Dreaming of a Kitchen Reno

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Leah Poarch

Last week I told you that I’ve dreamed up an entire kitchen renovation, which stemmed from a leaky faucet on our kitchen sink. And dreaming is exactly what I’ve been up to. . .

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Ever since I started thinking about going white I’ve been itching to get the paint out and over haul the whole thing.

I’ve been reading tutorials on how to paint your kitchen,

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and how to make your own countertops from concrete and recycled glass.

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As well as building custom drawer organizers, under the sink storage and vertical storage for baking sheets.

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You know, as well as new light fixtures, hardware and a backsplash. No biggie.

To say that we hope to accomplish this task soon would be a lie, in fact our greatest hope is to complete it in 2014 so I think slow and steady will win this race. We have plans to break the re-haul down into manageable chunks, the first of which is a trial run on the smallest piece of countertop between the stove and the door to the garage.

Here we go!

2014 Christmas Stockings

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Leah Poarch

That’s right, you read correctly, I’ve already got 2014 Christmas plans in the works.

You see, in my family, each ‘kid’ has an elaborate Christmas stocking that looks something like this.

Pretty awesome, huh? They’re made from a kit and the company, Bucilla, is still in business today. (Sold here)

Since Phillip joined our family almost 5 years ago I’ve felt bad that he hasn’t had a ‘matching’ stocking and with the soon-to-be addition of my sister-in-law Elizabeth, I decided to take the plunge and make one for both of them.

I ordered a kit for each one of them and I’m starting now with the goal of having them completed by Christmas. I feel like it is a bit lofty but still attainable. To keep things organized, I purchased a small, shoe box sized plastic bin for each kit.

There are THOUSANDS of tiny pieces!!

So wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted!

Ikea Hack: SMYCKE Wall Clock

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Leah Poarch

Welcome to the first Ikea hack on The Front Poarch! What’s an Ikea hack you ask?? Great question! An Ikea hack is when you take something pretty basic (from Ikea, duh) and make in infinitely more awesome! (There’s even a website dedicated to it.)

I started with this SMYCKE Wall Clock, which I’d been eyeing for sometime.

This particular clock is pretty cool to begin with because it’s made up of small, hexagon plastic tiles that can be configured to any shape.

It comes with a set of connectors that allow you to freely join different pieces together.For this hack I wanted to change up the color scheme of the tiles so I selected a few from the original set. I chose to keep the white, green and a few of the gray tiles as-is.

Since I already had lots of regular spray paint in my stash, I purchased this Valspar primer for plastic and it worked like a dream.

Each tile then got a coat of a different shade of green, blue or purple. Once they were dry, I sat down on a sunny afternoon and set to work.

I began by laying out the tiles and playing with the arrangement. . .

. . .however, I soon attracted some unsolicited help.

Once I had a layout more or less complete, I started piecing the back together and pretty soon . . .

. . . the clock was complete.

Bu-bu bu-bu Bubblin!

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Are you guys ready for Christmas?? I think it’s safe to say that I am not. . . I still have presents to make, in addition to wrapping. . . forget about decor because I still haven’t started on the cleaning that needs to be done before guests arrive!

I did manage to get 1 quick project in last weekend though. I’ve been working on our guest bathroom for some time and have been dreaming of ways to hang ‘bubbles’ above the shower.

I’ve been eyeing clear, plastic Christmas ornaments for about a year now but I never ran across any that were reasonably priced. A few weeks ago I just happened to be in Walmart and they had some for just $.88! They even come in 2 sizes!

To make your own ‘bubbles’ here’s what you’ll need:

clear, plastic Christmas ornaments
fishing line
clear thumb tacks
scissors

Start by taking off the ‘top’ of each ornament. . .
. . .and remove the ‘cap’ so that you just have the hanger left..

Now you’re ornament, looks more like a bubble!
Using a long piece of fishing line, loop the line through each of the hangers.

Oooooohhhh pretty.

Using your clear thumb tacks, hang each bubble above your shower at varying heights.*Hint* Putting your step ladder actually in your shower makes this task a lot easier!

Hang a few ornaments and it’ll start to take shape!
In order to vary the heights, you might have some extra fishing line. No problem, just trim it off when you’re done.

I hung 7 ornaments total but I think I’ll look for a few more small ones to balance it out.
I know this is risky to say, but my Under the Sea bathroom might actually be finished!

Party Stash: Santa Beard Tutorial

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Leah Poarch

As I mentioned earlier this week, I made a few Santa beards for mom’s annual Christmas card and today I’m back with the quick and easy tutorial!

Here’s what you’ll need:

beards shapes cut from cardstock (more on that in a minute)
popsicle sticks
cotton balls – about 200 for 8 beards
school glue
hot glue

I started by purchasing a beard shape from the Silhouette store and cutting 8 beards with my Cameo. They we’re approximately 6″x6″.

To assemble the beards, put a generous amount of glue on one side of each cut-out. . .
. . .and start stacking cotton balls. I found the best finished beard was produced when I started with 5 cotton balls across the mustache. Then outlined the edge of the beard and then the mouth.Finish by filling in the center for a full, fluffy beard!

Once the glue is dry, use your hot glue gun to attach a popsicle stick to the back.

My sticks were a little weak so I decided to use 2 per beard.

I loved the finished product and they looked great in our Christmas card photos!

Christmas Card Photos

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Over Thanksgiving all of my siblings were home which is becoming a rare occasion so for the fist time in a long time, we took photos for mom’s Christmas card with whole family!I made some simple Santa beards for our ‘funny’ pictures and they turned out great! Don’t worry, a tutorial is coming your way later this week.

This is my favorite.

We also took a few sibling pics just for fun.

And a few of Phillip and me.

Ho, ho ho! Merry Christmas!

Party Stash: Custom Display Cards

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Leah Poarch

With the holidays just around the corner, I am amping up my party stash. What’s a party stash you ask?? It’s the collection of all things awesome that lives hidden deep within my craft room which I use for decor, parties or other celebrations. (Or, as my brother would say: crap.)

A few years ago I made these DIY Place Card Holders which I use all. the. time. Decorating, holidays, parties, baby showers, wedding showers, etc. I typically just use a small piece of cardstock but I thought some new cards were in order for the recent shower that I threw for my brother and sister-in-law.I purchased a few arrows from the Silhouette Studio store and chose a few other embellishments then printed them on some thick gold wrapping paper I had in my stash.

I chose purple and green cardstock squares (also from my stash) and glued a white paper square on each one for labeling.

I mixed and matched the embellishments onto the squares and glued them in place. Easy and simple!

White Out

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Leah Poarch

I’ve been swooning over white room palettes on Pinterest lately.

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They’re just so clean and crisp. . .and they seem so bright and cheery.

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And yet every time I convince myself that I want a room to be white. . . I can’t ever quite follow through.

I love color. Like, really really really, not afraid to paint my hallway teal, love color.

And yet, I want to love white too.

I often long for a room that is neutral among my sea of bold color, but then I wonder, will it stick out like a sore thumb?? Will it seem out of place?

We had a white couch which caused me to immediately paint my living room because I couldn’t stand the neutral-ness of a white couch and tan wall. And then we sold that couch less than a year later, I just couldn’t hack it.

The Nester wrote a great post on going white slowly in their previous home and it worked wonderfully, but I’m still nervous.

Our kitchen is quasi white but again, the thought of painting my walls white is not appealing.

I also often think, ‘If only I had hardwood/laminate flooring, then I would be happy with going white.’ This could be true, as in I’m over compensating with color on the walls so as to draw your eye away from our hideous flooring but I don’t know that new flooring will cause a complete change of heart.

What do you think? Is there a trend that you love but just aren’t sure that you’ll love it in your home?

Have you ‘gone white’ and loved it? Hated it?

Gold Rush

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Leah Poarch

You may have noticed. . . but I’ve been on a gold kick lately. . . .

Like this Remote Caddy Upgrade,

lots of things in our Master Bedroom Reno,

and this DIY Mustache Wreath.I haven’t always been a fan of gold but the more I use it, the more I love it.

I love these Dipped Branches,

I LOVE my golden pumpkin, this Circle Garland has a special place in my heart, and of course I’m still swooning over the Tassel Garland I jut made.
Any colors you’ve been swooning over lately?

DIY Tassel Garland

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Have you guys seen these beautiful tassel garlands that have been floating around Pinterest for months now? I have to say, I’m in love. I’ve been itching for an excuse to make one and I finally broke down last weekend and made one.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

tissue paper – 1 sheet makes 1 tassel
scissors and/or and exacto knife
cardboard (to cut on)
glue gun
straight edge – I used an envelope, a ruler would be better
string/yarn

Start by separating out 1 sheet of tissue paper, fold it half one length wise and width wise. Grab your exacto knife and straight edge. . .

. . . and cut 1/2″ strips in your tissue paper.

Work your way across until the entire piece is cut into strips. I did this both with the knife and scissors and I have to say, scissors make the process much easier and faster. You’ll probably get more precise lines with the exacto knife but it does take a good bit longer.

When you get done, unfold your tissue paper so that it looks like a giant centipede.

(Before you do this, plug your glue gun in so it will be ready.)

Now start rolling.

Do your best to keep the roll as tight as possible but know that it will still look great if it gets a little loose.

While you’re rolling, you’ll notice that the tassels start to twist together. Stop every few inches and untwist them, otherwise you’ll have a tangled mess at the end.

Now that the whole thing is rolled up, begin twisting the center part, twist until the 2 sides kind of fold over to make the tassel.

Fit your tassel over your string or yarn and then grab your glue gun. Add a small drop in the middle of the fold and press and hold until the glue is set.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking, ‘1 sheet of tissue paper?? That doesn’t seem like it would make a very big tassel.’ You (and me) would be wrong. I made my first tassel a ‘double tassel’ and this is what it looked like.