White Tulip Designs » Inspiration, Design, and DIY for all of life's events.

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Pots and Pans Review

If you’re an avid DIY’er furniture aficionado, or reno fan of any sort I feel quite certain you’re also an Ikea fan. Unfortunately for quite a few of us, Ikea is more of a day trip excursion than a quick errand. And, they don’t sell much online. We live smack between 2 Ikea stores, both of which are over 2 hours away. If you ask my Hubby that’s probably for the best. Well, at least, for our bank account.

 

Ikea pans - review

 

Last summer I took no less than 5 trips to Ikea collecting items for our kitchen reno. Early on I started eyeing a set of Ikea 365+ pans. Hubby and I have been using a combined set of hand-me-downs from our single days that were quite sad.  And, I really wanted a new set of pans to go along with my new kitchen.

 

Ikea pans - review

 

I was quite disappointed that, even though I had found online reviews for so many other items for the kitchen, I couldn’t find anything for the pans. So, since I decided to take the plunge anyway, I thought I’d share my thoughts on them. First of all, my sweet in-laws bought the 7-piece starter set for my birthday. Then, I added the sauté pan, and 2 more sauce pans.

 

Ikea pans - review

 

The set has a smooth, flat bottom which I was really looking for since we have a glass top stove. They heat nice and evenly and hold heat really well. The design of the pans and their lids make them easy to handle. The metal handles do get hot if they are exposed to heat for very long but not a bad as you might think. The non-stick surface on the frying pan performs much the same as any I’ve used. Read: If you take care of it, it will take care of you! Not to mention the fact that they are dishwasher safe. I prefer to wash them by hand but it’s wonderful to know that I have the choice. It really speeds thing up when we have a large group over.

 

Ikea pans - review

 

I know it’s silly but I insisted on keeping them all boxed up until the kitchen was completely finished. So, at this point, I’ve been using the set for about 8 months. FYI - The Ikea 365+ pots and pans are available on the website (woo-hoo!) and they are adding new items all the time. Overall, I have been so pleased with these and intend to add more pieces on my next trip. We are quite a small family but I do cook quite a bit.

 

Ikea pans - review

 

If you have any questions that I haven’t answered, please feel free to ask!

*I received no compensation for this review, all opinions are my own.

Linking up over at Met Monday, The Scoop,

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 07/27/2015 - 11:03 pm

Deb, thank you so much for stopping by. I’m glad you liked the review.

Deb McK - 07/27/2015 - 7:58 pm

Thanks for the review. I love Ikea. I also bought new pots and pans for our kitchen reno and refused to use them until the kitchen was done! That took just over 1 year….and I did not use them until then! I also kept most of the old set and use it when needed too.

Spice Storage Round-Up

Do you remember my handy little built-in spice rack project from back in March? Well, when I was working out the details to put the project together I started a Spice Rack board in my Hometime account. (If you’d like to see some of my other home project inspiration check out my other boards here.)

 

Printable Spice Labels -White Tulip Designs

 

Anyway, I’m excited to announce that Hometalk has asked if they can use my Spice Rack board in one of their newletters! Here is the inspiration board . . .

 

spice_storage_hacks - White Tulip Designs

If you’re looking for some spice storage ideas and my built-in doesn’t quite work for please come over and take a look at some of these awesome ideas! And, if you’re looking for unique spice labels you can download and print mine from here!

 

Book Review - Paperie for Inspired Living

As much as I have been loving the blogging process my day job, designing printable stationery, is shifting into high gear with the beginning of wedding season. Just a little FYI, wedding season in the US roughly runs from May through September with July being the most popular month. Here in the South, October has gotten quite popular as well. The bulk of my clients are planning on an average budget but looking for unique and DIY options. No matter how crafty you are, DIY can be a challenge on a budget with a tight timeline. Also, if you’re not careful, DIY can end up costing more than twice what hiring a professional can. Don’t forget, there are no do-overs.

 

Book Review - Paperie  for Inspired Living

 

If you’re looking for DIY paper options for your event (any event!) I highly recommend Paperie for Inspired Living by Karen Bartolomei. As someone who has a Graphic Design degree and who has read many books on DIY stationery design this is a must have! Even if you’re just someone who has a love of paper crafting you still need this in your library.

 

Paperie

 

Karen showcases stationery projects for several different occasions from holidays, to family events, and even a personal stationery suite. The book includes her own templates as well as source lists for fonts, tools, packaging, embellishments, and more! And, she has a great little guide to invitations and papers goods.

I’ve used Paperie  for Inspired Living to get inspiration when working on designs for clients with unusual requests.

 

For more of Karen’s ideas and portfolio click HERE!

 

 

Perfect Timing

The best DIY projects come from needing something that doesn’t exist, right? What about when you need something that does exist but you just can’t find the right one? That’s the perfect size, shape, design, color, yada, yada, yada . . . After a while it’s just easier to build it. In this case, that’s EXACTLY right!!

 

Perfect Timing Wall Clock - project from White Tulip Designs

 


I made a wall clock for roughly $10. Ok, in all fairness, I already had the cabinet door but the clock itself was only $4 and I’ve seen similar cabinet doors for just a few dollars.

Here’s what I started with . . .

 

Wall Clock Project

 

I started by using my hand sander to sander down the front of the cabinet door.  And filled in the hole with hole filler (on both sides) before painting. Then, I measured the clock “face” and the placement of the battery on the back so that I could mark out where to out the large hole.

 

Wall Clock Project


Hubby used a hole saw to put a hole into the door so that I can reach the back of the clock to set the time and change batteries.  I knew he had the hole bits in his tool box but I didn’t quite know how wonderful they are. I had a shoulder injury a while back. Nothing serious, but Hubby suggested the he should do the drilling since it needs to be done in one shot. I’m dying to give it a try myself! There are other ways to achieve the access hole but, if you already have a drill adding the bit isn’t a much of an expense as purchasing a new tool altogether.  (See here for more info.)

 

Wall Clock - Hole Saw

 

I sanded down the rough edges after Hubbs cut out the hole and painted the front in a satin black.  Then, I placed the clock exactly where I wanted it and traced it out with a pencil. Using construction adhesive, I put a bead of adhesive along the pencil line to hold the clock in place. After carefully placing the clock I let everything dry flat overnight.

 

Wall Clock with Adhesive

 

The next day, I used an Exacto knife to trim away the excess glue to smooth everything down. I then, used the sander to make sure all of the edges were completely smoothed down and re-painted the entire front in the same black paint.

 

Wall Clock Project

 

And, here’s my new wall clock! It’s much more upgraded version without being too ornate for the room. Absolute perfection! Ta da!!

 

Perfect Timing Wall Clock - project from White Tulip Designs

 

 

Linking up over at Metamorphosis Monday, The Scoop, & Wow Us Wednesday

 

 

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 06/22/2015 - 7:47 pm

Thank you! I’ll be there for sure!

Lou Lou Girls - 06/22/2015 - 7:00 pm

I’m in love with this! Thank you for sharing this with us! Pinned and tweeted! I hope to see you at tonight’s party. Lou Lou Girls

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 06/05/2021 - 9:52 am

Thank you! Thanks for stopping by!

Tania - 06/05/2021 - 9:46 am

What a great idea, it looks great!

Tania

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 06/05/2021 - 9:45 am

Thank you! I’ll be there!

Kathleen - 06/05/2021 - 8:54 am

How awesome that clock looks, its beautiful. I can tell you had a load of fun making it too. I am so impressed. Thanks so much for bringing it to #HomeMattersParty. We would love to see more of your work.

Kathleen

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 05/26/2015 - 10:46 pm

Melissa, thank you for stopping by, I’m so glad you like it!

Melissa Vera - 05/26/2015 - 9:00 pm

What a beautiful looking clock. You did an awesome job. Thank you for taking the time to link up on #HomeMattersParty this week. Looking forward to seeing what you link up next week.

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 05/24/2015 - 11:17 pm

Thank you for stopping by!

theartinpartyplanning - 05/24/2015 - 9:48 pm

That turned out so amazing! Great idea!

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 05/23/2015 - 10:40 pm

Thank you! Heading over to link up now!

Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai - 05/23/2015 - 2:15 pm

Your clock turned out great! What a clever idea. Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/05/21/home-matters-linky-party-38/ 🙂

~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai

Jennifer (White Tulip Designs) - 05/13/2015 - 8:11 am

Hi Cheryl! Thank you!

Cheryl - 05/13/2015 - 2:42 am

Love it! Great job!!

An Invitation to Brunch

This week I’ve been working on various client artwork (Wedding season is gearing up, after all) as well as a collection of pieces for the blog! I’m so excited to share everything! In the meantime, I’ll be starting with a simple project leading up to Mother’s Day!

I love brunch! It’s my favorite meal, mainly because it generally means a special occasion that brings together a smaller intimate group of friends. Not to mention, it tends to involve the best parts of breakfast and lunch put together in one glorious little feast!! Fruits, and cakes, tarts and quiches, oh my!

This weekend I’m hosting a Mother’s Day brunch for my friends. And you’re invited to join in! I’ve created a simple invitation that you can print as-is or add in your own text (see both printable files).

 

You

 

This invitation features a sweet little bunch of hand-painted roses set inside a loosely drawn frame.

 

You

 

Enjoy your weekend and keep checking back for bonus items!

Come over to the blog to download your free printables! See you soon!

Spring Brunch Blank

 

Spring Brunch Invite - to fill in

 



Mother

 

Mother’s Day Brunch

 

 

D I Y   S h o p