Home Improvement

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    The weather is doing me in! The snow specifically, so I’ve decided to take on some indoor DIY projects! They’re not finished yet, so this post will be updating, but here’s what I’m up to. A homemade spice rack.

Not mine, but mine will be similar

    I’m so excited about this! I ordered my bottles today. I got the smallest one on the far right.

Love them!

    I bought a piece of steel and was going to install it today but decided to wait in case I need to get a bigger piece, depending on how the jars fit. My second little project is in the bathroom. I’m painting it yellow and painting our hideous vanity white. Getting a little help from A :)

Before

Primer!

After!

    I loved doing this. I really hated the wood and it was just so factory and yuck; it was a long time coming. Before priming, I scuffed up the original surface with one of those sanding sponges. Then I primed and then I painted, two coats. Easy peasy! I bought some satin-nickel knobs from Lowe’s for about $2 (the old one’s were gold!) and I have a brand new vanity!

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    I did it! My spice rack is finished!!! Ok, almost finished :) I have to order a few more magnets to get my last remaining jars up there, but other than that, it’s totally functional!

Supplies

    I bought of sheet of 12×24″ (there are several sizes available) steel and 3/16″ toggle bolts from Lowes, E-6000 glue from the craft department at Walmart, Neodymium magnets from eBay and glass hex jars online. I went to Lowes and asked them the best way to attach the steel to the drywall in my kitchen and they said I needed to anchor it with the toggle bolts. Here’s a nifty video explaining the toggle bolt and how to use them. I never read or heard anything about this anchoring business from my research on the web, so that’s why I feel compelled to tell you!
    You will need to pre-drill the steel with a bit the same size as the toggle bolt screw you’ll be using because those screws are flat, not pointed, and won’t actually drill through the steel. Holes (ginormous) will also need to be pre-drilled into the drywall for the actual toggle bolt to fit in. The E-6000 is apparently great glue and can be used with the neo magnets. It has a full curing time of 24-72 hours, but I found that it worked after 9 :) It doesn’t set up immediately like nail glue (you can glue yourself together quick with that stuff!) and rubs off kind of like that rubber glue you used in elementary school. You can use just any glass jar you like and my 4 oz jars are plenty big enough, even a little too big, but they were the only one’s in the shape that I wanted with a black metal lid. My magnets ended up being a little too small to hold the weight of the jars, so I doubled them up side-by-side on the jars. Those are strong little buggers and they jumped together while I was trying to glue them–SO stick them side-by-side before putting glue on them. They won’t jump on top of each other if they’re touching sides. So that’s that! :))

Pre-drilled holes

Doubled magnets

Metallic Sharpie to save the day

Yay! I love it!