Bulletin Board Makeover

Before we moved to the new house our bulletin board (similar here)was the center of everything. We kept family photos, important dates, invitations as well as any other important paper we could tack up on it.  Then last July we moved and our HUGE bulletin board simply didn't really "fit" anywhere.

In our kitchen the previous owners had a large TV that they simply painted around.  Since they weren't keen on the idea of leaving the TV behind, we get to stare at a lovely outline of a tv and it's cords.

Now one might think, hey just paint that wall, right?  Right. Unfortunately out of all the gallons of paint they left, they didn't leave this one behind.  So I either have to repaint my entire kitchen or just this one wall something entirely different (which I'm thinking I could do a chalk board wall OR do a wall of shiplap).  It simply hasn't happened yet with all of the other projects we've had.

So I decided this would be an EXCELLENT place to put our bulletin board.  And it works to cover up that beautiful outline.  But it is hard to reach and really not something that i can easily update since it's right above our kitchen table.  Except George thought it could use an update and decided to color on it.  I grew tired of looking at it and finally googled "Painting a cork board."  To my surprise, there were a ton of ideas.

Before: Crayon and Sun Bleached Outlines 

I bought a can of spray paint from Target (similar here) and since we had only one small piece of newspaper, I used that and cut the rest of my masking from boxes in the recycling.  I masked off the frame (that Adam made using chair rail) and went to work!

This was super easy to paint! I did a few coats to get it even.  One could get creative and make different areas and could have done multiple colors, lines, or even chevrons.  Its really endless. I just wanted to brighten and clean up the board to make our kitchen a little more cheery.

I'm sure I will add more to the board as the summer goes on.  I am pretty happy with the way that it turned out and am glad I did it!

(Look at all these super cute pics!!)  I am thinking I need some letters at the top or something more :) But until then I just added a cute little $4 banner from target (because I'm too lazy to cut this out myself) and some pics I quickly printed off an app that gives you up to 100 prints for free (per month, you pay shipping).

Happy Summer!!

XOXO

Kristen

Spring Cleaning

In my last post I mentioned that I recently decided fell into becoming a consultant with Norwex.. How does that happen?  Well Norwex is having this really awesome deal right now where you can sign up to become a consultant for FREE (ish)!  Yes. Free.  No obligations, no required sales, straight up free.  You get a smaller starter kit (see below) but all the stuff is free just for the cost of shipping - which is why i said "Freeish" - My shipping cost $10.54.   If you sign up for the larger "starter" kit - you are required to sell $2000 within the first 90 days or you are charged $200 for the kit... But the kit I signed up for? Totally free!! What's not to love with that? Some basic info:

JOIN FOR FREE!* March 2015
• Be your own boss and set your own schedule!
• Earn 35% Commission and generous monthly incentives!
• Eco-friendly products for a healthier lifestyle and a greener planet!

Receive FREE Products!
• EnviroCloth™red, BacLock™
• Dusting Mitt blue, BacLock™
• SpiriSponge (2 pack)
• Window Cloth purple, BacLock™ 

I've used some of the products and had good luck with the ones I bought in the past... (including the purple window cloth, which I am MADLY in love with!).  So I decided to setup a Facebook party and see if anyone was interested in purchasing from me... well it turns out that my awesome friends and family were totally into the products.. which means that I am officially selling Norwex :)

Even better?  I already met my first sales goal and get MORE Free product.  Sweet! I heart free stuff!!    Are you interested in becoming a consultant?  How about free product?  Yes, the consider signing up to be a consultant... test out your friends and family like I did - you might be surprised!

Sign up here:  http://www.norwex.biz/pws/kristenvanness/tabs/sign-up-now.aspx

Okay - I wasn't trying to do my "become a consultant" sales pitch.. it just happened :)

Anyway.. let's be honest, who actually LOVES cleaning? Because I seriously don't.  I grew up with a grandmother who cleaned hospitals for a living, so you can imagine what it was like making sure our house was clean enough for grandma to visit!!  

We set aside Saturday to do our spring cleaning and I was really excited to use some of my (FREE) Norwex products!  I had already started deep cleaning my kitchen earlier this week... but I'm ashamed me say that our walls had some pretty nasty food spatter on them... relate?  Well, I used my SpiriSponge to scrub the walls fresh and clean!  I love products (or anything) that makes doing any kind of job easier (esp when it relates to manual labor!).

I pretty much cleaned my entire Saturday... and we are talking deep cleaning.. on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors, walls, baseboards, etc.. We took down light fixtures, changed out lightbulbs and deep cleaned our house.  I am beyond exhausted but know when I wake up tomorrow it will all be worth it!!  

I was able to use a bunch of my awesome products!! I used the dusting mitt on my ceiling fans (Gross! who wants to touch those?); on my tables, shelves, you name it, I used it!  I used my EnviroCloth when cleaning my refrigerator and counters, used my purple window cloth on my sliding door, windows and even polished my stove top.  Of course I used the dishwashing powder in the dishwasher (with my magnet ball) to get our dishes extra clean.   I'm pretty sure I used other products but after 9 hours of cleaning I am spent!!

Are you getting ready to do your Spring Cleaning?  What products do you need to be ready to get the job done?  Let me know what I can order for you (or if you'd like to join my team!)

    XoXo
            -- Kristen

PS  - a VERY big thank you to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Paul for watching my sweet boy so we could get all of this accomplished today!