An Illuminated Basket Case

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Jo at theCreativeCollage.wordpress.com

Here are a few of the supplies I used to create my basket lights above my peninsula.

I got the baskets from GW for a dollar each. The chain, cup hooks and paint were things I had lying around.

I painted the white cup hooks.

I also painted the chain the same color.

I actually bought some larger battery-powered puck lights, 4 for $8. They give off sort of a blue light, but I wasn’t really going for ultra-functional because I have tons of light in the kitchen and the dining room. So for under $10 I had 3 “new” pendant lights.

I tested out this arrangement for a few days, then decided it wasn’t quite right. I cut the chains down so that each light was suspended from a single length of chain. It still didn’t flow with the room and during my next trip to GW, I found some wire baskets. At first I only spotted 2, but – after looking around some more, I found another one – SCORE, especially at $1 a piece!

I used some smaller chain I had around and used that to attach an S-hook so I could just hook the light up to the chain.

After attaching the chain and hook, I took them out to the closeline and, using the same paint as the chain, I painted the basket, chains and hook.

This picture was taken after the first basket – on the far left, was painted and the second basket was partially painted – from the overspray! Needless to say, it was really a little bit windy to be painting today.

I just attached the puck lights with some velcro strips. I haven’t decided if I want to paint the black portion the same color as the baskets, but for now – I like it!

Sorry – it is a little difficult to get a good picture of them. I like the more open look of the wire baskets vs. the solid baskets. I’m sure I can find a good use for the other baskets yet!

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DIY Stencil for Painting Accents

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Jo at theCreativeCollage.wordpress.com

This little cabinet is actually an old vinyl record cabinet that I picked up at GW for a couple dollars. It was the old brown veneer and I brightened it up with a little white paint – much better!

I have gotten a little bit crazy with my kitchen color accents lately and decided to add some turquoise to this little girl too!

The doors are sliding and easily come off so I thought I would just add a stencil to the doors. I didn’t have a stencil though so I had to make one myself.

I found a simple sign that I liked so I traced it out on cardstock and then covered the whole back with duct tape to help strengthen it. Then I used an exacto knife to cut it out.

I wanted the turquoise to be an accent and I didn’t want to repaint the white, so I just laid the doors out and traced the stencil on. Then I took a brush and painted on the turquoise inside the lines.

And – here she is now!

And with some matching painted goodies from the kitchen/dining area.

And the side-by-side comparison…

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Catchy Color Clips in the Kitchen

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Jo at theCreativeCollage.wordpress.com

I have been having a lot of fun with my new beachy green accent color. It has spread to the kitchen now!

I have one small can light above my sink in my kitchen and have seen those conversion kits that allow you to put in a pendant. So I bought one and put it up. It was a bare bulb for a couple weeks until I found this basket at GW.We used the Dremel to cut out a hole to hold the basket on the light.

I really like the rustic look of it, but I have so many browns that I felt like it needed to have some color to is, so I used my latest favoritest color! It is a light greenish blue. It makes me think beachy green.

I used this same color on my “Our Family” sign and photo mats.

On the basket I spray painted the inside white to help reflect the light and dry brushed the beachy green over the reddish brown.

I like the pop of color that it added and the rustic charm of the basket.

I also added some color to my painted tile back splash. The browns and tans and whites were used to bring together the colors in my kitchen.

Before…

I was ready for a little bold color so I added a few beachy green “tiles”.

The after…

I may be adding some black “tiles” in the backsplash or maybe replace the dark brown with the black after I get the island and bench painted. We will see!!!

I even added an EAT sign on the soffit in the accent color…

I cut the letters out of cardboard that I stacked and glued. I used a band saw to make the actual cuts. The newspaper covers the ribbed edges of the cardboard and was mod-podged on.

Now if I wasn’t so afraid – I would paint my small kitchen island the beachy green color!

I am afraid that I will grow tired of it because it is a rather trendy color, so I think that I will stick with the original plan of painting the island black. I like to paint but the smaller things are much easier to change!

So, a few spring-like updates for the kitchen make me happy and give me something new to look at and enjoy daily! Plus I’m hosting Mother’s Day at our house, so I like to make a few updates!

Does anyone else do that? Add a bunch of stress by trying to make changes before a big event at your home? It drives my husband crazy – he just can’t understand!!! I agree that it makes for more stress, but it also forces me to get some things that I wanted to do done, and right away!

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