4 DIY Projects For Your Kitchen

Looking for fashionable and affordable ways to dress up your kitchen? Look into DIY projects, where you can make quality goods for a fraction of the price.

DIY, of course, stands for “do it yourself”, and with that title comes three important criteria: you must purchase the supplies, create something with your own hands, and feel immense satisfaction afterwards.

Here are four, affordable DIY projects that meet that criteria and will add charm and functionality to any kitchen.

1. Spice Jar Magnets

Level: Easy

Cost: $35

Supplies: baby food jars, strong magnets, metal sheet (optional), glue gun, blank labels (all of this can be found on Amazon.com)

For a great way to spice up your kitchen (literally) make these cute spice jar magnets to put on your fridge or the underside of your cabinet. It’s very simple and anyone can do it.

Step 1. Purchase empty baby food jars and remove the lids.

Step 2. Use your glue gun to attach a strong magnet to the top of each lid. It’s important that you glue it very well and that the magnet is strong enough to support the jar, or you might come home one day to a shattered mess all over your kitchen floor or cupboard.

Step 3. Write the name of one spice on a blank label and place it on the outside of the jar. Repeat until you have enough jars labeled according to each spice you own. You might want to make a few extras while you’re at it for spices you might get in the future.

Step 4. Fill each jar with the spice named on the labels.

Step 5. Nail or glue your metal sheet to wherever you would like your spice collection to be. You could put it on the underside of a cabinet or shelf or on a free wall. You could also forget the metal sheet and simply use the side of your refrigerator if it’s exposed.

Step 6. Attach your spice jars by the magnetic lid to the metal sheet or your refrigerator and remove a bottle any time you need to use a spice.

2. Tablet or Cookbook Holder

Level: Easy

Cost: $20

Supplies: cutting board, Scrabble letter rack (can be purchased individually on Ebay or Amazon), wooden door stop, paint, glue gun or wood glue

Tired of bending awkwardly over your tablet or cookbook while you follow a recipe? This DIY cookbook holder is the perfect accessory for your kitchen! The cost associated with this project is an estimate of what it would cost you if you purchased each item new. However, you might find that you have all the supplies you need lying around the house.

Step 1. Lay your cutting board vertically in front of you and glue the long, flat piece of the wooden doorstop to it. The short, flat end of the doorstop should be level with the bottom of the cutting board. Let dry.

Step 2. Once the glue has dried, stand up the cutting board, balancing it on the door stop so that it leans a little at a backward angle. Glue the back of the Scrabble letter rack to the bottom front of the cutting board. The rounded part of the letter rack will function as the part that stops your tablet from sliding off.  

Step 3. Once all the glue has dried, paint it whatever color you wish.

Step 4. Test it out with a new recipe on your table and enjoy!

3. Mason Jar Herb Garden

Level: Moderate

Cost: $20-$50

Supplies: quart sized mason jars, fresh herbs and spice starts, potting soil, adjustable hoop rings with nails or screws, 1x4 boards

If you love the idea of having fresh herbs on hand at all times, this one’s for you. Gather your supplies, clear a large space on a kitchen wall near a window and get started!

Step 1. Sand and stain your boards to match your kitchen.

Step 2. Nail or screw the adjustable hoop rings into the board, placing each ring at least four inches apart.

Step 3. Mount your boards to the wall.

Step 4. Fill each mason jar with potting soil and plant your fresh herb starts. You’ll want the soil to reach near the top of the jar mouth, so that the herbs poke out the top.

Step 5. Fit your mason jars tightly into the adjustable hoop rings and maintain your plants for fresh herbs all year round!

4. RTA Cabinets

Level: Moderate

Cost: $50-$300 each

Supplies: one RTA cabinet kit (Some especially attractive options can be found here.)

If your kitchen is screaming for much more attention than a simple spruce, you’ll want to look into RTA, or ready to assemble cabinets. They are a great way to give your kitchen a facelift without breaking the bank. Even though you did not make these from scratch, they still meet the criteria of DIY because you will purchase the supplies, put it together by hand, and feel the immense satisfaction of a job well done!

Step 1. Pick out the cabinets you’ve been dreaming of.

Step 2. Order the RTA kit.

Step 3. Follow the step-by-step assembly instructions. You may want to get a friend to help you with this.

Step 4. Enjoy your brand new kitchen!

With just a little effort on your part, your kitchen can go from ordinary to extraordinary. You’ll love the new look and thoroughly enjoy the feeling of utter satisfaction at having completed these projects with your own two hands.

 

Bumpdate: Week 15

How Far Along? 38 weeks

Weight Gain: About 7 lbs 

Maternity Clothes? YES - haven't been able to fit into anything else since I was 5 weeks! My go to place is Destination Maternity in Scottsdale. (leggings, leggings, leggings!)

Sleep? It's definitely hit and miss. A couple of weeks ago I was getting up around 2 or 3am with back pain and then up at 5am to get ready for work. I was so grateful for a long weekend last weekend. I was able to just relax and catch up on some sleep.

Best moment this week? E playing doctor with her Doc McStuffins doctor bag and listening to baby with her stethoscope. "Shhhh Mama...I need to hear the baby!"

Weird pregnancy moment? I have been experiencing cramping pain everyday. There are so many changes happening to my body that I cannot control. Some things I am just like "ummmm...it this normal??"

Movement: Not yet, but can't wait for that moment!!

Food Cravings: Burgers, Jamba Juice, Chinese Food, Cereal, Rice with butter

Anything making you queasy? Perfume, trash, farts and poop...hahahahaha!

Gender: We find out February 17th! I have a feeling its a boy! 

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender and the moment when I finally get to hold this little miracle in my arms!

Building Confidence

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is YOU. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only YOU can."

In Acts 27, there’s a great story about the apostle Paul. He was traveling by ship with some people when “a violent wind…came bursting down from the island” For days they were caught in the storm, and at one point it was so fierce, they were “dangerously tossed about by the violence of the storm” and had to throw the ship’s equipment overboard. They ended up without any food, hungry, stranded – seemingly without much hope.

In that moment, Paul stood in the midst of the survivors and said to them, “I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…” He then shared that an angel of God told him this, and said in verse 25, “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me.”

How could Paul, in the middle of a horrible storm, ask the people to “be in good spirits” and have a good attitude? Because he believed in his heart—without a doubt—“that it will be exactly as it was told me.” I love that! It’s a great picture of the power of faith in God when all hope seems lost. And we can have the very same faith that Paul had if we will overcome doubt.

We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulation. That’s why we have the gift of faith. Ephesians 6:16 (NIV) calls it “the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Doubt is a type of “flaming arrow” that the enemy uses to attack our faith.

We usually experience doubt after we’ve made a decision. In James 1:6, the Bible says having doubt is like being tossed about like the wind, which feels like you’re trying to go in two different directions at the same time. And it’s miserable to be torn between two places, not able to decide what you really believe. It’s in those moments we have to choose whether we are going to believe God or the enemy…God or our feelings…God or what people tell us…God or our circumstances…

When doubt comes against us, we have to lift up the shield of faith. We do this when we open our mouth and say what God’s Word says, rather than grumbling and complaining about the problem. Our faith is released as we say, pray and do the Word. So in those times, open your mouth and say, “I believe that everything God has told me will come to pass!”

Maybe you’re doubting whether you can hear God’s voice or not. This happens because we usually doubt ourselves more than we doubt God. Now I’m not talking about actually hearing a voice; I’m talking about that knowing we have inside our hearts about what is right or wrong. That’s the still, small voice of God. Believers in Jesus Christ all have it, but many don’t have the confidence to trust it.

The Bible says in James 1:5 that when we need wisdom, we can go to God, ask Him for it, and He will give it to us “liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding” (AMP). What this means is that even with our imperfections, God will be faithful to us and give us what we need if we will ask Him for help. He loves us, blesses us and uses us in spite of us, because He is faithful! And we never have to doubt that.

I’ve learned through my own relationship with God that He’s not expecting me to be perfect; He wants me to do my best to be in His will and take steps of faith as He leads me, through His Word and the promptings He speaks to my heart. Remember, He wants us to put our confidence in Him. God really does want to speak to you personally and lead you in His great plan for your life. So don’t be afraid to step out and do what’s in your heart. If you make a mistake, you’ll learn from it and go on. That’s how we “step out and find out.” And we all have to do it.

I want to encourage you to begin making confessions every day that will help you grow in your faith and confidence in God. We need to make declarations like, “God loves me. He wants to speak to my heart. I can hear from God. He is faithful to me and will lead me in His will for my life. And I believe it will be exactly as God has told me!” By God’s grace, we can be bold in faith and overcome every attack of doubt during the storms of life.

Getting Rid of Stock to Make Room for More!

I am getting rid of some of my stock to make room for more! Visit my website Sassy Sweet Modesty to see all the fun tops, dresses and skirts I have to offer!

2015

2014 has come and gone so quickly. It's hard to believe its a new year already!

Last year was a year full of countless blessings, learning, loss, uncertainty, anxiety, and triumph. 

Here are some of the things that happened in 2014:

* We took my Dad into our home to care for him and lost him in July. I can say that was definitely one of the hardest, if not the hardest thing that I have ever been through. With the love and support of friends and family and a loving God, I came out of that stronger and more determined than ever before. I saw God's hand constantly in the midst of everything. I felt His love, His grace and His peace more than I ever have before. It was a time of heartache and sorrow, but it also was a time of reflection, healing and thankfulness. There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him like crazy, but I have a strong feeling of faith, hope and peace within my soul that I will see him once again. I know that to be true with every fiber of my being. Feel free to read my Dad's eulogy that I wrote for him HERE.

* In April, after months and months of foster care training we finally got our first placement...a 4 year old little girl that we fell in love with instantly. From the moment she stepped through our front door, I had this strong feeling that she was meant to be apart of our forever family. I have never felt so many different emotions as I did with fostering. I experienced feelings of heartache, sorrow, anxiety, peace, hope, faith happiness, uncertainty, and fear at different times. In November, E's Moms rights were severed and we are now in the adoption process. The process with take about 4 months or so give or take so she will be able to be ours hopefully sometime around April of this year.

* We became business owners. My Husband, Josh was the Operations Manager for a company called Gamez on Wheelz for a little over 3 years. When Josh first got the offer to work for Gamez on Wheelz, he wasn't too sure as the pay was not that much. We talked about it and prayed about it. I will never forget me telling him to just take the job because something was telling me that God had big plans for him with this opportunity. Sure enough, one day his boss called him and ask him if he would be interested in purchasing the company. We were both ecstatic, especially Josh because he has always prayed and dreamed about being his own boss. This was a huge undertaking to take on but the more we prayed about it, God was putting things into place fast. The money that we needed literally just showed up one day. The process which should have taken alot longer took just weeks and boom!!....just like that we were the owners of Gamez on Wheelz!!

* Just two weeks before E's court date and us finding out she will be ours forever, I found out I was pregnant!!! Months after trying and praying it finally happened!! These two wonderful blessings hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt speechless by God's faithfulness and His goodness. I was over the moon excited. I am now just a little over 11 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. Nauseous here and there and my back kills all the time but its all so worth it! 

Overall, 2014 was such a great minus the loss of my father. But in the grand scheme of everything God is so good. He is always good!! I have a feeling that 2015 will be a great year....a year of many new things....new adventures, new things to learn, new trials and new beginnings. We are ready for you 2015! Bring it on!!