DIY Batiking Shirt

Okay, so this is another DIY project that isn't exactly a recipe.  But to my credit, I still had to follow step-by-step instructions, and I made it in my kitchen (and partially in the sink), so I think it could easily be included on Katherine in the Kitchen!

My TCU Batiking Shirt I made-
"We're gonna beat the hell outta you... and you, and you, and you and you and you!"

Pinterest.com has recently become my new obsession.  From recipes to DIY ideas to party planning to fashion to interior decorating, Pinterest has it all.  I have nine boards: In the Kitchen (shocker, I know), InStyle (fashion), Home Sweet Home (decorating), To have and to hold (wedding), Baby Love, Give me a patio & a marg (cocktails), Group Ideas, Helpful Hints, and A girl can dream (vacation destinations).  The idea is that users create a virtual pinboard of ideas and suggestions, all of which are then organized in topics and presented as photos.  Each photo is a link to the site from which it came.  Here's a link if you want to follow my pinboards.

Among the thousands of ideas I have gotten on Pinterest, I recently completed a t-shirt project, and I'm hooked.  I made a TCU shirt, and I'm really looking forward to making more!  I've even had some girls offer to pay me to make them shirts, but we'll see if that ever happens. 

Batiking is a method of sort-of reverse-dying something.  The shirts are super easy to make, and all it takes is the shirt, some glue, fabric dye, and salt!  Here you'll find a link to the website where I found how to make these shirts- so click the link, and try one for yoursel! (Or pay me, and I'll make you one, too!)

Thanks, Pinterest, and "happy pinning!"

Keep on craftin'!
-Katherine

DIY Cooktop Covering

My new Cooktop Covering!

This entry is a bit different than most, as it is not a recipe.  With fall comes football season, and with football season comes more house guests.  Whether it is friends coming over for a Fantasy Football draft party, a Cowboys/TCU/UT football game watching party, a Halloween party, or my Annual Christmas Party, I feel like guests frequent much more often from September through December.  Cleaning is an arduous chore of which I've never been very fond, but it is a necessity when I'm expecting guests.  So begins the scrubbing, mopping, vacuuming, Windexing, and general clutter pick up (although my house is rarely cluttered- there's a place for everything and everything in it's place).

I think the house chore that I dislike the most is mopping.  I have tile in my kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room, so mopping is necessary, but I absolutely detest it.  Lucky me, I have a very helpful and selfless boyfriend who has agreed to mop this time, if I will do all of the rest.  Done deal.  I went  in today to clean the oven and the stove top, and I realized there just might be a chore that I dislike as much as mopping.  Okay, not quite, but still- all of that caked on, baked on grease and grime is awful!  I always do my best to scrub the stove and cooktop, but it never quite looks clean.  So, I embarked on a DIY project today- a cooktop covering that would double as surplus counter space.

Buy a plain cutting board that matches your kitchen's countertop or wood cabinets

Inspired by a cover my mom made for our cabana's stovetop, I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy some cutting boards.  (I also ran into 3 members of the Hudgens Family, who I adore, and was very happy to hear Mrs. Hudgens is a KITK fan!)  Although the opaque plastic cutting boards would have done the trick, and for far less money, I just couldn't bare to have my DIY project be half-a**.  Not to mention, my friend, Michelle, who is Queen of DIY is coming over this weekend, so I wanted to be able to show off my mad skills.  It didn't take much skill, though, I'll be honest.

I had measured my cook top, and I knew it would take two cutting boards to cover the whole thing.  I bought the two cutting boards at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Then, I walked next door to Michael's, where I bought 8 cork pieces to use for legs.  After a lengthy conversation with Maude the Michael's Employee, I decided on a "craft cement" that claimed it worked on wood and plastic.  There were plenty of glues for wood, but corks are made up of plastic and wood, so I needed something that'd cover both materials.

Glue the "feet" on so your cover isn't just resting on the burners on your cooktop

I glued four feet on the bottom of each cutting board, making them slightly elevated so they weren't just sitting on the burners, sliding around everywhere.  And, voila! Not only was my Never100%CleanCooktop covered up, but I had about 4 square feet of extra counter space, as well!  *Note- since I glued my feet on, I will have to remove the coverings when I want to use the oven since my cooktop gets very hot from the heat put off by the oven.  You could screw the feet on, if you buy wood feet, and want to do so.

Before

After!

Keep on craftin'!
-Katherine