A Pantry Mini-Makeover

I've been giving my kitchen a mini-makeover this week, so I decided to let my pantry get in on the act.  Now, I feel I must tell you that my pantry is not swoon-worthy like this one {or several others I've seen in blog-land}, but I have made a few {subtle} improvements.  Just don't set your expectations too high, alright?  Alrighty then . . . I've had these glass canisters in here for quite a while and I love them.  They are pretty inexpensive {$3-$6 at WalMart} and they have nice wide mouths so it's easy to get stuff out of 'em.  I was getting tired of the kids calling to me, "Mom, which one of these is flour and which is oats?" so I decided they needed labels. {OK, my kids are smarter than that, but you know what I mean.} After searching Pinterest for inspiration, I came upon this most fabulously beautiful idea at The Painted Hive.

Kristine designed labels for her pantry that literally took my breath away.  I love every single thing about them -- the style, the fonts, the definitions.  They're almost too perfect.  Because she's awesome, she has them available for download on her blog.  I had already purchased the decal paper for my Pride and Prejudice plates so I was good to go.  I didn't need several of the labels she had created, but I did need some others.  Thankfully, because she's even more awesome, Kristine also shared the names of the fonts she used so I was able to download them and create some new similar labels.

I explained how to apply the waterslide decals in the post about my plates, so I won't bore you again.  Kristine also has a great tutorial for using Magic Decal Coating Paper.  I didn't try it her way because I just wanted to use what I had on hand and because my paper is supposed to be permanent already after you bake it on.  Still not sure if that's true, so I'll just wipe them down with a damp cloth instead of running them through the dishwasher.  I'm good with that.

You can see in the close up how they have a translucent background -- almost like lightly frosted glass.  It's hardly noticeable when the canisters are filled, but I don't mind it at all.  I found the little metal scoops online a while ago and I think they add a lot to the look of the jars.  {They're also very practical.  And super inexpensive.  Just sayin'.}  I have some smaller canisters for my baking stuff.  {With smaller scoops, of course.}

Now, here's just one more fun idea I found at Ask Anna:

How brilliant is that for storing your rolls of foil and plastic wrap?!  Just little cheap-o hooks from WalMart turned sideways!  And now I don't have to dig to the back of the pantry to get that stuff out when I need it.  Love that!  So, there you have it.  The rest of it is just a plain ol' pantry, but these fun touches cute it right up and make me excited about cooking again.  By the way, feel free to come over and use our community pool since you now have the code.  {LOL} Just clean up after yourselves so we don't ruffle any feathers with the HOA.  Mmmkay?  Have a great weekend!