My Creative Blog [Search results for reuse] 

It's kind of a bummer that kitchens are usually the hub of a home and at the same time, they're the most expensive room in a house to remodel!! The good news is that we found ways to DIY almost every item in this galley kitchen and did the entire makeover on a tiny budget. Today we're going to share with you how we took the kitchen cabinets from dated, pickled wood to classic, crisp white!

To watch this full episode online Click HERE!

This was the cabinet situation when we arrived. I really wonder why on earth pickled wood was ever a trend?!? I'm sure in a few years, we'll look back on lots of our design choices and wonder the same thing.: )

Other than this one cabinet, all the rest were in good working condition. We also got lucky that the style of these cabinets was pretty simple and classic. No crazy scroll lines, just clean and straight- perfect for a paint-pick-me-up! The hardware however… that had to go!

The finished look was insanely different!!

Now, we're going to share some basic tips for painting your cabinets, but Jess also did her entire kitchen white last year, so at the bottom, be sure to click through to her post for a really detailed tutorial!
1. Remove the cabinet doors from the frames. Take off all of the hardware at this time and put them in a safe place, if you’re going to be reusing them. We did reuse the hinges for the cabinets, but that was it. 2. Set up a work station where you can lay out all of your cabinets at once- this is the fastest way to get all those cabinets painted as fast as possible. We like using plastic folding saw horses with 2x4s laid across. They're light and easy to move around. We got ours at Lowe's for $49 for a set of 2.

3. If you’re cabinets aren’t super glossy, you can use regular old steel wool to rough up the fronts of the door. You just want to make it so that the paint adheres. If you’re cabinets are glossy, go ahead and sand them. You won't regret doing this step right- it will determine if you have paint chipping in 6 months or not.

4. Wipe down the cabinet doors to remove all dust. Make sure you use paint plus primer to get the best coverage. Using foam rollers designed for cabinetry, roll on the paint in even coats, making sure to not drip!
For Linda's kitchen we used Valspar's Summer Grey in Semi-Gloss. It reads like a white, but looks just a little moodier: )

5. Once the paint has cured for the recommended time, flip them over and repeat the process on the insides of the doors. 6. When your doors are drying, head back into the kitchen and rough up the frames of the cabinets with steel wool and paint them, as well. Once they’re dry, rehang your cabinet doors.Reattach the hardware, or install new hardware. This is when you can step back and admire the way your kitchen feels completely transformed!

Check out Jess' kitchen makeover with a full breakdown on how to properly paint your cabinets.

It's amazing the difference a coat of white paint can make! For about $30 you could completely transform any dated kitchen!!
To watch this segment or the full episode- click HERE! Stay tuned for these other DIY tutorials coming to the KIO DIY Page soon!

Recycling, Repurposing, Upcycling ' what's the difference? 'and what exactly is Upcycling?

We all know what recycling is. A plastic bag is used to carry home groceries then is later reused by the owner who uses the bag a second or third time, perhaps to again carry groceries or store items. The bag has been recycled by its owner. The bag is being reused but the value of the bag remains the same.

In upcycling, the item is often no longer being used for its intended purpose but is repurposed ' given a new purpose ' and along with this new purpose it is also given an increase in value (usually both aesthetically and monetarily) It is worth more in its new form.

Recycled ' used again and value remains unchanged

Repurposed ' used again but with a new purpose

Upcycled ' used again, with a new purpose, and with greater value than its original state

Why are upcycled items so desirable?
They are created with innovation and creativity!

Necklace pendant made from broken Shelley Blue Rock teacup

Wisegeek said it best:

Belt buckle made from a broken plate

I know, I know, you haven't even stuffed yourself with turkey and stuffing, or gone Black Friday shopping yet, and here I am talking about beginning a Christmas countdown. But let's be honest, once Thanksgiving is over, December is pretty much here and it's time to bring out the ol' Advent calendar. Our family had an advent calendar growing up, and I remember running downstairs and arguing with my sisters about whose turn it was to move the mouse from it's current pocket to the next day's pocket. Ahhh memories.

Last year was the first year I thought about doing our own Advent calendar because my daughter was at the perfect age, but I literally pulled the whole thing together at midnight on November 30th, so it wasn't perfect by any means. We ended up stringing it up on the curtain rod above our slider door, which was SO not convenient since we open those curtains every day. I did love the numbers, (which I downloaded for free but can't remember where-sorry!) and the little bags, so I wanted to reuse them this year. You can easily create your own numbered circles on Picnik using this tutorial. So here's what I came up with for this year:

It love the simplicity of this Advent calendar, and how easy it was to make!
DIY Advent Calendar I started with an empty frame, some jute twine, mini-clothespins, and my trusty hot-glue gun:

I laid out the bags in five rows in the frame to figure out the placement of the jute rope.

Next, I measured the opening of the frame so that I could space the rows evenly. For this frame, I placed the jute every 4:5 inches apart.

(Ignore the pen pointing to 7 inches! I wasn't thinking when I took this pic!)
As usual, I used my hot glue gun to adhere the jute rope to the frame. You could also do this with a staple gun.

I clipped my cute little bags to the rope…

And added fun activities to do as a family and leftover Halloween candy to the bags!

Finally, I hung it in our entry hallway for a touch of Christmas! It will also be the one of the first things my kids see when they come downstairs and head into the kitchen.

I love that you can see our Advent calendar as soon as you open our front door! (And no, my house is not decorated for Christmas yet, I just have a winter wreath on my door from our last Nate Show project- more on that later this week!)

My daughter can hardly wait to get started counting down the days until Christmas! I also scoured Pinterest for other fun DIY Advent ideas and found these for your viewing pleasure (click on the link to go to the tutorial):

Source: blogs.babble.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: davidandcarolineparker.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: modpodgerocksblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: budgetwisehome.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I'm totally doing that last one: wrap a Christmas book to open and read each day. However, I'm doing the 12 days of Christmas books so I don't have to spend a fortune on books! (Tip: Your local thrift store probably has LOADS of Christmas books for sale)
What do you do to count down the days until Christmas?

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