My Newly Painted Cabinets!

For a Tutorial Post on how to paint Harlequin look HERE!
From This:


To This: Ahh......

Unbelievable what a little paint, 2 and a half weeks, 14 Excedrin, and just as many Sonic runs and pizza nights can do to a kitchen.
This was crazy. I admit. You have to be "a few screws loose, bugged every time you look at your kitchen, sick of the walls closing in around you stir crazy," to attempt this... if you have children, in some odd way you do this for your sanity. This kind of remodeling builds character and great survival skills for all in the house. But then, you get to come downstairs after your little chipmunks are in bed and get a drink of water in this heaven of a room...(it's still not finished. Need: Cabinet hardware, under cab lighting, and those fancy scrolly woody thingys that look like they're holding up your cabinets but they really aren't... I'm saving up and paying cash- this was an all cash $150 remodel).

In this kitchen, all my problems melt away.... I forget....

Until I turn around and see what I cleared off all the counters to take those lovely shots. Ahhh... reality. The daily living that I so bravely face. The scene that to me is "Groundhog Day" every day... 20 dirty cups used once by 6 different kiddos... life.

Oh, I almost forgot! Make sure you visit back next week. Jen from The Magic Brush is stopping in for a surprise! You won't want to miss it!

There will be more to come on this kitchen. We're saving for cabinets on either side of the sink (another painting project) and I'll post when the hardware is on... I'm pretty undecided right now on the bottom hardware. Any suggestions?

Spray Painted Couch

Kimba dear, this one's for you!  The couch in the picture above (hgtv.com)has been spray painted... for REAL.  This is not an April Fools joke like yesterdays post... sorry friends.  I'm quite content juggling my busy six pack and still there are nights when I feel like I've had one too many.  

Let me clarify the truths of Yesterday's post:

1. The 12 year old and 10 year old want to adopt again.  The 10 year old has even mentioned he'd like to adopt a family of brothers and sisters (big hearted boy).
2. Love abounds in this home.
3. I'm willing... Husband has nervous twitches over the thought of more children.
4. I LOVE MY 12 PASSENGER VAN!  It's my dream car... has been since I left college and had to give up driving the family "Landmark" conversion van... good times.
5. I buy 7 gallons of milk a week.

Back to the crazy notion of spray painting a couch.  First off... you have to have a couch as ugly as these to be moved to do something as irrational as whip out the spray paint when your hubby goes on his next fishing trip.  You can click here to find out which of these couches won the ugliest couch contest... the report was by DIY Maven.

So if you have a couch that looks like this... and rover hasn't ripped a hole the size of Rhode Island in the cushion... you have a candidate.  Provided it doesn't smell. Then again, maybe that handy spray paint will cover the odor... or at least emit a different one.

How to?  I'm not even gunna try.  Here's a link to the spray paint you can get from FabricSprayPaint.com   They do offer a Demo Video if ya'll are feeling like Curious Georges. Keep in mind that the paint is a special fabric spray paint... not the Wal-Mart Rustoleum that you're used to.  The paint keeps the fabric soft and has been promoted as being great for your car interior...  now there's something I might consider.  Someday I'll have to post about my van... the miracle as I call it...  My Kids call it Clifford because it's BIG and RED.

Me, I haven't quite graduated to spray painting my fabric... YET.  I have thought about re-staining my silly putty colored leather couches to something a little darker and less silly looking.  I just don't want my guests to come over and get my botched stain job on their butts.  

How desperate are you to make-over your couch?

Announcing: From 8 to 14 at the Dinner Table.

I thought you might want to know our good news! We're pulling a few more chairs up to this dinner table... well, actually, we'll have to get another dinner table. We're adopting 6 more children next month! Now, most of you are all rolling your eyes, some of you choked on your breakfast... What?!?! WHY? Well, the truth is I don't have enough jelly on my floor and I love cleaning toilets. No. Seriously, it all boils down to love. This family is bubbling over with plenty of it and my 12 year old has been asking when we're adopting again.

Of course we haven't told him that his bunkbed will look more like this than the one he has now. We're still working on logistics. Our house is 2200 sf. and that means all storage everywhere has to go vertical! Beds... up, dressers... up up... messes.... up up up! I know it's totally going to be crazy the first month or so but I'm sure with a little Pretty Organizing things will be humm'n soon enough... or so hubby said... {with a smile and a slight nervous twitch} The best thing: I get to trade in my 12 passenger van for a 15 passenger van which when totals are figured will give us 1 extra seat for a friend! I know... I'm a total dork that I've even fallen in love with such a beastly piece of machinery. Honestly, these things are fabulous!

I own the road! I just signal and traffic stops to let me through... well, unless it's one of those cute boutique malls with the tiny BMW parking spaces... total annoyance to do my 15 point turn just to get that 15 passenger van parked in front of the Godiva chocolate shop for a quick choc"y" fix. Grr..

Found these on Craig's list! Aren't they perfect? I think I'm going to paint them to match my cabinets.. chocolate brown and cream. They'll have to go in the entry which will totally be an eyesore but the alternative is even more grim... Our new kiddos are all in school-12 backpacks? Yikes!

Here's the real dilemma... well, if you can get passed the fact that we only have 3 bathrooms in this house 2 of which have showers... I'm still stuck on that one... need to join a gym and shower there. Anyway... the real dilemma is where to put all of the food! We only have 1 fridge and already I'm buying 7 gallons of milk a week! I either need a cow or this fridge plus a freezer out back!

The best part... Nester girl, being the completely kind hearted do-gooder and Christian woman she is, offered to come and help out with decorating and getting this place workable. Honestly girls, I can't say enough about this girl. She's way in for a challenge... I don't have any urns and if I did they'd have to hold something like Barbie heads or Leggo wheels. She says that she'll still be able to do her stuff if I provide enough upholstery tacks, fabric, paint, bird nests, and a little pocket change for a Goodwill run. Good heavens this is going to be fun!! I wish she'd invite Remodeling Guy to come with her to add on another wing!

Any suggestions on how to pile 12 kids into 4 rooms?

I'd Lose My Head if it Weren't Attatched

For those of you who wonder, "How on earth does she manage with 6 kids?" I offer this: The chore chart to top all others. Okay, well admittedly this won't top all others because this one is ugly. Sometimes order is ugly... this chart looks more like a Wal-Mart Organizational Flow Chart than a family chore chart.


The fact is: I forget everything. I completely forget that my kids earned themselves a whoppin grounding for 2 weeks because my intense love for these little punk-a-noodles overshadows my memory of things they've done to deserve my wrath.

I forget that a family of 8 requires laundry to be done several times EVERY DAY. Aren't we all trying to forget about the laundry... it just won't go away! I'm even at fault to forget a couple of days in a row... until I've worn that stretched out bra that I should have thrown away months ago for the second straight day and I have to start acting surprised when friends see the stains on my shirt, "Kids! Darn. I guess I'll have to get this in the wash." That excuse works incredibly well when you have a ton of kiddos. You're always bound to have something stuck to your shoulder or belly. It's sad however, when the same friends hear that excuse several times over the same shirt... BUSTED!


So here's command central at my house.

Use this link to get the PDF of our job chart.
Cuz I'm a dork and can't make it appear right on this blog.

This baby has earned it's rightful place on the fridge next to the Scouting schedule and the realtor magnets.


It's divided into 3 sections; Routines that I need to remember.
Meal schedule: For Breakfast and Lunch (dinners are always different)

Laundry Schedule: This shows me who has laundry on what day. If you want to see my octo-laundry routine check out this post.

Family Job Rotations: This is the meat of the schedule. (Applies to 4 older kids)
It details my kids daily Personal jobs, Trash assignments, Dinner Prep and Clean-up assignments, Weekly Zone, Weekly Job, and Saturday job assignments. WHEW!

Use this link to get the PDF of our job chart.

There you have it. Functionality at it's finest... you can thank the hubby for that one. I'm always worried about whether or not the colors I choose in the chart coordinate with the eyes and personality of the child they represent... and match the hues of the current season.
We're a perfect match!

Any other questions on family efficiency or routines? What are you struggling with in your home?

Photo Credits: SouthernLiving.com

Progress: A Sneak Peak at my Kitchen Cabinets

Happy Monday everyone!  Did you all enjoy your "unplugged Friday?"  If that doesn't make sense to you... go visit Kimba and check out her challenge.  I used her unplugged challenge to catch up on some much needed time with kiddos and projects.

I made sugar cookies with my kiddos... only they didn't look like these from A Dozen Eggs.

And they didn't look like these either... imagine a lot more frosting... MORE... Keep going... Now, get every color sprinkle you have on hand and cover the frosting with all of them.  Really, it looks more like the black hole than a cookie.  Next, make sure that you lick your frosting knife before you stick it back in the general bowl... this promotes healthy immune systems... oh, and add a snotty 2 year old.  I took my cookies straight up with no frosting.
Here's a sneak peak at my project....  I've been doing a little hand painting... I mean A LOT of hand painting in my kitchen.  I went to church and my daughter spent the first hour picking cream paint out of my hair.
Here are more in bad light... even went on date night with my hubby with brown hands, white hair and glow in the dark green on m'butt... he made me stay in the car... JUST KIDDING!  He flaunted his DIY thrifty bride through the grocery store... fun date eh? We needed smoothie ingredients.
The bottom cabinet doors are mounted.  If ya'll look close, I left the weeks worth of jelly and paint drips on the floor for you so you can all feel better about your kitchen floors.  Perfection is overrated... especially when you're painting a kitchen in a house of 8.  Bedtime has been after 1 am every night so I'm a loon most of the day.
Now, here's the skinny... my parents are visiting this coming weekend and the kitchen has to be complete by then.  I'll post the final project this week.

So what then when the kitchen is finished?  You got it!  The Laundry Room...  As a mother of 6, I dream in laundry.  All of life's revelations are given in the laundry (like- "oh there's that missing chapstick", which kid stole moms pack of gum, who's passing notes in class, which boy has a runny nose... hence the Kleenex all over the clothes) and most of them require re-laundering.  Give me a little time on this one because the hubby is still going though paint detox sessions and counseling for my unholy treatment of natural oak cabinets.

If you're new to this Palace, check out my Hassle Free Homemaking tips because I'll be posting my job chart that a bunch of you have been asking about.

What projects do you have up your sleeves right now?   Anyone want to send their hubby to the "Keeper of the Grain, Protector of the Natural Wood" therapy sessions with my husband and start paint'n the kitchen?  I'll offer how-to's if youre interested!  Geesh... I'm gonna get labeled a homewrecker if I'm not careful.

See you tomorrow!

Oh, I've had a few business's contact me about advertising on Pretty Organized Palace.  If you have small business and are interested in putting your button on Pretty Organized Palace email me and let me know.  There are a few bloggy changes in the works... some Palace Remodeling!

Harlequin Happens

I feel like I've been painting my kitchen since the Reagan administration.  My kitchen has taken over my life... it's even writing this post right now.  AND I hosted the Toile Soiree right in the midst of it.  So, if I haven't visited your post yet... please forgive me.   Thanks to everyone who dropped in! I'm working on getting to all 98 posts!
If you ever accidentaly paint your kitchen cabinets glow-in-the-dark green... there's hope.  As a mother of 6 I have tested and proven a well known law of humankind... "Desperation leads to Inspiration."
Desperate: I bought THE MOST expensive paint out there for my cabinets... in the wrong color and need to use at least some of it- cuz I bought me a gallon of fluorescent green yuck. (Really, I wanted it to look like the green in that chair... that $2500 children's chair!)

Inspiration: How could I make this glowing goof into gorgeous?
Inspiration: Boy, that cabinet looks sharp!  
Cross your fingers for Monday folks!  With any luck I'll have a little update on my Frenchy Twist on these Harlequin kitchen cabinets!

In the mean time- I'll be having a little "Unplugged" time on Friday to support my Pro-Family Activist friend Kimba. In this regard she and I are cut from the same cloth...so, join our movement!

 Check out her Unplugged Challenge.  Go spend some quality time with your families on Friday.  Make Spring sugar cookies and go for a bike ride.  Don't you worry, we'll all be back on Monday for more great ideas in decorating... and I'll be doing more posts on how to tame your zoo, keep the animals happy and your circus tent clean! (Said like my friend & mother of 8)  Hope to see you back here on Monday friends!

Pretty Organizer

Photo credits- Ceiling WetWalls, Candlestics- HollysPlate, Chair- Mackenzie-childs.com, Cabinet- Flickr, Kitchen Cabs- Bellingtondesigns

Toile Party

Calling all Toile-Nuts... today is the much anticipated, long awaited, and ever to be referred to in history as The Toile Party of 2009. Do you have a toile post to share? A favorite pillow, or blankie or hankie?
Kick off your boots, grab some of that chocolate that my ShabbyNest friend Wendy is passing out... don't you love our high quality party eats? I'm currently drinking a MetroMint water (how posh) which I believe compliments chocolate in a perfect way. Oh, I'm the Pretty Organizer by the way. I'm a homemak'n mother of 6 and you can meet me here.
I've put on my best hostess apron for you and hope you feel welcome here at the PrettyOrganized Palace. You can Feel free to browse around the Palace rooms and PLEASE visit all of my palace guests while you're here... because they're fabulous. This is a star studded event and my rockstar blogging friends Wendy, Nester, Kimba, Melissa, Julia, Rhoda have graciously allowed me to open for them... so go pay them a visit.
Here are the party Rules:

• Please post a related Toile Post
• Only use the perma-link for THAT post... no general blog addresses please. (Perma-link is the specific address for your post. Get it by clicking on your toile post title, then copy the url.
• Remember to promote my Pretty Palace please. Please link back to this post in your Toile post so guests can return back here and party hardy!
• Visit these fabulous blogs and leave your encouraging comments. Remember we're toile-aholics and need your support!

On to the party! Hope you enjoy your Toile Tour of Blogland!

Thanks for coming!

Pretty Organizer

Glow in the Dark Cabinets

Please understand that this lame post... is just a filler for all the good stuff I normally offer. It just lets you know dear readers that my poor paint color choice hasn't killed me and neither have my husband or 12 year old who, without complaint, have watched the kids for me as they helplessly witness the kitchen turn into something that's a cross between an Andes dinner mint and a rave party.

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon staring at the disaster I created all by myself! Independently, single-handedly I have destroyed my kitchen. All it took was 1 week and 2 cans of paint.

Think I'm joking? Here's the proof!

and another one...  Family of 8 remember?  I didn't even clean up the mess!  Sorry friends.

See? It doesn't matter what kind of light...

My cabinets are the color of Glow in the Dark Paint. Really. Period. They scream their presence. Monday will be spent at Dunn Edwards ordering another can of paint to correct my gross error.  And yes, my house is a mess... I'm keep'n it real and showing my Pretty Dis-Organized Palace in the raw today.  Forgive me?  I've decided the only thing that's worth painting Glow in the dark is the toilet in my boys bathroom.

Instead of reading my schlopp head over to Kimba's and find out why I'll be participating in her "Unplugged" challenge for this Friday.  (I'm gonna need that day in the kitchen.)


She's a doll and completely committed to spray paint and her family- for sure family comes first... unless she doesn't like the color of what they're wearing, then she just uses her spray paint.

Break out that party dress and your favorite Toile pics and get ta postin! Tomorrow is the famous TOILE PARTY of 2009! Everyone you know and love will be there! My sweet friends Nester, Kimba, Melissa, Rhoda, Julia, and dear Wendy will be there with their best Toile posts to celebrate the timeless love of Toile.

Mr. Linky will be up for our party so meet back here tomorrow and enjoy surf'n through blogland and checking out everything from Toile bedspreads, to Toile boots, plates, PJ's and Walls.

Can't wait for you to come. I'll have the kitchen cabinets re-painted by the end of the week... wish me luck!

54 Inches to Center

Now, ya'll are going to think I'm 54 inches "off center" to even mention this: I have a twitch.  So far I've been able to control it... mostly.  I have let my twitch get the best of me at my sisters house when she's not looking (okay, she looks) and I have a few minutes before I'm interrupted with kids.  What's my twitch?  I go bonkers when I see pictures hung too high. Really, it's more like a tick than a twitch... I get all fidgety and start reaching for my high heel "hammer" when the coast is clear.
Here's a typical example.  Couch and pictures tall enough to be eye-level with an NBA star or a giraffe.  It might remind you of visiting your hubby's house (the bachelor pad) when you were dating.  The walls, if it had art, were hung with 8x10 frames spaced too far apart high enough to cause a nose-bleed if you were to ever see it eye to eye.

So what's the rule?  Museums typically hang their art 54 inches to the center of the artwork or grouping.  This is prime viewing, even if you're in the NBA.  It also happens to be a good decorating rule of thumb.  

 

A simple change in picture height and arrangement can change and entire room!  Take it from a 64 inch woman who's 54 inches off center tonight.... hanging pictures 54 inches TO center makes the room balanced and well arranged.

If you're looking for more information on arranging displays, check out Chris Maddens article HERE.

Off to bed.  I'm going to paint the other direction tomorrow to even out my obvious resemblance to the leaning Tower of Pisa.

Don't forget to get your Toile Posts ready for Tuesday!  Meet back here with me, Nester, Wendy, Melissa, Kimba, Julia, Rhoda and the rest of the gang for a Toile Extravaganza!

Beware of Inspiration

It started with this prettied up painting project for a bathroom... I was inspired. Fancy cheap remodeling... It would work great with my Toile.... yes, we already know that I'm a Toile-aholic. This is my inspiration behind the kitchen re-paint.
This is the kitchen on a fairly good day. Most of the counter is showing.
After 3 days of prepping and painting.... Kids are glued to electronic devices- I'm afraid a couple of them were sucked into the device all together... remember Tron? (hubby laughs because I roll my eyes every time he mentions that show- I still haven't made it through without falling asleep). I still need to do a count off to see who's missing.
All I wanted was this... sort of... my kitchen needs Miracle Grow to achieve the full look.
This is what I've got so far. Don't worry all 8 are eating... something. I'm not sure what because I haven't gone shopping, done laundry, or picked anything up for 3 days.
I started with such great plans. Spring fever hit with a vengence. This no longer is nesting... unless you're a rat.
Please send chocolate... and prayers... and hope... and a handyman.

*** Please disregard that this blog is called Pretty Organized Palace. If you're looking for the Pretty Organizer, well, I'm sure I'll find her sometime at the end of the week... or weekend. In the mean time... feel free to check out her Hassle Free Homemaking ideas on the right. ya, sure... she REALLY knows what she's talking about... Painting a kitchen is NOT hassle free.