Project Organization, Kitchen Pantry

I have had so much on the go lately (as usual), sometimes I feel like I work-eat-sleep, so little time for creativity - and with "Project Organization" on the go in my house, it's a little difficult to get everything done that I want to do... included in those things is sewing and posting projects more regularily.

Today since I have been cleaning instead of crafting, I wanted to share my first organizational hurdle with you, the kitchen pantry:

Sorry, I didn't get a "before" picture - by the time I decided I would post about it was when I was done. It turned out so much better than I expected - but just so you know it used to look sorta like this:

(photo source)

Ok, maybe not EXACTLY like that, but when I opened the pantry something always seemed to fall out. Basically the OLD pantry set up had only shelves and they were spaced wayyyyy too far apart.

It's no magazine piece, and I did it very inexpensively, but I am happy with it.

Kevin was great, he moved all the shelves up for me and changed the spacing so it would be more functional.

I bought this wire drawer caddy from Ikea (they had the same one at JYSK also) for around 30$, and for me that is kinda expensive (well, I can afford it, but I don't like to spend more than I need to). The caddy was pricey, but It just was the best choice for the application, and believe me I looked and LOOKED!

I just love to be able to see everything through the wire drawers from the front and be able to pull them open for quick access to all the goodies! I store potatoes in the bottom, then next up misc mixes, soups, bread crumbs etc, then baking supplies and finally on top ziploc bags, plastic wrap, parchment paper etc.

I am a firm believer that buying something for slightly less cost that doesn't work half as well is a waste, I would rather spend a little extra to have something that works perfectly for me (within reason of course, I am a frugal girl after all!), and this works perfect. 

Just as a Bonus, here is a peek at my beautiful kitchen window ledge:

Kevin put new windows and doors in our house last winter (he is SO AMAZING!) and I had always wanted a boxed out kitchen window - when I came home one night he had built it for me! I am so thrilled with it, every time I'm at my sink I am reminded how lucky I am.

My mum gave me these beautiful canisters, I love blue and yellow plus they match my kitchen.

Love it!!

Happy Organizing!

-Courtney Soleil

Family Room Makeover Project.....

After much ridiculousness and a really long time in Fabricland trying to decide on "the perfect fabric" for my living room, here is what my Mum and I finally decided on:

The bottom one is for throw pillows for my sectional couch (it matches really well, adds texture!) and the middle one is to add a valance and tie backs to my boring cream ikea curtains (they were left here by the previous owners, and well I can't pass up free...). On top is just a cheap fabric to use as a lining for the valance, but I kinda like it! Mum and I have been getting amazing deals on fabric lately, the pillow fabric was on for buy 1 get 3 free (worked out to around 3$ a meter), and the valance fabric was buy 1 get 2 free (worked out to about 4$ a meter)... I can't remember what the lining was on for.... but it was even cheaper - we even got the pillow forms buy one get one free.
The colours go really well with my family room, the sectional is a cream chenille with a hue of green to it, and the throw pillows that came with it have the same colour as the sectional and then a goldish colour, grey-green and goldy green, very much the colours of both above fabrics. I have a cream and light grey area rug, cream curtains, green walls (just a couple shades lighter than the valance fabric) and a beautiful fireplace. Though I always prefer silver or pewter over gold fixtures, the fireplace has gold trim and we got a free table set thats gold and pewter and a tall spider lamp in gold - I can't get away from it. Oddly enough, with having a greyish green colour in the couch and grey in the rug, and a few pewter accents - like on the table and a fire poker set, gold and pewter are getting along.
I promise when it is all finished I will post pics of the whole room too - as long as it doesn't all go horribly wrong... ( ha ha ha?).
I am also working on tons of other projects, and I still have a ton more fabric pics to post, like I mentioned further up, Mum and I got some great fabric deals.... can you say remnant bin? One deal we got was buy 1 get 5 free from the remnant/bolt ends bin, and most pieces were over a meter, such a variety too, I can't sew them fast enough - I am literally running out of space to keep them all!

I will update with more soon, promise!

Happy Sewing!

-Courtney Soleil