covering the naked cabinets

After taking the doors off of our cabinets, we were left with this.

A lot less oak, but a lot more... pressed laminate? Not sure, but it wasn't that nice to look at. So I looked up tutorials for covering the backs of cabinets and found this one by Pretty Handy Girl. (What did I do before Pinterest?)

You can look at her post for the full tutorial, but I started by cutting out foam board to the exact size of each shelf.

I made little masking tape tabs to pull them back out. Once the foam board is in place it kind of suctions itself to the back of the cabinet, so that tab saved me from clawing my fingernails off trying to get them back out.

Once the foam board was cut and I had tested to make sure they fit right I ironed my fabric. Then I cut them to about two inches wider than the boards on each side.

Try to line up the pattern when you cut out your fabric. I laid out my boards on top of the fabric just as they would appear in the cabinet only with three or so inches in between them. That way, vertically, the pattern stayed on track.

Then, I cut notches in each corner of the fabric so that it would fold over the edge of the foam board easier. I like this better than the "wrapping the present" method. It's less bulky.

After that, tape time! It would have been much easier with packing tape on a tape gun, but a buttload of masking tape will do. I made sure to pull the fabric taught around the board.

Then, I just popped them in place! It adds visual interest, that's for sure.

Putting the plates in really brought it all together.

Even though this was a more expensive "decorator weight" fabric, with sales and coupons, I think this yard cost about $8 at Joann's. Add that to the foam board, and this project only cost $11! And if we decide we don't like it, we could have the panels out and the doors back up in about 20 minutes.

It'll be a nice way to live with our kitchen until we're ready to make some more drastic changes.



This post is featured on The Pinterest Challenge: Winter Edition with these lovely ladies:

Check them out!

Megan from The Remodeled Life

Kate from Bower Power

Sherry from Young House Love

Michelle from Decor & The Dog

rest

This was my To-Do list last week.

We had a wonderful weekend with family and friends. We dedicated the raising of our little girl to the Lord , and had some yummy food. Taking the day off today.

(yes, the last item does say shower. when i start getting overwhelmed i write down even the most simple tasks. i need to check something to feel accomplished, plus i actually forget to do things like "shower" when my head is that full.)

how do i love thee? i baked thee a cake

I did it! I made the Samoa Bundt Cake*! It was Zach's very scrumptious Valentine's Day present.

Those of you who read this post know how much I wanted this cake, but doubted I would get around to actually making it. Well, I said I wanted to make it within a month, and I got it in just under the wire.

As soon as I started I remembered how much I hate baking. It's just so messy, and you end up with, like, 200 dishes and utensils to wash (as opposed to a good stir fry which just takes a knife, a cutting board, a pan, and a spoon). But that means it was made with that much more love, right?!

The last two pictures in the third row show the best kept secret for making caramel. My mom did this when we lived overseas, and it's by far easier than opening up and melting a bajillion tiny caramel candies. You just boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for hours, unopened. And when you open it up you get a caramel surprise! I followed Betsy Life's directions and put mine in the crockpot, filled it up with water, and cooked it on high for seven hours.

I forgot about this step until I was into the recipe, so my loving husband turned off the crockpot at 1:30am for me. ; ) Thankfully it was just for the frosting, so I could get back to it the next morning. Did I mention it took me two days to make this? Just FEEL the love! And the guilt.

Also through this exercise, I found my new favorite snack:

Toasted Coconut. So good. I'm pretty sure I need to have an ice cream sundae party now, just so I can make a ton of this and require everyone to cover their sundaes in flaky toasty goodness. What would happen if I just poured milk on this like cereal? I might try it, it's that good.

So there she blows. Hopefully I can train myself to become a baker, cause this cake kinda blew our minds.

Love you, Sweety!
XOXO


*Based on the Samoa Girl Scout Cookies. The best ones.

jaina's thought for the day