These from Uncommon are adorable.

Vincent and Everett would flip for this Angry Birds set by Klay Krafter.

Enough about my magnet obsession, how about we tell the winners?  Random.org chose numbers 54, CP, 28, Cassie, and 98, Spereelan.  Congratulations, ladies!

Today, Young House Love posted their thoughts on how to deal with negative comments.  Fellow bloggers, you probably know how this feels.  While 99% of the comments we receive are incredibly nice, somehow it’s much easier to let the negative comments get to you.  I remember the first mean comment I received.  And it did hurt my feelings.  We’ve gotten a few more since then, but it’s getting easier to handle.

Anything house related, that is.  When it comes to my kids, I’m a mama bear protecting my babies.  Say what you want about our house.  That’s what we blog about.  Everyone has different taste and everyone is entitled to their opinion.  Sure our kids make an appearance from time to time, but usually in a very limited setting.

All that to say, we appreciate your opinions, whether positive or negative.  Please find a way to relate your criticism in a positive way and everyone will be happy.  No hurt feelings.  I’ve chosen to share our house, projects, and stories because we want to help and inspire others.

What are your thoughts on constructive feedback versus criticism?

You can see in this post we already had our main dishes in the cabinets.  But you’ll also notice we had a few unpainted shelves.

I finally got my arse in gear and primed and painted said shelves.  Which means I had a place to set the dishes.  Before I started putting dishes in the cabinets, I hauled everything out of the guest bedroom and set it on the counters to assess the situation.

My process of arranging the dishes is very similar to arranging a bookshelf.  Most often used items are easiest to reach, which for shorties like myself is the bottom shelf.  Least used things up at the top.  That means you, gravy boat.

Of course I couldn’t just toss things in there.  Nope, I didn’t want a block of white ceramic and then another chunk of clear glass.  I made sure to mix glass with ceramics on the same shelf and staggered going up.

Don’t be fooled.  I moved things around several times until I landed on the right spacing (gotta maximize) and layout.

Everything from the stack of plates up will have glass door fronts, but we’ll cover the ugly mail and toaster up with a solid door front.

But that little elephant there?  Yeah, he came from the Dollar Tree.  It’s a cute little bank for Ben to toss his change in instead of leaving it on the counter.  Everett often asks to “pet el-phant?”  A few loving strokes and he’s done.  Wait, that sounded reeeeealllly bad.  After petting it a few times, he walks off and carries on with his day.  When we get the big kitchen projects out-of-the-way, we’ll build dividers to separate the mail and cover the electrical box.  Gotta get some doors first.

Who else likes to organize cabinets?  I know I’m not the only freak one.  How do you prioritize your dishes?  Do you have a cute bank?

Way back then, I admitted I liked the look of the rug, but not the feel of the crunchy paint.  Because of the crunchiness, I thought we’d have peeling paint and more flakes than a dandruff shampoo commercial.  Surprisingly, the painted rug has held up wonderfully.  Sure there are a few small spots, but still nothing terrible.  Like this little dot.

And this slightly larger patch where a little boy had an accident.  Ben scrubbed the rug (hence the slightly worn paint), then poured baking soda to help with the smell (thus the white circle).

If you recall, I got the rug for $13 because there was an extremely run down section.  I’m happy to report the paint is actually helping this part.

So, it’s staying in the bedroom until it’s trashed or we find a better rug.

If you’re thinking about a similar project, I can say this holds up better than anticipated.  I think the key is using a darker rug and oil-based paint.

What’s your worst rug experience?  A spill?  Wear from use?

P.S.  Ben moved into this house eight years ago today.  Two and a half years after that, we got married and I started taking over the house.  Haha.

I know, it’s not much of a make over, but I’ve always wanted to make a book safe.  A 15 cent book is a good tester, too.  Jen’s challenge was an even better excuse to get started.

First, I separated the first few pages and the front cover, keeping everything bound with binder clips.  Then I mixed plain ol’ Elmer’s glue with a little bit of water and brushed it all over the edges of the book.  Mod Podge would work for this, too, but I only had glossy and I wanted this to look as realistic as possible.

With the edges glued together, I put a few pencils between the front pages and the glued pages.  To help the pages dry tightly, I popped Ben’s jug of wine on top.  Twenty or so minutes later, the glue had completely dried.

To get started cutting, gather a pencil, ruler and a sharp utility knife.  Draw a border on the front page (I used the text as my guide).  Use the ruler to cut a straight edge, going through as many pages as possible.

Pull the pages out and keep on cutting.

Don’t stop now.  Cut along the edges.

As I cut, my edges got messier and messier.  This doesn’t matter.  It will all be covered up.

After about 15 minutes of cutting, I had removed enough of the inside to fit my iPhone inside and close the cover.

Once you’ve hollowed the book to the depth you’d like, cover the inside edges with the glue mixture.  Spread more glue along the top of the hollowed border and let one page out of the clips.  Set the page down and cut out the inside for a clean top page.  Put something heavy on top to dry.  Now you’ve got a handy book safe to keep all your worldly possessions inside.

I have to admit, after cutting to the iPhone depth, my new camera arrived and I quit working to fiddle around.  And I haven’t gotten back to cutting yet.  But you get the idea.

Now, let’s do the Safety Dance.

Have you ever made a book safe?  Wanted a book safe?  What’s your favorite book?

That’s right, I got some painting done in a few painting sessions last week and over the weekend.  I thought of House of Pain the entire time, especially when I told Everett he’d better back up.  He has a tendency to lean against the cabinets (or climb in them), getting wet paint on his hands.  That’s what we get for having an open floor plan.

Anyway, back to the painting.  The bar cabinets in the living got a coat of Behr’s Vermont Cream Two in One paint, the same paint we used for the upper cabinets in the kitchen.

True to my nature, I was in a hurry to get the cabinets painted and did a few things backwards.  Like painting before I had filled and sanded the screws in the sheet rock.  It wasn’t a big deal though, I just got a head start on the cabinet painting.

I decided on white because it matches the entertainment center cabinets and the white below the chair rail in the rest of the living room.  (And your votes pointed to white)  For better flow, we agreed to paint the wall part white to mimic the chair rail.  The real truth?  I’m the one painting and I was lazy and didn’t wait to dig out the gray paint and tape off the cabinets.  So everything got a nice coat of white.

If you’re wondering what the boys do during my painting sessions, see exhibit a:

While I’m talking to them, they play in the living room, make a giant mess.  The kitchen doesn’t get as much action, but you can see I’ve neglected put off cleaning until cabinet painting has come to a close.

After one coat of paint on the cabinets, I broke down and filled the screw holes.  I let everything dry, sanded smooth, filled any holes again.  Let it dry, sanded smooth, vacuumed up the dust and painted another coat of white paint on the cabinets and wall.  Then again.  And yet again.

I was so excited to pull up the tape.  And that’s where I got a little annoyed.  I used Frog Tape along the edges, which did limit paint seepage.  But the Behr paint is so thick and dried quickly (which can be good) which made it impossible to pull the tape up while the paint was wet.  So little chunks of paint peeled off the cabinet right along with the tape.  I guess I’ll have to remember that and peel the tape off one small section at a time.

Enough of my whining though.  Did you notice Ben installed the shelves in the cabinets?  And do you see how nicely the bar stools pop against the white wall?

But that’s not all the painting I finished.  No siree.  I painted the half wall and the white chair rail walls around the back door.

No more Frankenwall.

It’s nice to see that wall a solid color again.  No more nicks, nail holes, or mismatched trim.  Plenty more trim painting to do, but I’m waiting until Ben sands and paints the ceiling.  Then I’ll have the pleasure of painting what feels like miles of crown moulding and casement.  Sometimes painting in phases is annoying; cleaning up each time can get old, but it also has benefits.  By limiting myself to small areas, I can get painting done quickly (often during nap time) and I don’t have to keep the boys away from the entire house.

Do you like to get all your painting done in one go?  Or do you work in small sections like I do?  Did you do any painting this weekend?  Install any shelves?  Maybe you sat on the couch and watched the football games?  Cough Ben cough.  Okay, he didn’t watch the entire game, he did install the shelves and started sanding the ceiling and walls.

Rock at Picking Clip Art would be perfect in an office.

Sew Freakin’ Awesome fits a sewing or craft room.

Hang Home Sayings Melody in your entry to greet everyone walking through your front door.

Teach your kids it’s okay to be different with Don’t Give a Hoot.

When Life Gives You Lemons is a good kitchen reminder.

The colors in Don’t Give Up are perfect for Valentine’s Day, but would look great hanging year round.

Here’s what Jessica said:

I commented on your “Birds of a Feather” gallery wall a few weeks back.  After that, my husband and I decided to create our own gallery wall. I posted about it on my tiny little blog (homebegins.blogspot.com). I started the blog this past summer when my husband and I transferred to a new city for his job. I have been so inspired by your blog and others that I have recently decided to devote more time to it. Slowly but surely right?!  

Anyway, I posted about our gallery wall, you can check it out here. I didn’t intentionally plan on this, but our gallery wall looks SO similar to yours.

While we were arranging the frames, we saw a bare spot in the bottom corner. I love what you did with the flowers on your wall so decided to do something similar. I found small plates at Goodwill (5 for like $2!) and I am STILL amazed with how much they mimic the look of your flowers.

For our first attempt at a gallery wall- we really like it!

Another cool thing about this wall is it becomes a conversation starter when people come over. Such as, “why in the heck do you have a picture of a random Google Map on your wall?!”  

I never would have thought to do a gallery wall or use Goodwill frames if it hadn’t been for you and all the other blogs I love to read! Thanks for your help and inspiration!

Didn’t Jessica and Brandon do a great job?  I love the asymmetrical layout, the personal art, incorporating the thermostat, and how cheap the project was; only 35 bucks!  For a quick change, they could swap the art, or keep adding to the arrangement.

What do you think of Jessica’s gallery wall?  Do you have a gallery wall in your home?  Want to be featured as part of our new Reader Write-In series?  Send us an e-mail at ourhumbleabowed@gmail.com.

We had white unsanded grout left over from our bathrooms, so we used what we had.

Before mixing the grout, I taped off the cabinets and counters.  Grouting is a messy job and we wanted to protect everything as much as possible.  Then Ben mixed up some grout in a large stainless steel bowl.  Like nearly everything mixed material in home improvement, you want the grout to have the consistency of peanut butter.

Using a foam float, Ben applied the grout, smooshing it in the cracks and wiping the extra off quickly after.

Be careful not to wipe off too much, though.

For the tighter strips along the window, Ben used his fingers to push the grout in the cracks.  After finishing up the wall, Ben sponged most of the grout off the tile surfaces and the window trim.

Next up, the stove side tile.  Again, the float was too wide to get this tile, so Ben applied it with his hands.

And now waiting for the grout to set up.

Here she is, all grouted and lookin’ pretty.

Here’s my favorite shot, showing almost every kitchen detail:

Everything except the awful soap color.  Why does Palmolive make their soap glow in the dark green?

Any suggestions for pretty dish soap?  Hand soap is easy enough to find.  I like that this pump holds two different kinds, but I’d like something prettier.  But doesn’t the grout make everything look so much better?  And finished?  And preeeety?

P.S.  Here’s what the boys and I do while Ben works on the house.

Remember the gap above the marble back splash?  Before Ben could put crown up, he nailed a filler strip in place.

Then tacked the trim to the filler strip, keeping it flush with the ceiling while covering the gap and a little more of the marble tile.

See how nice that finishes the tile off and makes everything seamless?  Love it!  (And, that’s a peek at the grouted back splash).

To match the other cabinet, we wrapped the trim around the upper cabinets.

For some reason, the small back entrance and stairwell never got crown moulding.

Problem solved.  After a few coats of the same blue paint from the stairs and dining room, everything will flow together.

One of the reasons we chose the vent hood we have is because we wanted the rest of the kitchen to shine.  To make the fan as un-noticeable as possible, we agreed (after some debating) to carry the same trim around the vent hood.

I considered adding different trim and painting the box white, something kind of like this.

But Ben persisted that this was the best way to go.  I have to say, I agree.  White paint on the trim and blue in the middle will give this side a splash of color, too.

Now we need to caulk the cracks and joints, sand everything smooth and slap some primer/paint combo and we’re done.  With the trim.

What kind of vent hood do you have (or like)?  Sleek stainless?  Painted white?

P.S.  I used my new camera to take these pictures.  On my desktop, the pictures look fine, but on my laptop, a strange gradation/solarized thing happens.  Is anyone else seeing this?

P.P.S.  A few more readers took the survey (thank you!!) and I got a few requests to share some Photoshop action.  Consider a post in the works!  Oh, and to the surveyor(?) looking for bookshelf decorating, check out this post, or this one, this one, and this one.

Sixty generous readers took the survey, offering up valuable insight.  For instance, 56 readers found our blog through another blog.  While only three found us through a search engine.  That’s interesting.  I didn’t realize how dramatically other blogs directed traffic our way.  And, I now know nearly 50% of our readers follow through Google reader and only 20% are subscribed right through the blog.

Twenty-five percent of our readers have referred Our Humble A{Bowe}d to friends or family.  Thank you so much!  Seventy one percent are daily readers while others visit weekly.  A few people read more often if we’re working on an interesting project.

Your comments about what keeps you coming back left me smiling for days.  Seriously, we have the greatest readers.  Ever.

Here are a few examples:

• I love seeing how quickly and beautifully you update your house. The little craft projects are also really creative and fun (especially the cute christmas ones recently). Also, your kids are adorable so the little pictures of them are great.
• Its consistence, its regularity, it appeals to my interests, the cuteness of the four Bowes, everything (I love the Etsy recommendations also)
• My husband and I did board and batten and since you and your hubby do such a great job, we got a lot of inspiration from that! Just general interest as well- can’t wait to see the kitchen!

• All the detail you provide, budget friendly projects, real life scenarios, your positive attitude!
• ‘That’s what she said’ jokes in your posts . But seriously, I like that your blog has the same caliber of projects as the big ones, but you’re more low-key (type A, but low-key) and don’t overdo it. No one needs 2000 words on a cabinet-painting post. You post the details, good photos and a brief tutorial, but don’t ramble. I like that.

See what I mean?  Wonderfully sweet, encouraging, supportive readers.  I cannot thank you enough.  And I guess you want to see more of our projects and lives.  Whew, that’s a relief.  I thought I was going to see a lot of checks for guest posts and giveaways.  I promise to keep our inspiration, building and craft projects, and organizing solutions coming.

A few requests I found interesting and I’ll try my best to accommodate:

1.  A cabinet building post.  It’s already in the works, we’ve just got a few cabinet doors to build, then you’ll get to read about the entire process.

2.  Recipes.  In all honesty, I’ve stayed away from this because I don’t have any original-it-was-my-creation recipes.  I didn’t think you’d want to read about the Gordon Ramsay or Rachael Ray recipe I cooked.  And I don’t consider myself to be a good cook and I’m definitely not a baker.  Don’t get me wrong, I can make something edible, but nothing that is ground breaking or special.  In fact, 99% of the meals I cook are planned by rummaging through the fridge and/or pantry and tossing something together.  But because several requests were made, I’d be happy to share an occasional recipe.  For those interested in only house stuff, don’t fear, this will never turn into a cooking blog.  Cross my heart.

3.  More pictures of me.  I know, I know.  I’m terrible about getting in pictures.  But I’m guessing none of you wants to see me bra-less, in my pajamas at three in the afternoon.  Okay, usually I have the decency to put a bra on before ten, but you get my point.

4.  Videos.  Again, I’ll try my best, but I’m usually home alone with the boys, which means there’s no one to do the camera work.  I’d love to hear video content suggestions, though.  Something to better explain a sewing project?  How Ben builds something?  Lay it on me!

5.  More quick, easy, and inexpensive projects.  Once we’re done with the kitchen I’ll have more free time to work on little projects.  I’ve got plenty to do, just need the time.  Don’t we all?!?

6.  Don’t waste a post by announcing a giveaway winner.  I hear ya.  Usually on Fridays, we’re busy running around so I quickly write up a post.  Every other Friday, when I announce the giveaway winner, I’ll also add a little something.  You’ll get to peek into the insanity that is my mind.  This could be anything from a recipe, window shopping, pictures of our lives, a super quick project, inspiration images, something from Pinterest, or a themed round-up.

Now, I don’t want to seem defensive in this next part (I know, I asked for your honest opinions), but I do want to address a few comments I received.

1.  You do a great job with updating daily with lots of pictures and coming up with interesting ideas for the home! Maybe have a bar on the side of the blog with categories (living room, kitchen, entertainment center, vacations, etc.)?

If you look on the left side bar, there’s a ‘Topics’ drop-down filled with categorized posts.  :)

2.  I would really love it – and think it would make more sense – if you would write personally (i.e., “I”, “me”, “my”) instead of “we” since you guys don’t seem like a blogging team – or if you are, that doesn’t come across!

I totally understand the ‘we’ versus ‘me’ thing.  The main reason I say ‘we’ instead of ‘me’ is because Ben plays just as much of a part (bigger, actually) in updating our home.  Sure, he isn’t the one writing up the posts (I cringe watching him peck at the keyboard) but without Ben, we wouldn’t have this home.  And without this home and the updates we’ve done to it, I would have no reason to write a blog.  Let’s be real here, Ben is the star of the show; if you could choose one of us to work on your home, I can guarantee it would be Ben.

3.  Don’t remove comments that are meant to be as constructive criticism, unless they are filled with profanity. It might be helpful to others readers what ‘others’ think and can either defend you or agree in a nicer way with the constructive criticism.

I can think of only one instance in which I’ve deleted a negative comment.  And it was in no way related to our house.  Rather, it was an attack on me personally.  I don’t think that’s helpful to anyone, but every house related comment has been published, good or bad.  Positive or negative.

4.  I really mean no offense, but your pictures are often dark and blurry. I feel it would greatly improve the look of your blog if you invested in a better camera. I’m sure you could find a good deal on one if you looked around online. Best of luck growing your blog, I think it’s great!

I’m two steps ahead of you.  Actually, I had already ordered this Canon T2i camera package.  I just got it in the mail Friday afternoon.  You can bet I’ve fiddled around with it all weekend.  In fact, I’ve already updated ‘The Grand Tour‘ page with some new pictures.

Old camera:

New camera:

5.   You and Ben are truly talented people, and it’s remarkable what you’ve done with your house. I would focus more on your own identity and your own talents than trying to seem more like other blogs (like YHL).

This one is a toughie for me.  I know there are things that other blogs (YHL being one of them) have done that I’ve also done.  When it’s a project, I give credit for the inspiration.  Other similarities are either sub-conscious or coincidental.  In the home-improvement blogging world, most blogs are more well-known than Our Humble A{Bowe}d.  Because of this, I think readers see big blogs as trend setters while all others are following along.  I can assure you I write the way I do because it is who I am.  Like wise, Ben and I tackle projects that work for us, our kids, our life style, and our home.  We’ve done it before ever reading a post on other blogs and that hasn’t changed.

Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions.  Truly, I reeeeeaaaalllly appreciate and value your opinions.  If you want, the survey is still open and I love reading more from you.  Oh, and for those of you who did take the survey, did you like the format?  Last time readers left answers in the comment section…

With the formality out-of-the-way, how was your weekend?  Do anything exciting or different?  We mostly relaxed, but we did get a little kitchen work done.  Details (and better, brighter pictures!) to come tomorrow!