I have always wanted an extra large ironing board – and now I have one. We had a extra piece of 3/4 inch plywood that I knew would work wonderfully.

I really like it because it is straight on the sides instead of rounded, which makes ironing fabric and quilt tops so much easier.

Dimensions: 55×23 inches

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Here is a quick walk though of how I made it.

1. Cover the board with a piece of batting. I used a scrap piece of black polyester/cotton blend. Tack the batting in a few places with a staple gun. Cut away the excess at the covers so It will not be too bulky.

2. Cover the batting with a piece of cotton fabric. I have had this piece in my stash for some time. If is is directional, like mine is, make sure you place a few temporary staples to keep it straight. Using a staple gun, place staples every few inches apart. I then hammered the staples in since it is laying on top of two old sewing machine tables.

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I love that it uses the machine tables as the base, effectively putting the tables to use and in storage at the same time.

A-E

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F-J

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K-O

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P-T

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U-Y

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Z

Wish I would have remembered all of the pictures, but nonetheless, I have really enjoyed the project and I know my niece has as well.

I am so happy that we are making some progress on our kitchen remodel. I showed some pictures of some of the painted furniture here.

I thought maybe you all would enjoy some during the process pictures. I forgot to get a picture before we started taking the cabinets down – but I figured you all could use your imagination.

Our goal with this project was to remove a wall separating the (small) dining room form the (small) kitchen and make it a more open and usable space. So far, we are loving it.

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Before

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De-construction

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Paint

We decided to paint the whole area a light blue/turquoise color with a stencil color that was darker. I usually do some stenciling, but this was the first time I used an edge-to-edge stencil. Somewhat frustrating since our walls are far from straight, but it turned out lovely. I only did the stencil work on the one long wall and I love how it looks with the shelves and hutch.

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Window treatments

We found a wonderful fabric for the curtains. I wanted the kitchen and dining room curtains to match this time. I also really likes the half curtains that I had in the dining room – so I made matching half curtains. The shelves above the curtains still need to go up – actually one still needs to be made. Mark is also going to make some cool curved cornices.

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Painted furniture

This is another painted furniture project that I did for this project. This Hoosier cabinet base has served us quite well over the years. We got it soon after we were married – on the side of the road up in Indianapolis. It was a changing table for years and then moved to the kitchen.

Here is a before and after pictures. If you look carefully, you can see the old kitchen wallpaper in the background.

“Y” is for Yarn

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“Z” is for Zipper

My youngest let me get a picture with him the other day. I cannot believe that in one more year I will have 3 teenagers.

I totally miss all the hugs and cuddles but I would rather have him growing and maturing.

This seems like it was just yesterday. (He is the littlest of the group.) I just can not resist adding the last picture – it is my all-time favorite of Garrett.