Bye Bye Ugly White Linoleum!

 I know it's been ages since I've posted anything but it's been crazy around here. I've been working a lot more hours lately, the kids and everyday "life" has kept me very busy....even when I find myself with some time, I'm just too pooped to do anything. But........I have managed to finally, (yes, FINALLY) get my countertops finished!!! I used the Giani countertop paint kit in Bombay Black. I watched the video & read the directions but being typical me, I changed it up a bit. First thing, I didn't tape off anything...I hate, well actually despise painters tape. I prefer just to use a fine brush & paint freehand. I also worked in large sections instead of smaller ones like they suggest. I paint fast so I had no problems with anything drying out. Lastly I added black glitter. Not the chunky stuff that kiddos use but the super-fine fancy Martha Stewart stuff. I used this because I wanted to achieve the subtle glimmer that black granite has. I am thrilled with the finished result!!! My husband cannot believe how realistic it looks too. :) I did put three coats of the final clear coat on it.....remember, I have four kids so I'm all about damage control! I still have the island countertop to do,which is going to be totally different and the backsplash too.....hopefully I will be able to keep this momentum up! Ok.....enough babbling......here's the pictures...(excuse the bad shots, some were taken with a cell phone).

"before"shot with painted cabinets & original white speckled linoleum countertops

countertops had to be thoroughly cleaned first..

first I edged everything with a fine brush

edging around the sink

the first coat, the black matte primer is on

already a huge improvement with just the primer on!

close up of the counters after I added the mineral paints

there's three mineral paints (black, silver & bronze) I used all of them

I didn't use the sponges that came with the kit. I used my handy-dandy Target bags :)

Here I added the black glitter. It's hard to see, but it's on there...

I painted some veining to mimick marble...

another shot, trying to show you the glitter

you can see the glitter all over the sink before I cleaned it off 

waiting for everything to dry before putting on the final clear coat

Clear coat done!!...just have to clean off the edges of my sink 

the counters are pretty much dry now, they repel water already, but I'm waiting another week for them to"cure" before I put all my kitchen clutter back on them...

close up :)

still need to clean off my sink....:)

nice manicure.....

So what do you guys think? Not too bad for about $80 and a few days of work.....

next project.....the backsplash.....

Kitchen Facelift Part I

I did it. I finally got of off my butt & finished painting my kitchen cabinets. It only took me all summer! If I had stuck to my guns & not been so lazy or easily distracted I could have finished them months ago...but with the kids being out of school I just preferred playing at the pool :)
Since the kids have been back in school I've been busy with a new job but every time I looked at my kitchen I knew that I had to get it done. With that being said, they are finally all done!!! I used Annie Sloan chalk Paint in pure white for the cabinets & graphite for the island. I also used both the clear wax & the dark wax, while sanding them to give them an overall distressed look. Or as my husband calls it "dirty white". I have four kids so I've given up the whole idea of having anything pure white, that's just fighting a losing battle. Anyway.....here's my pictures of my progress so far:

the maple cabinets before I started,btw - that is a clean kitchen in my book :)

There's my stupid faucet that kept breaking, hmmm...no dishes in the sink- we must have eaten out....

it was like this for longer than I want to admit....the dogs liked it this way though

shot of the island

hint: make sure you number the doors so hanging them back on are easy

the finished island (no hardware yet)

hardware is finally on & the painting is all done

you can see my new faucet & the wood scrolly things that I added to the front of the sink

I used the same hardware on the cabinets as I did on the island

usually someone has their face in here looking for food.....

shot of the hardware & my favorite kitchen appliance...my iphone dock/radio :) Yes, I rock out while I cook.

another shot of my surprisingly clean kitchen...(it won't last)

I'm thinking about getting some new stools next....

this photo was from the listing when our house was on the market...the ivy & foo foo curtains were taken down immediately

can you figure out some of  what I'm doing next?......except I'm not doing it their exact way, going to change it up a bit :)

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A Little Sneak Peak

You can see how I am distressing the cabinets in this photo & my hardware is finally on!! :)

Even though I am still working on my never-ending kitchen I wanted to give you guys a little peak. The cabinets are almost completely done!!!!!!!!!! Talk about taking my time, but in my defense it has been an incredibly busy summer & I am working part time now too...... Anyway, here's a peak:

The doors on the left have been stained with both the dark stain & clear stain from Annie Sloan. The one on the right has not...see the difference? In case you guys can't remember, I used chalk paint for this whole project.

It's Been A While, But Here's Another Quickie....

 It's been a while since I've posted any craft projects & frankly it's because I've been so busy working on my kitchen, that I haven't done anything. So the other afternoon it was raining (which hasn't happened in like forever..) and we were all plopped on the couch being lazy & watching the movie Fifty First Dates (cute movie,btw) when I decided to get all crafty. Maybe it was because of the rainy weather & I felt unusually lazy or maybe it was because I had just consumed a huge plate of nachos, but I felt like I had to accomplish something. How else was I going to justify ignoring my four gigantic loads of laundry that I was ignoring? So I went into my office (nice word for the place I keep my hoarding piles) & rummaged through until I found some goodies. I had an old straw wreath and some upholstery tape, found some leftover red felt from a Christmas project and decided to make this. I think it's the first time that I ever actually made anything with red roses.....what do ya guys think? I call it a "quickie" cause it didn't take too long to make. I'm not sure how long, I started it during the movie & finished it way before the movie was over. Anyway.....I'm pretty happy with how it turned out :)

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close up of my roses..I added the little green leaves because I think it needed a little something-something......

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