Mini kitchen DIY/tour

As I mentioned two posts back, I had an uncomfortable living situation for most of 2020 and a byproduct of that ordeal was that I did not have access to the kitchen in my house. It's a long story, but suffice to say I spent most of 2020 buying processed foods that you could eat out of a box and ordering way more McDonald's lunches and dinners than I should ever admit lol. By September I just felt so unhealthy that I decided to build a makeshift kitchen in my room so that I could start cooking my own meals, store frozen vegetables, and generally just eat normal again.

I haven't left the house since March so this whole area was constructed by meticulously measuring the space in my room and double-checking online measurements before ordering all of the necessary pieces for delivery. And it all fit and worked absolutely perfectly! In late November I was able to start using the real kitchen in my house again, but I still use this regularly and I'm so glad that for September, October, and November I was able to get healthy again.

I thought I'd share this for two reasons - first of all, I am super proud of how this turned out! I didn't just make the best of a bad situation, I made it cute too! :) And also when I first decided to do this I researched to see if anyone else had done something similar and I couldn't find anything! So I thought, perhaps if someone out there has a little studio apartment or office that could use a cute tiny kitchen, maybe my experience will come in handy for you!





Since I have wall-to-wall (ugly.. ugh!) carpet and didn't want the refrigerator resting on a carpeted floor I built a small tiled floor using a chair mat and peel-and-stick tiles. I actually do not recommend this particular method since the weight of the furniture has warped the floor a bit. If you're doing this I would recommend building a plywood base first, since it would be more sturdy than the chair mat was.



This gives you a little better view of the whole layout. The "wall" behind my kitchen is actually a piece of beadboard that my brother cut to size for me with a circular saw. I have a curtain hanging on the other side that faces my bedroom. The curtain has been there for years but with the kitchen appliances there I didn't want the cords bumping up against fabric so I decided to build my own wall! 



Here's a brief summary of what I did and where I got everything:

1. The refrigerator is a 3.2 cubic foot mini fridge from Home Depot. I picked this because of the color (obviously) but also because it has way more freezer space than most mini fridges, and I really wanted to be able to store a lot of frozen vegetables and smoothie materials.

2. The microwave is from Amazon. Not the best microwave and it usually needs a minute added on to every cook time but it does the job and it's pretty enough :)

3. The microwave shelf is also from Amazon. It comes with thin clear plastic protectors that you can put on the shelves but they weren't sturdy enough so I painted some cork board pink and cut it to size instead.

4. The toaster is from Amazon. I obviously tend to purchase things because they look pretty but this is also a really nice toaster.

5. The ice cream artwork is from Everyday is a Holiday (two of my favorite artists so please check them out even if you aren't in need of an ice cream plaque!) 

6. The white scalloped shelves on my wall are actually these plastic shelves from Amazon that I painted white with chalk paint (it adheres better to plastic) and faced with laser cut scalloped wood that I cut myself. The pink shelves are these narrower plastic shelves from Amazon, painted white and then faced with scalloped wood that I cut and painted pink.

7. I got my electric kettle from Amazon. Unfortunately they don't have the pink one listed anymore there but the brand is ASCOT. I love this kettle so much that even though I have access to the stovetop in my kitchen again I still keep making my tea this way.

8. I got the table from Wayfair. This table turned out to be the most perfect makeshift kitchen I could have hoped for! The side has shelving so I could store snacks and ingredients for cooking, it's the perfect height for a countertop, and the mini fridge fits under the tabletop *perfectly* with a little room to spare for a tray that I use to store cooking utensils. My brother drilled a hole near the back of the tabletop so that I could drop cords down as needed. When I'm not using it, the hole is covered up by the Coca Cola straw dispenser :)

9. The tray on top of the fridge is from Amazon. It fits like a glove and it has handles so it's easy for me to pull it out without looking whenever I need something. It's kind of like a little makeshift utensil drawer!

10. My cute spice jars with the pink lids are no longer available but I'm going to link to them just in case they miraculously come back in stock someday. 

11. My towel rack is from Amazon. I also bought some S-hooks separately so I could hang my measuring cups on the towel bar.

12. All of my canisters are these. I painted them (on the outside only, obviously) and then I designed custom labels and cut them out of vinyl on my Cricut.

13. My kitchen cart is no longer available in mint, it seems, but it's the absolute perfect size to go right next to the fridge and under the table (and at least it still seems to be available in pink!) 

14. I got these containers for the shelving on the side of my table. While I was using the kitchen every day I had these pushed to one side and used the extra space on the side of the container to store rice, pasta, etc. but now I whittled down my supplies and can keep it a little more tidy. It was very difficult finding containers I liked that fit *almost* perfectly into this weird narrow shelf space but these worked great!

15. Some links to various kitchen stuff: my blender, pink daisy trivets, pink kitchen utensils, pink measuring cups, pink knives, scissors and cutting board set I also used a peel-and-stick towel hanger on the front of the table. The one I purchased isn't available anymore but it's just a basic circular hanger. The oven mitts were purchased during my last trip to Hollywood but I can't remember the name of the store, sorry!

16. The peel-and-stick tiles I used for my floor were from Amazon. I liked these because they had four squares per tile so the black-and-white pattern would show up even though I was doing this in such a tiny space. 

17. Finally, my Instant Pot. This thing was a LIFE. SAVER. I was able to cook healthy meals for myself without access to a real kitchen. On the saute function I could make a scrambled egg for breakfast and with the pressure cook function I could make pasta fagioli for dinner. I even bought some pans to make baked goods in the instant pot like cornbread and cake on my birthday! I used this springform pan, this fluted pan, and this sling to lower them and raise them from the pot. 

18. For good measure, here are a few of my favorite recipes that I made with my instant pot - 

Orange chicken

Swedish meatballs with noodles (I used turkey meatballs)

Stuffed pepper soup (my favorite! I used ground chicken)

Chicken fried rice

And that's about it! Honestly this worked out for the best because this was an area of my room that I was always unsure what to do with. I've never been happy with it and it didn't show up in my photos all that often because I never felt like it looked right. So this little kitchen is a bit of a glow up for that corner of my room lol! Here's a before/after!

ps. Do you like the pink and brown purses hanging on the back of my door? I sure hope so!! More on those soon!! :D

DIY Mickey Ears holder

Sorry for that little unexpected hiatus! I'll let you know what's been going on in my next outfit post on Monday but I just wanted to pop in today to share this ridiculously easy DIY that I came up with. I was looking for a way to store all of my Mickey ears when I came home from Disney World with two more pairs. I looked at some headband holders on amazon and then it dawned on me that the shape I was looking for was about the same size as a roll of paper towels.

I took a brand new roll of paper towels, rolled it in a pillowcase, and then tucked the ends of the pillowcase into the holes of the paper tube. Then I just put all of my mickey ears on the roll, and the ends of the headband keep it from rolling off the table. That's it! SO easy! And now all of my cute ears are on display without taking up too much room. I think at some point I'll probably get some cute Disney fabric to wrap the paper towels in instead of a pillowcase, but for an impromptu DIY the pillowcase worked perfectly! :)

DIY easter bunny apron

This year will be my first year hosting Easter dinner for my family, and you know me.. I am going overboard. I'm so obsessed with the idea of forming new traditions with this dinner, so every decision has been something that I want to last for years to come. I got Beatrix Potter plates and carrot patterned cloth napkins, some incredibly cute wicker bunny decorations for the centerpiece, and little carrot shaped drawstring bags that I'll fill with goodies for each guest. Every year we go over my grandmom's for Christmas breakfast and I've always loved seeing the same decorations come out each year, the same sugar bowl, the same pastries from a local bakery. I want my family to feel that way about my Easter dinner. Ten or twenty years from now they'll be like "Yay! The Beatrix Potter plates!" or "I was looking forward to your vegetable pot pie all year!" I will definitely take photos and share details about my dinner afterwards, but today I wanted to show you a really easy quick DIY I whipped up!

I wanted a cute apron to wear on Easter while I'm cooking, since I'll want to be dressed in my Finest Pastels but I do not want to get food all over them. This apron is so incredibly easy to make -- and the only tools you need to make it are hot glue and scissors!



Materials needed:

Plain cotton apron (I got mine at Michaels)
Grey yarn
Wooden buttons
Pink and cream colored felt



Cut out two bunny ears from the cream fabric, and then two smaller bunny-ear shapes from the pink. Hot glue the pink shapes onto the cream shapes to form your ears!

Then simply hot glue the bunny ear pieces onto the straps of your apron (I attached the bottom of the ear to each corner of the apron, and then ran hot glue along the length of strap that the ear would be covering.) Hot glue the buttons on for eyes, and hot glue strips of yarn on to make a nose and whiskers. You could definitely sew this on, too, if you have the right needle for it! I just wanted to whip this up quickly and hot glue was easiest!

And voila - you have a cute little bunny apron for Easter!

DIY wicker accent sunglasses

I am a huge fan of the wicker/rattan trend going on right now. It's just so retro! My local Target has a whole area set up with their '70s inspired wicker on display and I feel like I've stepped into the department store where my Grandmom bought all her furniture 40 years ago. I love it!!

I thought "surely someone must have wicker sunglasses" since it's so popular right now, but when I couldn't find a single pair I decided to make them myself! These are pretty easy but a little time consuming, so put on your headphones and breeze through a few podcast episodes while you fashion yourself a pair of pretty wicker-accented sunglasses!



Materials you'll need:

Round plastic sunglasses (I used these)
Glue*
Natural colored twine (I used this one from IKEA)

I used Gorilla Glue hot glue sticks, which are supposed to be resistant to seasonal temperatures (so I'm hoping that includes hot summer sunshine!)



Start by popping out the lenses from your glasses, and then put them aside. I worked with about 12" of twine at a time, gluing one end to the back of the frames and just wrapping it around. Every so often I'd put a little bit of glue on the back again for added stability. Once you get to the end, cut the twine so that your end piece is in the back of the glasses and glue it down. I let the end piece totally dry down before adding a little more glue for my new piece of twine.

Work all the way around the lenses, except for the part where the arms meet the frames. I deliberately picked tortoiseshell frames because I thought that would look nice against the twine, but this would also look really nice with black frames too. Or hot pink! (I want everything to be pink, lol!)



When I reached the bridge of the frames I decided to add some more pattern to make this more like a real piece of wicker and not just "wrapped" frames. I made an X between the edge of the bridge and the frame, and then I started wrapping over that across the bridge. I think it would also look cool to just leave this part with the tortoiseshell showing through to match the edges, as well. (That would also be a lot easier, ha!)

Finally, the lenses! Obviously they won't fit back into the ridge where they used to be since that is now covered with the twine. So just put a little glue on the back of the frames where the bridge meets the frames, and where the arms meet the frames, and then pop the lenses back in! Make sure you get the lenses in nice and snug so you can still fold the glasses open and closed. And if you do use a glue gun, just be sure to go over the glasses once you're finished and pick off any little glue strands that are left on the glasses.

And that's it! It's a fun project to do at the end of February when spring and floppy hats and pretty dresses (and summery sunglasses!) are just around the corner :)

DIY projector cover

I swear most of the DIY projects that I do for my house are entirely so I can cover up something necessary but unsightly. Usually electronics, because it seems like nobody makes cute ones! Anyway, this is actually more like a "look what I made!" kind of post than a full on DIY but I'm definitely still going to explain how I did it in case you want to do something similar :)

I have a projector and pull-down screen instead of a television, which means that above my bed I have a grey projector attached to my wall with cords going down behind my bed. It's always bothered me, but I wasn't really sure how to cover it up. Then I got this shelf, and situated it so that my projector rested above it slightly. Then I made a cardboard cover that I can put over it whenever it's turned off.

I really only watch tv at night, so during the day the projector is turned off and I cover it up as part of my making-the-bed routine every morning now. I just found a box that was the right size to fit over the projector and I painted it to look like a little house! I used acrylic paint for most of it and then used a black sharpie to add some detail, like the shingles and little window boxes. I added a drawer pull to the top so that it's easy to take the cover on-and-off, and I also cut out the entire back of the box and part of the side. Two reasons - a) it helps the box to fit over the wires and b) I don't actually want the cardboard to touch the projector. Even though I only cover it when it's turned off I still want to be extra careful.



And voila! Isn't it so cute?! I also got a cord cover and painted it to match my wall so that I didn't just have black cords hanging down the wall anymore. I can be a bit obsessive (okay, VERY obsessive) about making sure that literally every single element of my living space is functional AND pretty, and this finally solved one not-pretty thing that had been getting under my skin for a few years.



ps. my rattan shelf is from urban outfitters here, and my vintage inspired bedding is available in my threadless shop here.

DIY houseplant for your cat

Lately Arrietty has really been enjoying rubbing her face in my houseplants. They're cat safe, so I don't have to worry for her sake, but my plants on the other hand! They're already looking a little the worse for wear because of the lack of sunshine this time of year, and those cat nuzzles are not helping matters any. So I decided to make Arrietty her own plant that she can rub her face in as much as she wants! She's already taken a liking to it so I'd say this DIY was a success!



Materials needed:

A ceramic pot
Plastic grass
Two feather stick cat toys
River rocks
Spray catnip
Styrofoam plant base
Brown kraft paper
Non-toxic glue



When you're shopping for the greenery, make sure you pick something with very substantial leaves that your cat won't be able to ingest. Mine had some small, thin pieces sticking out of it so I plucked them out beforehand.

Add some river rocks to the bottom of your pot for weight, and then put the styrofoam on top of it. Insert your plastic greenery. Using a sharp utility knife, cut off the bulk of the stick on the feather toys and then insert the shorter sticks into the styrofoam.

I forgot to take pictures of the next step, but to cover up the styrofoam just attach small crumpled pieces of brown kraft paper to the foam with non-toxic glue. Once the foam is entirely covered in the brown paper (I did two layers of paper to make sure the foam was totally inaccessible) spritz the ends of the leaves with catnip spray to entice your kitty away from your pretty parlor palms and into their own feline garden!

I can't say how happy I am with this project! Arrietty is content with her plant and has been staying away from the real plants. I just spray the leaves whenever I think it needs a little catnip refresh.

DIY button display

Lately I've been making a lot more buttons (mostly because I can make them myself, so it's much more budget-friendly than having lapel pins produced) and I wanted a way to display some of my favorites in my studio. This DIY is so incredibly simple, and if you have an overwhelming collection of buttons, it's the perfect way to turn them into wall art when they aren't being worn :)



Materials you'll need:

A picture frame (I used an 8x10 frame, but use whatever size you'd like!)
A heavy duty stapler
7/8" wide grosgrain ribbon
Masking tape
A piece of patterned paper, cut to 8x10
Buttons!



Start by removing the glass from the frame and putting your patterned paper in. Then cut lengths of ribbon that are long enough to wrap around the edge of the frame and lay them out where you want them to go. At this point you should take a few of your buttons and lay them on the ribbons to make sure the spacing will work. I decided to only display 1.5" buttons on my frame, so four ribbons worked perfectly for me. If you'll be displaying 2.25" or 1" buttons your spacing might be different.

Once you've decided how to space everything, take your masking tape and secure the ribbon in place. This is not only easier than measuring (I'm all for doing things the right way, but I'm even *more* for doing things the easy way. lol!) but it will help hold the ribbon secure when you're stapling it in place.



Flip your frame over, and staple the ribbons on the back. Do the same thing for the bottom of the ribbon, making sure to pull the ribbon very taut to make sure it won't sag when you hang the buttons.

And honestly, that is IT! You're done! Just attach your buttons, and hang it up on the wall!



All of the buttons pictured here were designed by me and they're available in my shop right here!

DIY Joyeux Noël tree topper

I've been looking for a cute tree topper for a few years now and still haven't found anything that really felt *perfect* to me. Then I saw these metallic pipe cleaners at AC Moore last week and a lightbulb lit up over my head! I am so incredibly thrilled with how this came out, and I think it'll be at the top of my tree for many years to come :)



You'll need:

This Joyeux Noel printable template
Pipe cleaners (I used these from AC Moore)
Scissors



Begin by tracing the letters with the pipe cleaners. I only used the rose gold color, but I think this would also be so pretty alternating each letter with a different metallic color!

Every time that you come to a joint (like where the two loops of the J meet) wrap the wire around itself so that it holds the shape. Each time that you need a new pipe cleaner, just twist the ends together with about 1" overlapping to make sure it's very secure. I did Joyeux separate from Noel and then combined them in the next step--



To attach Joyeux to Noel, just take a little piece of pipe cleaner (about 2") and wrap it around the two pieces to secure them together. I attached the J to the N, the X to the L, and (not pictured) the Y to the O.



Finally take one more piece of pipe cleaner (I used silver since it's the color of my tree!) and fold it in half, then slide it over the O in Noel. Twist the pipe cleaner pieces together, and then just wrap it around the top of your tree! You could definitely do this with other phrases, the Francophile in me just loves saying Joyeux Noël :)

DIY (ish) lapel pin display case

I keep one of each pin that I design, and originally I had them all displayed on a cork pin board. That was all well and good when I had about 30 designs but now that I'm nearing 200 I realized I needed a better way to store and/or display my collection. Now that I finished this project I think I'm going to do the same thing for my embarrassingly large collection of Disney pins, too!

I found these jewelry cases on Amazon, but really any case meant for displaying rings or brooches should work fine. The fabric in the case has a cork/cardboard like backing that is perfect for securing my pins in place. I just make sure that I attach them in between the rows, not inside of the groove, or else they won't be secure. Each case holds about 60 1" - 1.25" pins, give or take.



Since the pins attach securely into the case, I can choose to display the case upright on my dresser along with my other brooches and jewelry! Or I can stack them up neatly and put them away for safe keeping. I love that the glass lid keeps them dust-free but also lets me see my whole collection at a glance.

I hope this little DIY tip gives you some ideas for how to store your own lapel pin collections! And if you're like "wow, I love this idea, but I need to build a pin collection first" (wink wink) they're buy-3-get-1-free in my shop right here.

DIY vote sweater

When sweater weather and the midterm elections coincide, there is only one thing to do - make a sweater that says "Vote!" This is a really simple and quick DIY that you can whip up during an episode of tv (sidenote: I just started watching Schitt's Creek and I highly recommend it! It's so funny!) It's so easy I already made two in different colors (mustard and this pink one.) Of course you can also make this sweater with another saying, but I can't think of anything more important right now than encouraging people to vote :)

And if you're not crafty but you still want this design, I added it to my Threadless store here so it's available on sweatshirts, t-shirts, totes, etc.!



Materials needed:

- A plain knit sweater (I used this one and this one)
- Thick yarn (I used medium size Red Heart yarn in Bordeaux)
- Large plastic needle
- Carbon paper
- Embroidery hoop (optional)
- Vote! template (Download here)



First you'll want to put a smooth hard surface in your sweater (I used a large hardcover book) and then lay the carbon paper on top of the sweater. Decide where you want to place the template, and then trace over the design. I used this stylus, but you can also use a pen with its cap on or the end of a paintbrush... anything with a pen-like tip that will apply enough pressure to transfer the design to your sweater.



Once the design is transferred, thread your needle (if it's hard getting the yarn through the needle eye, you can put some scotch tape on the end to get it through easier) and use a split stitch to embroider the design. I knotted off my yarn and started again each time I reached an end so that there isn't a lot of excess thread on the inside of the sweater. For the dot at the end of the exclamation mark I used a french knot stitch. You can find explanations of how to do all different stitches here.

You can also do a backstitch instead if that's easier for you. I tested a backstitch and a split stitch and this one created a thicker, more fluid line. But it was more time consuming and used a bit more yarn. It all depends on what you're comfortable with and how much time you have! I also tested this with and without an embroidery hoop. It's much, much easier with the hoop because you aren't really losing your design in folds of fabric. But it's definitely possible to do it without one as well. And it didn't really affect the design in any way (there wasn't more puckering without the hoop, for example.) So, again, just do whatever is more comfortable for you. I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy a hoop just to do this sweater if you don't already have one on hand.

And that's it! The last step is just wearing the sweater as often as possible between now and November 6th to remind people that they have to get out there and Vote! :)