I will admit, I'm an avid blog reader and a slight online shopping addict. And I'm always looking for ways to make things prettier and easier to clean. So when I got my new refrigerator bought and installed, I knew that I wanted to make the inside pretty (black and white to match my kitchen) and easier to clean, since spills and leaks are way to frequent in my household... which makes no sense since we don't have kids and the fur babies can't open the fridge. Hmm... I'll have to investigate this. Now I'm slightly confused. LOL
Anyhow, I went on the search for what to use in here to make it a little more unique.
My first stop was at FridgeCoaster.com... and while they had recommended products for my refrigerator, I just thought it didn't look RIGHT. I made some makeshift templates (out of construction paper) to see how the sizes they list would look in my fridge. While I love their products, the sizes and the colors offer just weren't EXACTLY what I wanted. And I cannot justify spending that much money on something that I just don't fall in love with. I'm too cheap frugal to waste money like that, especially on something that my DH was not excited about. (His actual response? "Who's going to see inside the refrigerator anyhow?)
So I kept looking....
and looking.....
Nothing jumped out at me. So I just said to heck with it!
I'll make my own!
So, off to Amazon I went.
First to buy the cork for the project. It comes in these awesome rolls that make measuring how much you need a breeze. I ended up using two whole rolls. But, I kind of expected that. The new fridge is seriously immense. LOL
Then I had to decide what kind of shelf liner I wanted to use. Yep, simple shelf liner. Why not? It's inside the cabinets, so why not use the same product in my fridge?
I found this AWESOME black and white chevron pattern!!
I absolutely love this stuff.
Once I had all of my supplies, the hardest part was measuring and cutting it all out!
I have weird shelves that split in the middle to be used in whatever configuration that you choose, (don't worry, I still haven't found a good method to arrange these buggers) and one long shelf across the bottom.
I started with the big one... MISTAKE!
I highly recommend starting with a small shelf or drawer to get used to adhering the really sticky paper to the cork. Using two moving items is a chore, and if I had it to do again, I would definitely practice on the small pieces first.
I measured it out....
and used all my handy sewing supplies to make the cutting and measuring easier.
I only used my rotary blade because it was dull anyhow, so I just cut the cork and paper with it before I put in a new blade. I wouldn't recommend it if you are going to use it on fabric again... the cork really does a number on blades!!
See the wrinkle??
Yep, that's why I wish I had practiced first.
The goal is to center the cork piece onto the piece of shelf liner and adhere it neatly and evenly. There is no "trick" that I found; it's whatever your own dexterity allows. I found that cutting all the pieces and flattening them overnight (or longer) with some heavy books helped a lot in getting it all to cooperate better.
I really love how it turned out!!
In the door shelves....
.... in the produce drawers....
Ok... the pattern isn't all the same direction, but I was running low on supplies (I really should have ordered another roll of cork) and I just couldn't waste any because it wouldn't be running the same direction!
I've been using these for about 2 months now, and I must say, it really does make cleaning way easier. I just pop them out, wipe off the crumbs over the sink and replace. Under the coasters is still super clean!
.... Now if I could just get these shelves to a place I like....... :)
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