Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Presto! New Cabinets!

Last week, my husband traveled to Indianapolis for work - and I figured that if I wanted to go really crazy, that I would add painting my bathroom cabinets to my to do list right after "keep child 1 and 2 out of trouble!"  If you're a parent - you know how this is a full time job in and of itself.  ;)  I was fortunate enough of having a friend just paint her kitchen - and she helped me know what type of paint to use and the kind of brushes that make it look professional! 

Here are the materials you will need - Painter's tape, fine sandpaper, FOAM brushes and rollers (I would get at least a couple of both small and medium size foam brushes - they're super cheap), painting tray, Kilz (if you use oil based Kilz, just remember you'll need paint thinner to get it off of your skin or on anything else you use with it), SATIN paint, and Polycrylic (Satin). 

Remember - paint goes a long ways.  I think I used less than half a quart of the paint and less than 1/4 of the Polycrylic.  We plan on doing our kitchen soon also - so we just got the bigger size of Polycrylic.  It goes on like water - so you don't use very much.  :)

Be sure to remove your cabinet doors, hardware, and drawers.  All of our drawers were glued on (go figure) except one that the kids, somehow with their super power, knocked off.  Next time, I would remove all of them because it was a little hard making sure I got every piece covered completely in black paint. 

You will need to tape off your cabinets and then get sanding!  Take some fine sandpaper and just rough up your painting area on the vanity.  If you have a tack cloth - it might come in handy.  Since I didn't, I just took a wet rag and wiped off the residue so it wouldn't get stuck in my primer or paint.  :)

This was the part I hated - Kilz and I have a love-hate relationship... basically I hate it because I seem to get it everywhere and since it's oil based, I have to cover myself in paint thinner to get it off... lol.  Oh well.  This is where a couple extra foam brushes and rollers help you out, because it's just easier to throw them out than trying to reuse them.  (At this point, I ALMOST forgot about the doors - don't forget to prime and paint the doors also!)



After each coat of primer and paint, you are going to sand it lightly with the sandpaper.  This is a good opportunity to sand off any place where there might be a run or if the paint got particularly thick in places.  I actually don't know what the purpose of sanding it is (I'm pretty sure my husband just wanted to create extra work for me ;) but since I'm not a pro-painter, it was good for me to go back and fix up any mistakes.  :)  So - that being said - do a light sanding of the primer. 

Next, you're going to get out the paint!  This was my favorite part - and was therapeutic to me.  I got to see an immediate difference and painting is a lot easier than Kilzing - at least to me. 


Be sure to cover all of the primer!  You don't want that coming through the paint.  So get in every nook and cranny. 

I did three coats of black paint.  Go around the edges/trim with the foam brush, and then use the foam roller to get it all uniform and smooth... with a foam brush, it doesn't leave any streaks, but the roller just makes it look so good!  And don't forget to sand off any drips or runs between paint coats after it dries!

After three coats of paint - it looked fantastic.  I could already tell that the SATIN paint was the right choice to make - it looked like it was just meant to be!

Next was the polycrylic.  Be sure to STIR and not shake the polycrylic.  Unfortunately, I shook it THEN read the directions.  It says in small print - not to shake it.  Oh well - I made the best of it. 

For me, when I rolled the polycrylic on - it left little bubbles.  Soooo... I used a foam brush to cover the entire vanity... twice.  I put on two coats - I wanted to be sure I had a good layer of sealer - this is what is going to save your cabinet from oil from your hands and water and just going to be sure that you have a long lasting paint job. 

According to the directions - the polycrylic dries after only a couple of hours, but you should not use the piece for 24 hours.  During that time, we spray painted our hardware.  We considered getting new ones - but since ours were still nice and just need to be updated a little, we spray painted them a nickel color.  :)

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Good luck to you all!

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

1st Day of Preschool

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

My. Two. Munchkins.



Don't they look like such little angels?

Until you realize...

...my youngest learned the hard way that the glass sliding door was actually that... a door (yep - that left a mark).

...Emma thought it would be a great idea to to not take a nap - 3 days in a row.  Oh heavens.  I need a break. 

...Carter thought it would be great to explore our steps within an hour of arriving home from Charlotte.  Who knew he could crawl that fast all of a sudden?!  (that left an even bigger mark)  Up went the gate. 

...pooping in the tub has become a favorite pasttime of Carter's.  (Dang, who knew that the 2nd child did that too?!)

...that Emma has become a full fledged hypochondriac.  That's right, my daughter always thinks she's sick.  Her belly hurts, her ear hurts, her little toe hurts... you name it, it hurts.  Fortunately this always comes at the same time - bedtime.  every.  night.  I'm waiting for her to realize that if she says she has to go to the bathroom, she gets a free pass out of bed. 

My little mischievious munchkins. 


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Thursday, February 17, 2011

My little girl turned 3 yesterday...

Yesterday, we celebrated Emma's 3rd birthday.  Daddy took the day off of work so that we could celebrate it right - Family Day!  We started off the day with chocolate chip pancakes, made by Daddy and then we opened presents!


After that, we headed to Pump It Up! What a great time we had. There weren't a whole lot of people there and we were also able to go on the inflatables with her. She had a grand time!




Then we enjoyed a quick lunch at McDonald's and headed home to play a game of Candyland!

Naptime came next for the whole family!  Then we were off again to Chuck E Cheese!




And we finally ended the night with a round of "Happy Birthday" and some cupcakes! 


What a wonderful day!  We are so blessed!
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Monday, January 24, 2011

Cluck Cluck!

The other day, this is what I found my husband doing...
My wonderful husband offered to make dinner the other night.  It was just a box mix where you were supposed to add "1 lb of chicken".  Obviously, my perfectionist husband decided that it had to be exactly one pound!  :) 
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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Overheard at our house...

Momma (talking to baby Carter):  What a big boy!
Emma:  Emma a big boy too?
Momma:  No - you're a big girl!
Emma:  Momma a big boy?
Momma:  Noooo, momma's a girl like you.
Emma:  Daddy a big boy?
Momma:  Uh yes, baby.  Daddy's a big boy too. 
Emma (runs up to daddy):  You're a big boy, daddy!

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

What peace and quiet will get you...

It will get you a speeding ticket. Yes, that's right. I said speeding ticket. For some reason, I just happen to think that at that moment in time when you are about to make the wrong decision to go a way that will quite possibly earn you a speeding ticket, there would be some flashing neon sign that blinks "STOP!" in irritatingly bold colors. But alas, there is not. And now I am stuck with a speeding ticket. Yes, that's right. I'm blaming a nonexistent sign.

Well, anyways, that is besides the point. Today while driving home after dropping my daughter off at preschool, I decided that I would take the different route home. Carter was sleeping and the van was blissfully quiet. As I was traveling down this "scenic" road, enjoying looking at the houses, I noticed a cop. Yep. I automatically put on my brakes. I knew I had been speeding. In my head, I prayed, "please, God, please God, don't let that cop come after me". Well, obviously 10 years without a ticket or getting pulled over at all, or even receiving a parking ticket, means that it's about time I got one. 

So the story is... I was going 41 in a 25 and I received no grace. I now owe $162 to the county. Boo. I'm debating whether my good driving record will help me get rid of this, but not sure. Have any of you ever gone to court over a ticket? I realize that I was in the wrong, but, hey, you never know!

Anyways, I hope you all had a wonderful Thursday - hopefully one better than mine! At least the night can only get better - Grey's Anatomy tonight! :)