used.  White fabric I had on hand, a pair of scissors, I kept the insert of the picture to use both to trace my outline and use it again in the frame, cork I had on hand from another project, and tacky glue.

This frame required 3 coats of paint with primer, which I let try for 24 hours after each coat.

When I traced the white fabric I gave a half an inch extra all around, in order to be able to fold it over.  The cork was cut to the exact size of the existing picture, and everything was glued down with tacky glue.

Don't worry the glue will dry clear.  You probably want to wait until the glue is fully dry before sticking your pins in, otherwise they will be there for a long time to come.

The final step is just putting it back into the frame and sticking the pins in.  I saved the original backings to the pins as the pins do not stick out enough in the back to use them.

It's a nice way to see and remember our family trip.