Showing posts with label before and after. Show all posts
Showing posts with label before and after. Show all posts

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Painted kitchen counter tops



You girls guessed right! I am working on my kitchen counter tops!

This has been the scariest but most rewarding project ever. See my boring island? It doesn't look like this anymore! It looks more like this....



So, what do you think? Doesn't it look wonderful? I love how it turned out. They will look much better once I paint the cabinets.

I sold a few of my creations and was able to do this project with that money. Yeah! Hopefully I can sell more things so I can buy materials to paint the cabinets! Cross fingers!

Really, I only spent about $30 to do this project. Thanks to coupons! That was the greatest part of it! I can't afford thousands even hundreds of dollars to change my counter tops so I decided I would paint them.

I came across this post and she totally inspired me to do it. That same day before I read the post, I went to Home Depot asking for advice on which paint to use, how to do it etc.. I really didn't know what to do. I was scared! So I came back home disappointed because no one really helped me. They had never heard such thing of painting counter tops, but I knew you could do it.

My prayers were answered when I came home and the first thing I see when I log in is that post. Its funny how things work out!

I just wanted to know what kind of paint to use and what kind of coat for protection. Sara from Whimsies & Whatnots did a splatter effect with the paint. It turned out beautiful. I did a different effect only using the faux painting sponge. Both ways look beautiful!

I used:

Faux painting sponge
Variety of acrylic paints (depends on colors you want)
Paper plates
Brush (if you want splatter effect)
Paper towels to clean your hands (might get kind of messy)


1. First thing I did was to clean the island counter top really good. I cleaned mine with warm water and soap.
2. Next, I needed to see all the colors. I was only going to choose 3 colors for the counter top. I did this by putting paint on a paper plate and writing the color name. Doing this will be much easier to decide on colors.


3. After you decide what colors to use, using the sponge I started to paint the counter top. I painted lightly and I had to make sure not too have to much paint. I first used Burnt Sienna and let it dry. Then on top I used Burnt Umber and let it dry. At the very end I painted antique gold to give it a final touch. There were some spots that came out too dark and you couldnt see the original color of the counter top. There is a solution! I mixed white paint with a light brick color and painted over the dark spots. Problem solved!

4. After its completely dry, (dries quick) comes the most nervous, terryfing step; Envirotex Lite. I was so nervous to do this step so my husband helped me. After we were done, I thought its really not that hard. You just need to make sure to read the directions carefully and follow them exactly. We used a foam brush to spread the varnish. We used a propane torch to get rid of bubbles, but Sara used lighters.

It does take time to paint and get the effect you want. Overall, its an easy project but takes a good couple of hours to complete. I promise if you try it, you will love results.

Here is my husband using the propane torch.


Make sure you tape off everything because it will be messy. Envirotex Lite is Hi Gloss you could even see the reflections. I accidentally poured a lot of varnish in this corner. Can you tell? ha ha.. For it to be the first time, I did good! :)



So $30 for this project is not bad at all! I am working on the rest of my counter tops today and hopefully I can finish them in a couple of days. Pictures coming soon!

Information:
I bought the Envirotex Lite at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon. They are originally about $30 a box of 32 oz. and I will be needing 3 more. So if you have the coupons use them! Each 32 oz box will cover 8 sq. ft.

I cant wait to see my kitchen completed!

Well thanks for stopping by and hopefully this will help. If you have any questions just send me an email!
Have a great Saturday!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Show us where you live Friday- Baby Nurseries and Thrift Thursday

First of all I wanted to share this custom name frame I did. I absolutely love how it turned out! It matches Payton's bedding and it looks so cute!
Name Art on sale $18 + shipping
Contact me for more info! :)



Kelly over @ Kelly's Korner Blog is having a children's room and nurseries home tour!
As you know, we don't have any kids yet but hopefully we will soon.

A couple of months ago I found a wonderful website where they showed many different types of baby nurseries. I feel in love with all of them. You can see the post here of my favorite ones!
Enjoy!


Also..................




I am joining the fun at "Thrift Store Thursday" @ Homebody Hollys Party! This is the first time I've done this and I am very excited!

First, lets start by showing you pictures of my beautiful niece! Oh man.. I love her so much. She is so funny and is always laughing. She turned 9 months today! She has my eyelashes! ha..


So I went to Goodwill today and it went perfect! I found so many great items and the price was right.

I dont know for how long I've wanted a plant holder in shape of a bike.. I think they are adorable and look very nice by your front door. Well, today was my lucky day. I didn't only find one, but two! Mama bike, and baby bike! ha.. I paid $8 for both which is not bad. Good deal. They did need a little makeover.... sooooooooo.. with the help of my good ol' friend spray cans.. they turned from this.. into....


this!
I think they look much better. Im telling you blog friends, spray paint will do wonders! If there is an item you dont like anymore for whatever reason, spray paint the item and I promise you will never think the same about the item! It will be love at first sight all over again! :)

I also bought this cute hamper for $3. I might be painting it but I still dont know. Undecided!

I bought this little chair for my niece. It was only $1. I have big plans for this baby! Pictures coming soon!


I know, I might have bought a little too much but I couldnt help myself! The best is yet to come! I bought these four "not so pretty chairs" for $2.25 each. They will become "beauties" in a couple of days.

The recliner, I just bought it because it was $1. Really! Its ridiculous! I had no idea where I was going to put it but I liked it. It was clean, pretty and it was only $1.

It worked out great in my "reading area". It might be a little to big, but for now it looks good. Master bedroom moulding projects coming soon!

This is the best deal! Do you have an idea of what it is? Its a headboard! A cool looking headboard! You might be thinking why I have it in the kitchen, right? Well my plans are: turning this headboard into a wine cellar! Ok, that might have sounded to fancy!

I am planning to paint, remodel and embellish this headboard to hold wine bottles and wine glasses. Doesnt that sound interesting!?
Believe it or not, it was only $1.. I know.. ridiculous! We dont even drink wine but I have many wine decorations around the kitchen. It will go perfectly.

Well hope you have enjoyed my Thrifty Thursday finds.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Show us where you live Friday

Kelly over @ Kelly's Korner is having a "Show us where you live Friday" Kitchen Edition party.
I just wanted to share some quick pictures of my kitchen before and afters.
I am in the process of painting all my kitchen cabinets and figuring out what to do with my counter top to make them look better. If you have stained or painted the kitchen cabinets, please give me some advice!

Here is the before picture. (March 2008)


My husband and I took out the vinyl and put beautiful 12 X 12 porcelain tile. Of course my husband did most of the work! I did help though! Here is the before..


(May 2008)


This is how my kitchen looks now with a little few more decorations. (December 2008)
This is the last picture I have taken of my kitchen and it was during Christmas time. Can you tell? ha..


My husband and I put the back splash. Its really simple. Want to learn how? Read this post!

Naturally Home Decor

Remember this post?
Well I know I needed to create something else using the same items to give it that natural home decor.
I bought this beautiful tall vase at a yard sale for $1. Yeah I know, too plain right? Well not anymore!


Here are the items I used. I had a roll of jute cord, leftover coffee beans and lima beans from last project and my glue gun.


I did not plan my design before hand. I just started gluing and everything came together.
First, I glued the end of the jute cord and started wrapping around the glass vase. I kind of gave it that V shape in the front.


I had about 1 1/2in of jute cord glued, when I started gluing lima beans around. From here, you can do anything you want! You can add 2 layers of lima beans, 3 layers etc... Its up to you! Be creative! I only glued 2 layers of lima beans, then one layer of jute cord and one layer of coffee beans.


Here is a close up of the final project. Doesn't it look beautiful? I love the colors and texture!


I placed the "not so plain glass vase" in my entry table and added a few extra decorations.


So.. what do you think? Lovely isn't it! Its a very simple project, but you do need a lot of patience! It takes some time gluing bean by bean! I promise you will love final results. I dare you to try this! Very simple, inexpensive and so cute!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Really..... $1 floor lamp???

You are not going to believe this! I went to Kirkland's earlier today looking for a floor lamp for the seating area in our room. Remember I told you I didn't want the T.V in our room and instead I wanted a seating area? Well its coming a long great! The floor lamps are beautiful at Kirkland's but the prices are not right for me at these moments. I was hoping to find a good deal, but the deal was not there. I was a little disappointed but I knew I would find something quick.

Oh boy oh boy... did it come quick! I took a trip to the Goodwill store and look what I found! This not so beautiful lamp with a lot of potential. I immediately thought " I could paint it, and cover the lamp shade with a pretty fabric etc... In matter of seconds I had everything planned out how I wanted it. So I check the price, and guess what.... the price was right! It was originally $7.99 / Week 14 tag. Today all week 14 tags were .99 cents! I quickly put it in the shopping cart. My husband was laughing at how funny it looked "driving" a shopping cart with a 5 1/2 tall lamp! ha.. I laughed at myself too!


I also found this pretty fabric (1 1/2 yd) for 1.99. It is beautiful!

How to cover lampshade:

I measured the lampshade and cut the fabric according to size.
I used spray adhesive (it works great)
I adhered the fabric to the lampshade and smoothed it out as much as I could. The fabric is kind of wrinkly!
I hot glued the fabric to the top and bottom of the lampshade.. and shazammm.. I had a beautiful elegant lampshade.

Its very simple! You should try it!


I took the lamp outside and gave it a little makeover with spray paint! I love spray paint! I choose "Espresso" color. Its like a rich chocolate color.



The middle part of the lamp started bubbling and I did not like how it was turning out as it dried. So I cut a long strip of the same fabric as the lampshade and glued it down.


Here is a close up of the lampshade. Isn't it beautiful? I love it!


Here is the final piece! So.. what do you think? Its amazing that spray paint and fabric can do so much! It looks like a brand new lamp!


I am still not done with the seating area but I just couldn't wait to show you how great it is looking.
Thanks for visiting! You are more than welcome to leave comments!
Thanks!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Simple Project

I have been busy with custom orders, good thing! :) There are a couple of things I want to share with you today. First of all, thank you so much for your great comments. I have been receiving emails and comments every day! It makes me very happy!

Also, I won a blog makeover from Shabby Pumpkin! Its all great news today. I entered a giveaway she was having for Shabby Pumpkin's Grand Opening and I won! So girls, come back soon and check out the new So Lovely Creations blog!



Please check out Mandy @ Shabby Pumpkin! She also creates digital cards and photography! Her designs are awesome!

She designed Mandi's blog @ Miss (es) Canadian Pie
I love Mandi's blog! You cant go wrong with pink and brown!

Quick and easy project I want to share with you today. I've been trying to use some of the things I have at home to create beautiful pieces. A while back, I found these unfinished wooden candle holders at Michaels for .50 each. The round wooden plaque I bought it at Walmart for $1.12. It was originally going to be a bow holder, but never used it.

This is a really easy project and it turns out really cute! I used my glue gun ( i love you glue gun!) to glue the wooden plaque on top of the candle holder. I then spray painted the piece white. Let it dry and ta-da! You are done! Now, wasn't this easy? It doesn't get easier than this girls. I made this to hold a bigger candle I had, but I played around using different objects.



I think I might use this to bring life to my fruit bowl! This looks like one expensive decoration, but its not! I bought the bowl at the Dollar Store and it looks like a glass bowl but its plastic. I know, incredible! This total project was only $2.50. What a deal! Just lovely!


I tried as a plant holder.


I tried it as a candle holder. But at last, I decided I liked it best with the fruit bowl holder. I dare you to try this project! So easy, inexpensive and cute! Have a great day!