even knife blocks can be cute

I'm back!  It's been so long since my last post.....and of course, I blame life.

And work.   

Mostly work.

So now that my summer is in full swing, and I've caught up on some things that have been put on the back burner for so long, I now have.....dare I say it....free time!

This week, I've been finishing up some small projects around the house, so I thought I'd share a few of them on my little blog-who-has-been-neglected.  

Today's project was inspired by two things....

First, I was cleaning my kitchen cupboards out (like the full-on, taking-everything-out-and-cleaning-the-inside-and-outside type of cleaning) and decluttering everything in my kitchen.  Getting ready for a garage sale in a couple weeks!   

Second, I was also starting a big reorganization of my craft supplies and was looking through my washi tape collection.  And realizing how much I love my washi tape but "need" to use it more.

So, if you're following my train of thought....which I realize is hard sometimes....I was thinking as I was cleaning, how can I use my washi tape to brighten up a few things in my kitchen?  

And here's what I came up with for project #1...

Simple and Cheap Knife Block Makeover

Okay.....so I didn't just use washi tape.   I painted it, too!

Here's the quick play-by-play of how to do it.....but honestly, if you're at all crafty, you probably have it all figured out by now.   Plus, there's no one way to do this.  The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!   (Cheesy, I know)   :)

First, assemble all of your craft goodies.

I spread out something to protect my counter, and took out a piece of sandpaper, painters tape, paints and paintbrushes, and of course....washi tape!

Clean your knife block.  Just soap and water is good.

(If you're like me....that part of the knife block in between the knives, which has been neglected for a while, might be pretty dusty.  Oops.)

Give it a good sanding down.   Nothing too crazy, just enough to make it easier for the paint to adhere.

Wipe it down and dry it well before the next step.

This step is only if you're like me and couldn't decide on one color....so I decided to use two.

Use some painters tape to mark off the areas where you want to divide your colors.

Then, paint away!  I used two coats of each color.

I was a little impatient and didn't want to wait until the gray was absolutely dry.  Instead of taping it off, I just took a small flat paintbrush and slowly cut in where the colors met.  Worked perfectly!

Let it dry completely.  I just let it set out overnight.

Choose your washi tape.....and because it's easily removed, just try out a small section first.

Since a lot of washi tape styles are somewhat transparent, it's a good idea to check what it will look like on top of a color.

I ended up loving this coral-colored, chevron tape with the paint colors I used.  It was so fun to try the tape in different positions.

This was one of the easiest projects ever, and I'll be doing a few more to feed into my washi obsession!

Stay tuned....