The Island Part 2

 

It’s “Me Island!” 2

I love to create but I am more of an idea generator, so 

when it comes to big projects, I have been known to

bite off more than I can chew. Which, is true in the

case of “me island.” So I want to first dedicate this post

to my father-in-law Jim and my husband David

for all the time they spent cutting down my

materials and allowing me use of some of their tools,

garage space, expertise and especially for the final assembly.

I learned a lot by working with them!

 

 

(As you can see, the tools required were wickedly dangerous for

someone not experienced: me! )

In a nut shell this is how the project went:

I dreamed,

I acquired,

They thought I was crazy,

I demolished,

I sanded,

They thought I was crazy,

I sanded some more,

 We shopped,

They cut,

I gave my artistic opinion,

They cut some more,

I painted,

They still thought I was crazy,

They screwed it all back together!

I touched up paint and added fabric accents,

paper towel holder, and dishtowel holder and…

TA Da!

“Me Island!”

 

Folks I’m tellin’ ya, it has it all! 

Supreme storage and organization on

ALL sides!

Some things to note:

The top was the most challenging

thing to find on a budget. I searched hard to find

secondhand or inexpensive materials. I ended up

with an unfinished pine tabletop from IKEA which is

not recommended for cutting surfaces due to its

softness and tendency to stain easily. However

for my situation, budget was more of a priority. I

will treat the top with mineral oil, and continue to use

conventional cutting boards for preparing meals as

you would with a laminate surface. (not a bad compromise)

BUDGET: $100.00

approximate total spent $135.00

cost of a comparably sized portable island: $299-399

approximate savings: $165-$265

Experience+ Memories+Storage+Custom made= Priceless!

 

See Before Photos Here

Linked up at: I Heart Naptime

the shabby creek cottage  six sisters stuff

              thriftydecorchick  craft o maniac   Skip to my lou

making the world cuter    Gingersnapcrafts

sumossweetstuff  day and age design Blissful and Domestic 

Keeping it simple  CRAFT  tipjunkie  sugarbeecrafts

Please I am BEGGING HERE, tell me what you think,

USING THE LINK (comments) below! Thanks a HEAP!

(I fixed it you do not have to sign up or be a member to comment)

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Cano Sedona Wedding Centerpieces

 

This was by far the most beautiful wedding

I have ever been to. And I had the

privilege of putting together their

centerpieces!

 

The Venue: Tlaquepaque, Sedona AZ

Colors: Black & White w/ Red accents

The time of year: September

 

The Japanese Mitsumata Branches arrive straight.

They are very light weight and come bleached white.

They are extremely pliable after a good soak in water.

The image above shows the branches after they were

shaped. My front room looked like a circus for a month!

Getting them to the venue was a challenge I did not

first anticipate! But thanks to my ingenious husband,

who built this temporary frame the branches arrived

intact and undamaged.  

 

The set up process was all a matter of timing. And it was tight. We had to

put all of them together and placed on the tables.

I placed submersible lights in the glass vase with the glass beads to

let the red accents shine. The tea lights were battery operated and

had the flicker feature to make it twinkle.

The tea lights were in fluted votive holders and hung with fine

wire so that it gives an illusion of floating candle in the dark.

 

What a beautiful and perfect night for

a perfect couple. May they celebrate each

and every year!

 

Linked to: I Heart Naptime and Six Sisters Stuff

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Good News and Bad News

First, The Good News:

Mid week this week I discovered that I

won a drawing I entered on my favorite blog

I Heart Naptime!

Check out my new ribbon box!

 

 

Yea Me! And Thanks to I Heart Naptime!

And even if I do say so myself, I think

I am a pretty deserving winner considering

the current state of my ribbon organization!

 

 

Okay, okay the Bad News….

I promised that I would get my final island

post out tonight and I did not make the

deadline. I am not done with the finishing

touches and since this is such an important

project, I want it to be as perfect as it can be.

So, I am extending my deadline till next Sunday.

See that’s that’s the perks of being your own

boss, you can miss a deadline and just simply

change it when you need to. LOL!

 

 

 

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Pre-Island Prep.

Okay, So what do you get when you

cross free kitchen cabinets…

 

 

and

two VERY ugly chairs from

a second hand store?…

 

 

 

A Great Idea and

A Girl in way over her head!

 

My newly rented home was built in the 50’s and well,

lets just say it’s kitchen left a lot

to be desired including storage and counter

space! So… I decided to make my own island! “Crazy”

The Challenge:  I had to make it economical since

we are renting and we have no idea how long we will

be in one place. (story of my life)

SCORE! :A friend of mine from work gave me

the cabinets for FREE! Thanks Valerie!

Because they were uppers I quickly found out that the

height would be a problem (too short) so I shopped for

legs “outrageously priced!’

 I switched to thrift stores and wha-la..

$10.00  and some demo work = four legs for

the price of one!

 

For design purposes we cut this section of leg

and inverted it. I Recruited my Carpenter,

Father-in-Law to cut the legs down and to help me

make structural and measurement decisions.

Well lets face it, when I said I was in over my head…

(which I do a lot) I wasn’t kidding!

Without his help I would not have been able to do this

project and the outcome be functional.

Much thanks to Jim!

Anyway the next step was sanding and searching

for a budget wise countertop.

Sorry I did not get many in-between photos of the process. 

To Be Continued!…

Tune in Sunday for the AFTER PHOTOS!…

 

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Scalloped Pears

A Pretty and Simple Dessert

 

Here is what you need:

5-6 pears

1/4 cup sugar or more to taste

1 and 1/2 tbs. Corn Starch

1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 tbs. butter/margarine  cubed

 

 

First you want to peal, core and slice your pears.

I like them medium slices like for an apple pie.

Place your slices and all of your ingredients in a

Large storage bag. Shake the contents well and

make sure all slices are coated evenly.

Now empty contents in a microwave safe bowl.

(it is okay that the butter is still a bit chunky)

Place in microwave for 10-15 minutes stirring the

contents every 5 minutes.  WARNING: as these cook

the smell may actually cause your eyes to roll back in

your head with heavenly anticipation!

(I did only 12 minutes as I like the pears with a little

firmness left to them like an apple pie)

I like to serve this warm with vanilla ice on top!

I got this recipe from my husband’s grandmother

and originally it was for tart apples. It is very good

with the apples too! She served it more as a

side dish much like the one’s at Chili's  or The Cracker Barrel.

Enjoy!

Linked up at: I Heart Naptime

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