DIY Pot Rack

Hi, everyone!  My name is Laurie Hamilton and I am thrilled to be a new blogger for My [Re]claimed Home.  Just to fill you in a little about me, I moved to North Carolina about 5 years ago from Chicago and haven’t looked back!  I love it here and the people here are just the nicest you could meet.  My love for repurposing, redesigning, and reusing anything goes way back. A little over a year ago my son and his family joined me here in beautiful Mooresville, NC and my daughter-in-law Karen and I wasted no time jumping into any kind of crafts and repurposing we could to decorate the house (you can see some of our work on our Facebook page, Pink Punk Design). I participated with Karen in the 2013 ReStore ReStyle Design Challenge and had a blast. One of the patrons of the contest saw our work and hired us to decorate her entire house. It turned out beautifully and gave us even more ideas.  I really enjoy the happiness it brings people to see that even on a budget they can still has a beautiful and comfortable home. The smiles on their faces make all the work totally worthwhile.

I thought for my first blog I would show you a little something I made for the kitchen to give it just a little “European” flair. I was on my weekly roam through ReStore and noticed some burglar bars for windows leaning against the wall. Perfect for – what else – a pot rack! 

To start this project you will first need some kind of rack that you can hang things from. If you can’t locate the type I have shown, try thinking a little out of the box. Maybe outside you may have an old wrought iron or metal garden trellis? Those are easy to find at yard sales and thrift stores.

Next, find the studs in your ceiling. This is of utmost importance. It can be done quite easily with a stud finder. There is nothing worse than having your gorgeous project come crashing down in the middle of a dinner party. Here is what else you will need:

- 4 big screw-in hooks that you will space into the studs to coincide with the corners of the rack
- mid-weight chain
- 4 u-shaped bolts
- some hooks to hang the pots.

Now that you have your materials you are ready to get started. Simply screw the four hooks into the ceiling, attach four lengths of chain to the corners of the rack using the U-bolts, hang the other end of the chain from the ceiling hooks, hang your pots and pans from the s-hooks and VIOLA! Pot rack!

If for whatever reason it is not feasible for you to hang the rack from the ceiling, you can also hang it vertically on the wall of the kitchen. 

I hope this gave you some inspiration to jazz up your home using items found at the ReStore. Check back often for more ideas to make our lives beautiful, starting right at home!  

Rubik's Photo Collage

I am actually poaching this next project from my mother-in-law. She made one of these for all of us at Christmas and they are just so amazing that I had to share.

The best part is that I almost always see a Rubik's Cube on the toy aisle of Restore for no more than $ 2. Not to mention that you can also pick up a cooling rack or drying tray that you will need for this project while you are there for as little as $. 50 each. And I have been able to snag a good deal on photo paper on occasion.  I really wouldn't be shocked if I found the resin needed on the craft aisle either. So stop by your local Restore and see how very inexpensive this project can be.

What you will need :

2 part clear resin

Rubik's Cube

Photo paper

A cookie cooling rack (or doaming tray found at craft store )

Disposable plastic cup

Plastic spoons

Super glue

1. Remove the existing stickers from cube. There are many different ways to accomplish this from using goo-gone to mayonnaise.

2. Choose your photos. Since this was a surprise, my mother-in-law pilfered pictures from our Facebook Albums. The quantity and size of pictures you will need depends on the amount of cubes. This one had 4 on each side and a total of 24 pictures were needed. A standard rubik's cube will have 9 cubes per side and a total of 54 pictures will be needed. I found this website that offers a free template download for the 4 block cube and a they also offer a download for the 9 cube as well.

3. Cut your pictures and lay out on doaming tray about an inch apart. (This site actually provides a very detailed 2 part instructional video for this project as well)

3. Mix your resin according to directions on label. Take time and read about avoiding bubbles and how to get the bubbles out of your mix.

4. Spoon out about half a spoon full of resin and place the tip of the spoon over the center of the picture and let the resin run off. Once you have covered all the photos, get down to eye level and see if you need to add a few drops to any photos that are not perfectly covered.

5. Place dust cover over your tray and wait 10 mins. After the 10 minutes have passed, remove the cover and check for bubbles that may have rose to the surface. Either use the spoon tip or a toothpick to carefully remove the bubbles without scooping away the resin.

6. Replace dust cover and let dry for the amount of time listed on the resin instructions.

7. Glue your photos to the blocks. 

8. Proudly display your crafty work of genius or wow and amaze someone with a very special gift.