s September 2012 - The Kim Six Fix
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September in Review: It doesn't get much more random!

September has been a very strange and hectic month for me. School has started up again, and for the first time my youngest is out of the house, at preschool, a few hours a week. My (false) belief was that I was going to have all these extra hours for myself.. to work on projects, update my blog and basically just catch up on life.

That couldn't be further from the truth. 

I am now logging hundreds of miles in my mini-van every week, running back in forth from drop off to pick up to after school activities, lessons and sports. The laid back summer schedule has transformed into days that are so full, that I start every morning by charting out exactly where I need to be down to 15 minute intervals.  My life has gotten CRAZY!

There is no greater evidence for that, then when I look back at my blog posts for the month of September.  The only way to describe them is: completely random.

From simple auto repair:

To random gardening experiements, the month of September definitely didn't focus on any one aspect of DIY home improvement:

That isn't to say I didn't feature any home improvement projects.  There was a tutorial about installing a backsplash:

and some great reader features about solving a lighting design problem, as well as a solution for upgrading a fireplace mantle:

I knocked off a pottery barn planter, and entered the Random Acts of Craftiness challenge with my domino candlesticks:

Of course I tackled a few recipes this month.  Another slow cooker pork recipe and a cinnamon roll shortcut


Hopefully I can find my groove and get a little more focused for the month of October.  I did start working on my pre-autumn and fall decor:


 And have even started thinking about Halloween:

All hope is not lost.. if I can only keep my head above water!

Customizing A Builder Grade Fireplace

 I have to share this great mantle upgrade a friend of mine recently completed.  I just LOVE how it came out.  Kit recently bought a new house and has been plugging away on a ton of great house projects (a girl after my own heart) but this so far has been my favorite!

The previous owners must have hung their TV over the mantle, and so she was left with a nice hole in the drywall and a whole lot of open space.

In a similar way to how I customized my fireplace and built ins, she added some simple molding trim to make the entire fireplace a focal point:

Because the trim didn't match exactly she was able to unify the old with the new by adding the small detail of matching decorative trims.  Once everything was painted you would never guess the entire mantle hadn't been that way all along.

I am super impressed with how it came out.  The details in it are amazing and I think it looks great.   No more boring builder grade, that is for sure!


I am jealous of how beautiful it is.. image this mantle at Christmas!  Nice job Kit! 

*WEDNESDAY*Wicked Awesome Wednesdays - Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Someday Crafts- Whatever Goes Wednesday *THURSDAY* Delightful Order- Delightfully Inspiring, Catch as Catch Can- My Repurposed Life, Shabby Creek Cottage- Transformation Thursday. House of Hepworths- Hookin Up, Show Me Extraordinary - The 36th Avenue, Inspired Creations - Embracing Change  *FRIDAY*   Inspiration Friday - At The Picket Fence/100 Ideas Under $100, Repurpose, Remodel, Reveal - The Rooser & The Hen  , Weekend Wrap-Up Party- Tatertots & Jello, Frugal Friday- The Shabby Nest, Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home, Pity Party - Thirty Handmade Days

Mini-Cinnamon Rolls (from Crescent Dough)

You know you are desperate for a carb filled snack when you decide to whip up some cinnamon rolls in the middle of night.   But that is exactly what I did.  I didn't want to bother starting from scratch, and when I saw LifeIsTooShortToSkipDessert's recipe I knew it was the perfect solution
 
For 1 tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls you will need:
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter (melted)
1 Tbsp flour
 
I unrolled the crescent rolls onto parchment (just for easy clean up) and then mixed the sugar, cinnamon, butter and flour together to make the filling:
 
Don't separate the crescent dough into triangles, but leave the triangles paired in rectangular shapes (if they start to come apart just moosh them back together) and spread the filling onto the rectangles:
 
 Roll up the short side until you have a tube:
 
And then using dental floss (a cool trick) cut them into 3 small rolls:
Place them in a cooking-spray coated baking dish or on a cookie sheet:
 
 Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees and they will puff up and get all cinna-mini delicious.

After they cool slightly I added a quick glaze:
1/2 C powdered sugar
2 t milk
A few drops of vanilla extract

Drizzle it on and enjoy!  But trust me.. you won't be able to stop at just one:


Autumn Mantle

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Happy Fall! It is finally here.. and although I have postponed putting my Autumn Mantle for something more near and dear to my heart.. it is finally time!

I decided I wanted to feature my glazed ceramics this year, including my new little green owl I found at Home Goods on clearance for $4!  I love him (my husband thinks he's creepy.. Whatever!)  The leaf plate is from Pottery Barn, but I found it at Goodwill for $1. There were actually a full set of 4 and I am KICKING myself for not buying them all.  I even went back the next day and there were snatched up (of course!)

Since I wanted to balance out the green of the owl on the right, I used a depression glass plate I got from my grandma a long long time ago along with a little pumpkin candy dish I won at a Pampered Chef party on the left hand side:

I also picked up 6 glazed ceramic pumpkins at the dollar store and I used them, along with some pinecones the girls collected around the neighborhood to fill a couple of vases and give me some height.

Lastly I added a couple of pumpkins from the grocery store, hung my leaf wreath on the mirror and added a leaf garland to the front of the mantle to complete the look. 

Total cost: $12.89
Ceramic Pumpkins (Dollar Store): $6
PB Leaf Plate (Goodwill): $1
Ceramic Owl (Home Goods): $4
Pumpkins (Grocery Store): $1.89

*MONDAY*  Tutorial & Tips – Home Stories from A to Z , Craft-O-Maniac Monday- Craftomaniac, DIY Project Parade- The DIY Showoff, Keeping It Simple-Motivate Me Monday , Masterpiece Monday-Boogieboard Cottage , Metamophasis Monday- Between, Naps on the Front Porch, Mop it Up Monday - I Should Be Mopping the Floor, *TUESDAY*   Uncommonly Yours- Link Party  , Sugar Bee Crafts-Take A Look Tuesday , Show Me What Ya Got- Not Just a Housewife, Tip Me Tuesday- Tip Junkie , Power of Paint Party-Domestically Speaking  *WEDNESDAY*Wicked Awesome Wednesdays - Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Someday Crafts- Whatever Goes Wednesday *THURSDAY* Delightful Order- Delightfully Inspiring, Catch as Catch Can- My Repurposed Life, Shabby Creek Cottage- Transformation Thursday. House of Hepworths- Hookin Up, Show Me Extraordinary - The 36th Avenue, Inspired Creations - Embracing Change  *FRIDAY*   Inspiration Friday - At The Picket Fence/100 Ideas Under $100, Repurpose, Remodel, Reveal - The Rooser & The Hen  , Weekend Wrap-Up Party- Tatertots & Jello, Frugal Friday- The Shabby Nest, Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home, Pity Party - Thirty Handmade Days   *SATURDAY* Saturday Seven Party-Positively Splendid *SUNDAY* Under the Table and Dreaming-Sunday Showcase Party

Domino "Lotus" Candlesticks

Here it is!  My Random Acts of Craftiness Challenge submission.  (For those who don't know.. this is a monthly challenge where you must use random household objects in a unique way. This month's theme was "board game pieces.") 

My submission:
Lotus flower candlesticks made out of dominoes
 
 
After searching the goodwill, I found this game for $3 plus a bag of random regular Dominoes for 50 cents.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to do with them.  My first thought was to use them like tiles and create a mosaic.


I was thinking of either covering a flowerpot or tabletop, but the triangle shape made it really difficult.  I even tried adding an additional set of Rummikubs to see if I could get a better pattern, but it just wasn't working out:

Then I thought about this crystal lotus candlestick my mom had when I was a kid:
I thought I could get the same look with my dominoes, so I started hot gluing away:

I had a small plastic votive candle (I removed the wax) and then started building up the flower shape with dominoes:

To give it a little sparkle, I sprayed it with some brushed nickel spray paint I had lying around from all my massive "brass removal" projects:

That look was okay, but I wanted more sparkle.  This winter I knew I wanted to do a crystal and silver mantle so I decided to add some glass glitter to really make it sparkle. I used spray adhesive since it was the easiest way to get a thin layer of glue into all the nooks and crannies:

Here is the result:

I actually had enough dominoes to make a pair of candlesticks:

Now I can't wait to see what next month's challenge item is! 


  

I may share at some of these great parties:
*MONDAY*  Before and After Party - Thrifty Decor Chick , Tutorial & Tips – Home Stories from A to Z , Craft-O-Maniac Monday- Craftomaniac, DIY Project Parade- The DIY Showoff, Keeping It Simple-Motivate Me Monday , Masterpiece Monday-Boogieboard Cottage , Metamophasis Monday- Between, Naps on the Front Porch, Mop it Up Monday - I Should Be Mopping the Floor, *TUESDAY*   Uncommonly Yours- Link Party , Sugar Bee Crafts-Take A Look Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got- Not Just a Housewife, Tip Me Tuesday- Tip Junkie , Power of Paint Party-Domestically Speaking  *WEDNESDAY*Wicked Awesome Wednesdays - Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Someday Crafts- Whatever Goes Wednesday *THURSDAY* Delightful Order- Delightfully Inspiring, Catch as Catch Can- My Repurposed Life, Shabby Creek Cottage- Transformation Thursday. House of Hepworths- Hookin Up, Show Me Extraordinary - The 36th Avenue, Inspired Creations - Embracing Change  *FRIDAY*   Inspiration Friday - At The Picket Fence/100 Ideas Under $100, Repurpose, Remodel, Reveal - The Rooser & The Hen  , Weekend Wrap-Up Party- Tatertots & Jello, Frugal Friday- The Shabby Nest, Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home, Pity Party - Thirty Handmade Days   *SATURDAY* Saturday Seven Party-Positively Splendid *SUNDAY* Under the Table and Dreaming-Sunday Showcase Party




 
 






 
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