Paper, Scissors, a Shot Glass and a Hole Punch

Dear Mom,

After 23 years of love and use and sunshine and abuse, our kitchen cabinets are in desperate need of freshening up. These also being the years of paying for college tuition, new cabinets are not an option. Plus, I reallyreallyreally like my tiled countertops and I've been told that they cannot be saved if/when we replace the cabinets. Soooo, My Hero and I have been sanding (him), staining (me) and polyurethane-ing (me).  We are working in small manageable sections which means we can get each bite digested every weekend, but it also means a regularly disheveled kitchen and cleaning up sawdust over and over and over again. And not having things in their place makes me a little edgy. Keeping my eye on the prize. It'll be worth it in the end. And, I have to say, the refreshed cabinets look better than I even imagined would be possible. That helps. A lot.
The first weekend we tackled the worst appearing cabinets on the island. They were very faded by the sunshine. And last weekend we started working our way around the upper cabinets. While waiting for the last coat of polyurethane to dry I put my mind to considering shelf lining paper. I'd used that self sticking liner and did not want to use that again. I wanted something prettier than plain and googled "lace edged shelf paper" or something like that and in my fall down the internet rabbit hole, found a site that had a quote from one of the Little House books and instructions for cutting pretty shelf paper. (I guess Ma Ingalls had Mary and Laura making pretty shelf paper in one of the books. Frankly, they had me at Little House.) Such was my inspiration that I cannot find that website to share it with you. I pretty much immediately stopped googling and gathered my supplies.
I used scissors, brown craft paper (you could use newspaper or white butcher paper or whatever you think would be nice for lining shelves), a hole punch (I am pretty sure Mary and Laura did not have a hole punch.) and a shot glass. (I know for certain that Ma Ingalls would not allow a shot glass in her house, so Mary and Laura did not use one of these either.) I used the shot glass to draw a round edge. You could make pointy edges. Mary and Laura probably made pointy edges.

I folded the craft paper in half and half and half, again and again and again, until it was about 2 inches wide and then started cutting and hole punching the end- like making snow flakes or paper dolls.

So when it was unfolded, I had a lacy looking edge. I did not want to drive myself crazy by trying to make them all the same. It was more fun to try different things for each one. Also, I don't have one of those fancy crafty scrap-bookin' shaped punch things, but if I did, I would have tried using it.
I then trimmed the depth and width of the paper to fit my shelves.
Here is a photo with the paper on the shelves, and the shelves loaded, but before the cabinet doors went back on:

And here is a photo with the doors on the cabinets:

We have a ways to go before we are finished, but so far so good!
Love,
Kim

Things to look at when you should be doing other things.

Dear Mom,
You know how it is. You start reading a blog and then you click on a link to another blog, which ends up taking you to another. And before you know it you can't remember how you got there or even how to find your way back.
I know None of Us has time for this right now, with pies to be baked and turkeys waiting for the stuffing, but maybe a little daydreaming, inspiration sparking blog reading is just what our overworked-stretched-too-thin selves need right about now.
So here are few fun, crafty, creative, inspiring blogs I've stumbled across in the last day or so: (set a timer. don't burn the bread. don't say I didn't warn you!)

One Pearl Button

Say Yes to Hoboken

Take a nostalgic trip HERE

I found Lines of Beauty,a blog about embracing our ages, through Getting Stitched on the Farm.

Love,
Kim

Rare Ladybug

Dear Mom,

I think this may qualify as a rare ladybug. One never seen before.

I'm sure our discovery will be posted in all of the bug field guides, front and center on the Ladybug Project page!! Until then, pipsqueak should feel quite proud.

Love, Wendy

Yarn Bowls

Dear Mom,

I was reading one of my favorite blogs and got a neat idea for "someday". David was gone all day Sunday so "someday" arrived! We pulled out yarn, glue and balloons and made yarn bowls. The process is easy. Cut your yarn in lengths (the girls randomly cut), dip your yarn in glue and wrap your gluey yarn around a balloon.

This is a great project because it is an easy enough project that the girls took ownership of and did it themselves. Everything. But this is not one for the faint of heart. It's messy. It requires much hand washing and cleaning up afterwards.

We had to wait several days for the glue to dry.

But when the glue was dry and we popped the balloon--Voila! We now have a beautiful yarn um . . . . . .bowl?

A dear friend said, "That. Is. Soooooo. Ugly!!" Okay, so maybe a little more parental guidance next time and a lot of practice!!!! I'll let ya know!

Love, Wendy

All Girls All the Time

Dear Mom,
Erin is sponsoring Yellow week this week, to perk up February. So, my first yellow picture this week is the box of chocolates My Hero brought me for Valentine's Day. He knows that Whitman's reminds me of the little boxes Daddy gave us on Valentine's Day when we were little. I don't need a fancy $$ box of chocolates. Whitman's=love.

My Hero and the Young Man spent the weekend in Detroit and went to a Red Wings game. The Young Lady and I enjoyed an ALL GIRL weekend.


We shopped for crafts and crafted.


We bought Friendship bracelets and crafted some more.

We had dinner delivered.

And we had a "sleep over" in my bed.

And the next day.....

We did more crafts and watched more tv shows and the Young Lady had a friend sleep over.

Time flies. It was a good weekend.

Love, Kim