Cabinet Re-Do

Since moving into the house, my kitchen cabinets have been one of my least favorite things. They are the standard grade, a mix of real and faux wood. The color is what got me... it reminded me of my college apartments. The darker color made the kitchen seem smaller and very... cookie cutter.

Joe had wanted to do something to the cabinets from the very beginning. I was very hesitant from the beginning. Finally, after many talks and visits to different blogs, I relented.

We both wanted to paint the cabinets white, I wanted to apply a glaze to them that I found on my favorite blog, All Things Thrifty. Brooke at All Things Thrifty does AMAZING things with furniture and her house and constantly inspires me to be more crafty. She also glazes EVERYTHING under the sun. Back to the cabinets though, we though the white cabinets with the black glaze would be a nice touch to the kitchen, would make it seem larger, and would be more our style.

This was my first glazing project so we followed Brooke's glazing steps pretty much spot on, you can find the instructions here. The entire process was not overly complicated, just time consuming.

First step was to paint the cabinets. Because they are inside we could not spray paint (like Brooke recommends). We first removed the doors and drawers then applied a primer then several coats of a high gloss enamel. Joe did this as he is much more detail oriented than I am. With the painting complete, and the cabinets stark white, I applied the glaze.

The hardest part of glazing was actually buying the glaze. We could not figure out which product was correct as Lowes had just changed their paint labels (so I could not compare it to the products shown on All Things Thrifty), and unfortunately, the Lowes employee did not really understand what we were looking for (NOTE: this experience was very different than most Lowes shopping trips because typically I receives TONS of great info from the Lowes employees).

Once we got the correct product (you don't need much, we got a quart and used less than 1/4 of it), it was torture trying to explain that we needed the employee to add the black color to the glaze. The guy pretty much said there was no way to do it without pouring out a quarter of the can of glaze. Instead, we bought the quart and bought one of the tiny color sampler paints in black and mixed the two at the house.

Brooke had mentioned getting the glaze tinted was a problem for her as well so I imagine this is a universal issue and if you want to glaze something you should plan to get the two separate products and mix it yourself.

With the glaze mixed, I applied it to the cabinets. This was my first glazing project ever (heck of a project to start on right?!?!), so there are some errors but overall I think it turned out nice.

After the glaze dried (and we got some time on our hands), we applied a 4 coats of a polycrylic to protect the paint job.

We finished off the project with some glass knobs off ebay (they were a steal at only $2.50 a piece!). I think they really make the project come together.

Once final note, we removed the small cabinets above the stove as well. Joe installed 2 wine glass holders from Target here and presto, the finished project!

After doing this process I know I will be glazing a LOT more in the future... in fact 2 weekends ago I bought a furniture piece for my room that will be getting the glaze treatment very soon.

Best Find EVER (this month!)

I ventured into the local dollar store this week and found $1 Krylon spray paint... SWEET! They had several colors including celery green, a bright yellow, light blue, and a couple others. I picked up 4 greens and 2 yellows.

This same paint is normal like $3-4 dollars so this is really a steal. Especially because I have been on a huge painting kick lately (as in this week). After loving the green I am going back tomorrow to get several more cans.

I used 2.5 cans of green on a furniture piece I picked up at a garage sale for $20. Here is the before picture (I had already taken some drawers out before I remembered to take a picture).

And a close of up the detail on the furniture piece:

And a sneak peek of it partially painted.

I am planing to glaze it once its painted up. My goal is to have it done and put in my room before Easter. More pics to come soon!

Conroe peeps - I totally recommend stocking up on some of this paint if you have a crafty hair on your head. I got it from the King Dollar on HWY 105 E headed towards Cleveland (its on the east side of 45, past downtown Conroe. The paint is above the cashier. They also had EVOO -extra virgin olive oil - when I went but I heard from Denise at The Rowdy Ramsdens there were only a couple bottles left. It would be worth a look if you stop by though!

Blackberry Jelly?

I picked some blackberries while at my parents house this past weekend. I LOVE blackberries and picking them is pretty much an annual adventure for me. Unfortunately the drought has led to a reduction of the number and quality of berries this year but I managed to get a big bowlful.

I have always eaten the berries fresh although my Granny would make pie and my Grandma makes cobbler. Everyone loves Grandma's cobbler but personally I am more of a pie type of gal. I just can't seem to let my yummy fresh berries go to make a pie... and the one time I tired to make one I failed miserably.

Today I stumbled across the blog The Blind Pig and the Acorn... its a pretty neat, I recommend checking it out. Anyway, because of this post, I am now inspired to make blackberry jelly. I have NEVER done this before and will need to pick quite a few more berries when I go home for Easter BUT I think I may give it a go (maybe).

So, blog readers, do you have any tips, recipes, or jelly making advice? I am all ears!

Post Wedding Spotlight :: Megan

I have been putting off updating the blog because of the subject of my blog post. Not because I do not like the subject - the exact opposite is true - I just know that anything I say or write will not do her justice. This is a much delayed wedding spotlight on my (not so) baby sister Megan.

Meggo came into my life when I was about 6.5 years old. I was so excited to hear I was getting a little sister... at the time I did not realize that I would also be getting a roommate for the next 12 years - or, a best friend. As roommates, we fought, we played, we blamed each other for a messy room. Since our days as roommates, Megan has become a confidant, an encourager, and a role model.

She is loving, loyal, supportive and has a fantastic listening ear. Megan is absolutely beautiful on the inside and out. She is the type of friend everyone needs, and the type of daughter every parent wants, and the best sister in the entire world.

Post Wedding Spotlight :: Kristin

In my rush and stress the week before the wedding, I missed highlighting two amazing women that were the matron and maid of honor at my wedding. I absolutely love both of these girls so they are each getting a post wedding spotlight.

My Matron of Honor was my cousin Kristin.

Kristin is more like an older sister to me than a cousin. We have always been close but have grown especially close over the past 5 years or so. Kristin always goes above and beyond in everything she does - especially when it comes to being a friend and supporter. She is a vigilant defender and protector of people she cares about - thankfully I am one of these people. Kristin is the type of person you can call the 5 minutes before you get to her house to hang, and by the time you get there, she has a bottle of wine open, snacks on the table and Jared (her hubby) outside grilling dinner. She goes above and beyond in everything she does and is 100% reliable. Not only is Kristin a dear friend, she is the wife of super cool Jared and mother of adorable Colt (my Godson). Jared also always go the extra mile for people he cares about and was a HUGE help with wedding stuff. Colt, Kristin and Jared's son, is a 2 year old stud that looked A-DOR-A-BLE at the wedding as the ring bearer (but he always looks pretty stinking cute). I love this entire family and am blessed they are such a huge part of my life.