I have a bazillion of these fabric bins stashed away in cubbies around my house.   I seriously love them for holding just about everything.

We have a small alcove just inside the front door.  For the past year or so the alcove has been home to Closet-Maid cubbies (you know the ones – from Target!) full of fabric bins holding each C’s seasonal accessories.  I highly recommend this for families with kids.  I don’t know how it happens, but each of my C’s have a ton of hats/gloves/scarves.  (It’s like these things multiply when you’re not looking!)  Each C has two bins.  One bin holds the accessories and the second holds a couple of extra hoodies or fleece.   In the summer, one  bin holds bathing suits and goggles, and the second holds towels.

This system has worked so well for us!  I can’t even begin to imagine how much time it’s saved me.  Love it.

Sooooo…. on to the bin beautification!!!

Part of my entry makeover (that has been dragging on for months) was to update the alcove space.  The Closet Maid cubbies didn’t quite fit the space so we’re replacing them with shelves.  I looked for new baskets, but the fabric bins really seem to be the best option. They’re soft and lightweight, so even though they’ll be pulled off the shelves frequently (by kids), they won’t scratch the shelf to pieces.

With 3 girls, I happen to have lots of pink bins.  Ok for their bedroom – not the look I was going for in the entry.

I updated them with new fabric and handles- easiest update ever!

If you can look at a picture and figure out how to copy a project with little to no instruction, (yay for you!!) here’s the abridged version of how I did it…

Cut your fabric to size and attach it to the bin with spray adhesive.  (I used Aleene’s Tacky Spray.)  Use hot glue to reinforce any edges that might pull over time.  Add grommets and belting material for handles.   The end.

If you’re more of a recipe-follower, (that’s me!) here’s a more detailed version…

Use a seam ripper to remove the handle.

The bins that I have are about 42″ around, so I bought 1 and 1/4 yards of fabric for every 2 bins.  (The fabric that I bought was 56″ wide, which is wide enough to cover 2 bins.)  (Actually, you could cover 3 bins from one length of fabric.  How is it that I am just now realizing this??!!  Oh my.)

Cut the fabric in half length-wise.  You’ll have 2 pieces that are 28″ wide by 45″ long.

If you don’t plan to line the inside of the bin, fold over the top edge of the fabric about 1/4″ and glue it in place so that you’ll have a finished edge on the inside.

I tried to position the bin so that the end of the fabric would be near a corner, rather than in middle of the bin.

Spray the back of the fabric and the sides of the bin with spray adhesive.  I worked with half of the fabric and 2 sides of the bin at a time.

Wrap the fabric around the bin, pulling gently to remove wrinkles.  (You can’t really pull it very tightly because the bin isn’t that sturdy.)

When you get to the end of the fabric, fold the cut edge in (wrong sides together) about 1/4″ to make a finished edge.

Fold the excess fabric at the bottom like you’re wrapping a present.  Reinforce the edges with hot glue.

Spray some adhesive inside the bin, and fold the excess fabric at the top to the inside of the bin.

Reinforce any edges with hot glue.

I wanted to add handles, and I decided on grommets and this belting material.    You can find the grommet kits in the drapery section of JoAnn Fabrics.  There are a couple of different sizes and finishes.  Buy grommets that are big enough for your handle material to fit through.  The most important part of adding the grommets is measuring.  Crooked handles are totally distracting. 

Once I put the handle in place through the grommet, I hot-glued the excess to the inside of the bin.  (If you’re using a type of rope, you can knot the end to hold it in place.)

Even though the bins aren’t really in a spot where guests can see them, (we never use our entry as an entry!) I decided to add a lining to the inside.  I basically used the same method.  Cut a strip of fabric about the same height as the bin.  I folded in and glued both the top and bottom of the fabric for a finished edge.  (If my sewing machine was handy, I might have sewn the edges – it probably would have taken the same amount of time, and actually looked neater.)  Spray the inside of the bin and the wrong side of the fabric with adhesive, and press into place.

I have 2 bins completely finished.  Only 6 more to go!

Much love!

Brenda

The post Beautify Your Bins appeared first on Cottage4C.

I’ve been quiet a long time, hopefully some of you stuck around!

I can’t believe that I still haven’t posted anything about our finished bathroom. I think I’ve just been procrastinating because it’s such a small room, and my photography skills aren’t going to do it justice. I really love it so much though, and I can’t wait to see if you do too!

But here’s some exciting news…

Cottage4c made it into Country Sampler magazine! We’re featured in the March 2015 issue. Esther and Franklin Schmidt photographed the house for the magazine in the fall of 2013 – so it’s been a looooongwait!

I’ve read so many wonderful stories of bloggers and photo shoots in their homes. And then there’s my story…

I was so excited that they were coming that I must not have been thinking straight, and I almost managed to ruin the whole shoot. For real! Esther told me on the phone that they wanted to shoot for a spring issue, and that fact registered in my brain. For that day. However…

The week before they were to arrive, I sent an email to double-check some things, and one of the questions that I asked was – ‘how much fall décor would you like me to use?’. Ummm…. fall? Was I not just told a week earlier that the house needed to look like spring? They were shooting IN the fall, therefore my simple brain apparently discarded any other piece of information that didn’t pertain to fall. ugh. Unfortunately, the email got lost in the shuffle of a freelance photographer’s very hectic life and travel schedule, and they never had a chance to correct my transgression.

Imagine Esther’s surprise when she walked into my ‘spring’ home and found orange and yellow leaves, scarecrows, and pumpkins around every corner. (Are you cringing on my behalf yet?) I can’t believe she didn’t turn around and run the other way. Bless her – she patiently waited while I ran to the basement, grabbed all of the empty fall bins, and then threw every last bit of orange and yellow debris into them. Sweating.

The worst part for me (hard to believe it gets worse, I know!) was that I didn’t have time to arrange any of my spring/summer things. I couldn’t even find everything in my panic! It usually takes me at least a few days of moving stuff around before I’m satisfied with how it all looks. Obviously, home photographers are also great stylists, but since I couldn’t find half of my accessories, there was only so much we could do. More sweating. ugh. I had to laugh (kinda wanted to cry though!) when I read one of the captions in the magazine regarding my mantel. The writer of the feature’s article (who is amazing) used the phrase ‘sparingly adorned mantel’. She really sold it – almost makes you think it was an intentional design choice!

Regardless, the day was a success (I managed to make it onto the pages, so someone thought it looked ok!). I’ll admit that I have, over the last year, gotten a sick feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it. I had an amazing (possibly once-in-a-lifetime!) opportunity, and didn’t feel like I got to show the full potential of this little cottage. It was a little bit devastating. But now I’ve put all of the negative feelings behind me (well, mostly) and am just proud that we’re actually in a magazine! It’s kind of a dream come true!

I can’t believe how much has changed since they were here. I wanted to show you something I did on a bit of a whim one day. I’d been unhappy with my kitchen counter pretty much from the day it was done 10 years ago. So many rookie mistakes. We didn’t build the top wide enough, so the counter top doesn’t hang over the cabinet drawers, it’s aligned with them. This makes wiping crumbs off the counter and into my hand very difficult. The tile I chose isn’t smooth – it’s very rough and rustic looking. Which is nice, but not for kids who like to do their homework on the counter. Also – light grout. yikes. I’ve tried so many things to clean the grout. All the things, really. I couldn’t get it to look decent anymore. That’s what drove me to paint the counter.

Before…

After…

(Oops – forgot that we also replaced the tile backsplash with beadboard!)

The smart thing to do would have been to buy the Rustoleum counter prep kit. But I didn’t want to spend the money or take the time to go and buy it. (Really it’s because I didn’t want to take the time – I wanted to start right then and there.) I thought that the shellac primer I had would be good enough. Two coats of primer. Two coats of chalkboard paint. Two coats of poly. Two weeks later, lots of chips. 

I wouldn’t even mind touching up the chips all of the time if the fresh paint would blend with the old. But it doesn’t at all! Even after I re-poly! I can’t even begin to explain why that is. It’s ok though – we’ve been planning to replace the counter, and will one day soon. But even with the chips and the non-matching touch-ups I like the look of the counter better than before. So I don’t feel in as big a hurry to replace them.

This is a close-up (obviously!) that shows all of the different sheens going on. The original, touch-up that was also white-washed and poly’d, and touch-up that I haven’t tried to blend yet. It’s not pretty up close, but from a distance it looks great! 

Also – I thought that I wanted butcher block, but I really love the look of the black! My intention was to chalk-up the surface of the paint, because I am obsessed with the look of blackboards. Still. I know that every design trend list that comes out says that chalk boards are done, but not for me! There’s no way to live with a chalkboard countertop though. It’s too flat a finish – it just felt gross. I tried to poly over the chalk, but the poly just wiped the chalk away – the effect was lost. Instead, I did a white-wash using watered down paint to get the same look, and then used satin poly. I love it! I’ve heard this said before, but it really does look like soapstone.

source

This is a home recently in Country Living magazine that has plywood counters that were painted with chalkboard paint to mimic the soapstone look. So I’m actually on trend! Take that Buzz Feed!

It’s nice to be back – I hope that you all are doing well!

Much love-

Brenda

The post A Magazine Feature and an Updated Countertop appeared first on Cottage4C.

It used to hold a ton of toys, so it was also sometimes referred to as the playroom.  No one really liked to play in there though, because it was, well – gross.  Cramped, dark, dreary, disorganized, blah.

I spent hours sifting through the contents of this teeny, tiny room.  Paint, wallpaper, and some new (and old) furnishings transformed it into a bright, cheery space that serves many purposes!

I posted a picture of this wallpaper months ago on Facebook.  It’s actually a mural, and it came in 8 pieces.  The first couple of sections were not too difficult to put up, but it got tricky after that.  (Probably has something to do with an old house and nothing being very straight.)  Thank goodness that my very generous friend Farrah offered to help me.  I would never have been able to do it myself!!  Never.

It’s busy, and it’s bold, and I LOVE it!  It’s a nice surprise when you walk into the room.  And since it’s so busy, I of course had to pair it with my checked chairs.  Makes perfect sense!  (I’ve always loved florals and checks together, and the large scale of this makes me so happy.)

My biggest motivation for the makeover was this amazing old cabinet that my family gave me for Mother’s Day 2 years ago.  This beauty has been sitting in our garage because it wouldn’t fit anywhere else, and it is soooooooo heavy.  Seriously.

Sigh.

The cherry on top is that it holds a TON of stuff!  Nearly all of our craft supplies fit inside.

How about the computer nook?  It used to be a tiny, under-utilized closet.  Kevin made the opening taller and wider, and now the computer and its one million cords are tucked away.

I was so happy that this table fit in the space.  I rescued it from the curb over a year ago, and couldn’t wait to find a spot for it.  It has an enamel top, which is perfect for the girls to use for their artwork.  I love the cup pull on the little drawer – some day I’ll try to get the old paint off of it.  

Last but not least – there has to be a television for video games and for watching the 5 million old episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana.  ugh.

The television cabinet is made from 3 Ikea Besta units with a little cottage detail added.   I tried to add lots of interesting things to the wall around the to detract attention from the television!

Oh – did you notice the floors?  (There are so many changes, I almost forgot!)  I painted them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and sealed them with poly.  I’ll post the details, along with some of the other projects, as soon as I can.

I would love to show you a ‘before’ pic of this room, but I can’t find it anywhere.  I think it’s locked on an SD card that got messed up – if I can figure out how to fix it, I will certainly share it with you.  I want you to see how drastically different the room is now!!

One last shot…

Much love!

Brenda

The post Office Makeover appeared first on Cottage4C.

Before I get to the projects, I wanted to share some pictures of our late-season garden.  Things have held up really well – usually by this time many of the plants have gotten really lanky or faded.  The cooler-than-usual temperatures and above-normal amount of rain must have extended their season.  I guess that’s one positive of a less than ideal summer!

I think the ivy needs a haircut!

I love our porch but it would be great to find a new home for our lovely old grill.  ugh

I actually had tons of motivation to complete a bunch of projects in a short time, because I did a crazy thing back in June.  A super-sweet lady from our neighborhood development committee stopped by our house and asked if we would be part of their up-coming home tour.  I said yes.  I can’t believe that I said yes.  Because this is what our bathroom looked like.

Oh this bathroom.  This black hole of a project.  It’s so creepy.  It was horrible before Kevin demolished the walls and tub and ripped out the floor.  Two years ago.  Now it’s beyond horrible.  As it turned out, the bathroom wasn’t finished in time for the tour (it still isn’t!), but Kevin got all of the drywall up, so it actually looked much better.  Walls will do that for a room!

Next up is the wall in our bedroom that was left with a huge hole when Kevin demolished a closet as part of the bathroom demo.  He closed it up with a piece of plywood, and we kinda forgot about it.

I’ve gone back and forth so many times about how to finish the wall.  Kevin would have loved to finish it loooong ago if I had made a decision one of the million times that he asked me about it!  Then a couple of weeks ago I read a post from House of Smith where they used plywood slats (cut by Home Depot) for a planked wall.  It sounded easy and inexpensive, so that was the route we went.

It still needs to be trimmed out around the top, and the edges need to be cleaned up.  I really like the warmth that the wood adds to the room, and decided not to paint it (for now!).  I’m searching for a long dresser or big armoire (to paint) that will sit along the wall.  And I have a feeling I’ll be painting the rest of the room because I have no idea what the color is for touch-ups where the walls got messed up in the building process.  rats.

The next big project is our office/play room.  This one is a classic example of something that I thought would be a quick do-over that turned into a much bigger project.  Here’s what we did in a few short weeks:

Moved piano from room

Widened the opening of the existing closet

Turned closet into a computer alcove

Painted walls

Painted stripes on floor

Hung a mural on one wall

Moved a gigantic, old cabinet into the room

I also made a new light fixture for the dining room, sanded and refinished our dining room table top, touched up every inch of baseboard and trim on the first floor, and tons of other little things that you only think about doing when you know that 100+ people are going to be strolling through your home!  phew!

I’ll be posting all of the projects soon.  It’s kinda funny that as I was finishing things I would think – ‘it’s good enough for the tour, but not quite blog-ready’.  I’ll be busy in the next few weeks making things blog-worthy!!

Thanks for reading along…

Love you all!

Brenda

The post Late Summer Garden and Other Stuff appeared first on Cottage4C.

In the past, I would have just started turning over shovels-full of dirt and busting up the clumps old-school.  But since I kinda need to walk to get through my days, I opted for help from power tools.  We rented a small rototiller – best idea ever!   Since the sod was already gone, the rototiller went through the dirt super easy.

We added a nice thick layer of mushroom manure and tilled it in – what a difference that made!

When I look at this picture, I think – How in the world do 6 people live there??!!  It looks so tiny!  And then I think, Wow – I really need to get some photography skills.  Seriously.  Even just a wee little bit of skill.

I did finally manage to get the beds planted.  I was so late this year – I didn’t plant until Memorial Day weekend.  Which is when my parents always planted their garden (huge vegetable garden – no time for flowers!)  It’s definitely safer to wait until there’s no threat of frost – but I’m usually so excited to get things started.  This is the first year in a loooong time that we actually had frost warnings as late as the end of May.  My procrastination this year at least saved me from covering everything – more than once.

Here’s a couple of pictures before I got the summer plants in…

This rhododendron is amazing – it’s probably as old as our house!  It’s so big and beautiful.

I love this clematis, but I keep forgetting to get a taller trellis for it.  So instead of getting taller it folds over itself and twists around anything nearby.

Beautiful peonies and false indigo along the side of the house…

I wish spring flowers would stick around just a bit longer.  Sigh…

It’s POURING rain today!  So glad that I watered everything last night. 

Tomorrow is our last day of school!  I’m can’t wait to get the summer started.  We’ve never had an official summer bucket list, but this year we’re putting one together.  One thing that will be on it for sure is tennis lessons.  We bought some rackets at a flea market last year and are determined to use them!

Much love-

Brenda

The post More Digging in the Dirt appeared first on Cottage4C.

I decided to make angel ornaments that I could hang on a small dogwood tree in our front yard.  I wanted the ornament to be simple enough that my girls could help.  (My little ones have no idea what happened.  They just love to help and were happy and proud to be able to.)  I needed their little hands on this – it just seemed completely fitting, and somehow healing.

We started with pine cones.  The little girls drew a simple face on a wooden ball, and I glued it to the top of the pine cone.  My oldest daughter glued moss to the top for hair, and then glued a small circle of wired garland for a halo.  We added wings made with ribbon, and a tiny bell.

We made 20 angels, and I also bought 6 gold stars to hang on the tree to honor their teachers.

The tree is so sweet.  It makes me terribly sad, but I can’t help but smile just a bit when I look at the little faces.  I’ll continue to pray for peace for their families, and continue to be reminded of how blessed I am by my own babies.

Much love,

Brenda

The post Angel Tree appeared first on Cottage4C.

I made it a mission to find a section of this fence (I wrote about the fence here) so that I could totally copy the light fixture for my dining room.  I did get the fence – but it’s part of the coolest garden-gate-fireplace-screen ever, so there is no way I would dismantle it.

Right??

I seriously need to find some more of this fence.  Anyone know of some they’d be willing to pass my way??  

Since I got impatient, (of course I wanted to try to make it before the house tour) I settled for garden fence from Home Depot.

I found the grain sack fabric online from Calico Corners.  I really debated the fabric at first – I thought maybe since the fence is white I should have used a lighter-colored fabric.  But the look has grown on me.

I also worried that it was too big, but I spent lots of time on Pinterest looking at dining room light fixtures and was encouraged by gigantic light fixtures that looked awesome.

I love how it greets me when I walk through the door – charmer!

I’ll share all of the details in my next post.  It was super easy and inexpensive.

Thanks for reading!  Much love…

Brenda

The post Garden Fence Lamp Shade appeared first on Cottage4C.

At some point, I picked up 2 bigger jewelry boxes at GoodWill, figuring that I could update them for the girls when they grew out of princesses.  oooooo – that’s kinda sad.  I know they will eventually not want to use a princess jewelry box, but I seriously did not have to just write that.  ouch.

The boxes sat on a shelf with a bunch of other projects that are waiting to be tackled.

I have stared at that shelf of projects every time I start a Search.  You know the Search – you’re trying to style a table, mantel, shelf, etc., and you wander from room to room looking for something, ANYthing new or different to add interest or height to the arrangement…

How is it that I’ve stared at that shelf for nearly a year before I realized how perfectly the boxes would serve that purpose??

Maybe because one of them looked like this…

Yikes!  Blue Naugahyde.

I had always planned to cover it with fabric, but now I wanted both boxes to have a similar look.  Chalk paint sticks to anything, right???   I found out that it definitely sticks to Naugahyde!

Both boxes got 2 coats of ASCP Old White, a little Minwax Dark Walnut stain, and lots of sanding.

The wooden box is on my winter mantel.

The blue box was the perfect size to hold a dish full of pretty flowers.

I don’t even want to think about how many other jewelry boxes at GoodWill that I’ve walked past.  They will be coming home with me from now on!

Much love –

Brenda

The post Almost Overlooked – Jewelry Boxes appeared first on Cottage4C.

The other day she gave me a big roll of jute upholstery webbing.  yay!

With it were instructions from an old BH&G magazine to make a simple wreath using the webbing.  I went right to work on that…

Soooooo easy!  I cut about 3-4 yards of webbing and wrapped it around a styrofoam wreath.

  (This footstool won the DIY club’s June contest, and I received so many awesome prizes from their sponsors!  A huge box of styrofoam wreaths, cones, balls, and blocks from Dow styrofoam crafts were just one of the prizes.  I was so excited to have one on hand – and for free!  I encourage everyone to enter that contest – it was great!)

Anyway – just wrap the webbing around the wreath.  I tried to pull it tight as I went, but I didn’t glue or pin anything until I was done wrapping.  Then I used a few of these floral pins to tack the ends in place.  (You really don’t need to tack it along the way, the webbing is pretty wide and stays in place.)

I trimmed the extra webbing to the length I wanted to use to hang it.  I didn’t fold it over into a loop because the webbing is really stiff, and it looked to bulky doubled over.

Then I made a bow to glue onto the wreath.  This was the hardest part!  The webbing just doesn’t want to be twisted and pulled.  It turned out ok.

Glue the bow at the top of the wreath, and hang!

New wreath, old door.  Perfection!  

Total cost – None!

The webbing is less than $1/yard at JoAnn’s, and most wreath forms this size are less than $5.  You can definitely make this wreath for less than $10 in about 10 minutes!  Give it a try!

Brenda

The post Simple Jute Webbing Wreath appeared first on Cottage4C.

What does that have to do with a wreath??

The little girls asked to string popcorn and cranberries for the tree.  I love the look, but I learned my lesson the hard way that popcorn garland is not a good idea when you share a house with 2 vulture-like doggies.

That’s how the idea of a popcorn wreath was born.  Here’s our version (as I’m sure there are others out there!)…

We popped the corn in a brown paper (lunch) bag in the microwave.  Add 1/4 cup of popcorn to the bag, fold the top over twice, and cook it for 2 minutes.  No oil necessary.

We covered a 10-inch wreath, and it took about 3/4 cup uncooked popcorn total.

Before you start covering the wreath with popcorn, attach a hanger to the back of the wreath.  The popcorn is fragile, and you don’t want to have to turn it over to attach a hanger when it’s done.  Mine isn’t fancy – I just doubled some wire, put hot glue on the ends, and poked it into the styrofoam.

I actually made one of these wreaths when we were at my mom’s on Thanksgiving.  For that one, I used a hot glue gun to attach all of the popcorn.  It worked well, but it wasn’t very kid-friendly.  If you don’t have any little helpers for this, the glue gun is probably your best option.  Just make sure to use it on low heat – if the glue is too hot it will melt the styrofoam.

I forgot to bring the wreath home with me, so my mom got a new wreath for her door.  Yay, mom! 

Since the little girls were helping me with this one, we used Tacky glue.

Dip each piece of popcorn in glue, and stick it to the wreath.  So simple!

Looks like two little girls ran from the hair brush this morning – wow!  Chloe  is sporting a black eye after a run-in with a reindeer yesterday.  She was helping set up the reindeer in the yard and the ‘daddy’ as she calls him, tipped over and bumped her eye.  Guess I’ll hold off on taking the Christmas card pictures for a week!

We added a bunch of layers – I wanted the top to be rounded, so we added more around the center of the wreath.

When you get to entire wreath covered, glue the cranberries randomly.  (I used the glue gun for this – I didn’t think craft glue would hold the berries.)  Keep adding popcorn so the wreath is more rounded, and the cranberries look like they’re nestled into the popcorn instead of just stuck on top of it.

Continue adding popcorn and cranberries until you’re happy with the shape.

Add a bow, and hang!

Hopefully Belle won’t try to jump up and grab it!  I’mhoping that she prefers her popcorn with butter. 

Much love –

Brenda

The post Popcorn and Cranberry Wreath appeared first on Cottage4C.