How to Paint Cabinets

I did a little research before I painted my cabinets, because I would like for it to stay! So, the following is what I read most commonly: Wash them with TSP substitute before you start. If your cabinets are in the kitchen, you want to wash them a couple times to get all the built up grime, and grease off. Then, use this product called a De-Glosser. It takes the place of sanding. (I Loved not having to sand the cabinets down first). Then, to help decrease brush/roller marks, add Floetrol to your paint. And always use a foam roller.

Here it is broken down:

Step 1: Wash with TSP

Step 2: Use Deglosser

Step 3: Prime (as many coats as you wish)

Step 4: Paint (as many coats as you wish)

Step 5: If wanting more of a gloss look, add polyurethane. This also helps protect it.

There you have it! That is what I learned, and so far it has worked for me! Hope that helps, and is simple enough for all of you out there who want to paint your cabinets to!

~Elisa~

Laundry Room

Here is the Before shot.
Here is the before pictures. When we had our cookie cutter house built, we had them install cabinets in the laundry room, but went with the basic, simple, oak cabinets that are in every other house. One of the things on my to do list, is to change all the cabinets, but instead of buying new ones (that is SOO not in the budget), I want to redo them all. So, I started with the Laundry room. And I LOVE the outcome. First of all, the room is SMALL, basically only room for the washer and dryer. And it felt as small as it looked. And we were using every nook and cranny for storage in that room. It was really starting to bug me having the clutter up on top of the cabinets showing. So I used a tentsion rod, and some fabric out of my craft room to hide the junk up top. The fabric is actually a clearance shower curtain I found at Ross awhile ago for like$1.99 or something crazy like that. I also made a curtain to go on my folding table that used to be a bookshelf, to contain more items being stored in there. And I Love the bright color it adds. I have always been a fan of the color yellow. It is such a happy color, and when you are folding laundry, you need to have some happy reminders. I used some leftover blue paint from one of my friends projects (thanks Jess!), so that was free. The bookshelf turned folding table was given to me by my sister in law, so that was also free. The paint was used for another project, so you can say that was free to! I did have to purchase The soap jar (goodwill for $5), the polyurethane ($9) and the deglosser ($6). (More on painting cabinets soon) So the grand total for the makeover was around $22. Not bad, I think. And the room feels soo much bigger, and put to better use.

Here is the bookshelf turned folding table. The cute words are a gift from my mother (Thanks Mommy!)

I added some command hooks to the side to dry items that shouldn't go in the dryer.

And these cool pictures, are real adds cut ouf of magazines when my grandmother was younger. When I inherited them, she had just made some cardboard frames for them. So to preserve them better, I had my other Grandpa build me some custom frames, because they were odd sizes. These may be my favorite part of the room, just because of the story they tell. The frames where painted black, but I decided they needed to be white to match, and I think I like them better!

~Elisa~

Polka Dot Dresser

This was a $10 dresser off craigslist. It was in great working condition, but had some ugly handles, and needed a paintjob. So I sparay painted her white. Then I used some cups and bowls to cut out my own stencils from cardboard, drew the circles on, painted them in with toll paint (a couple coats), added some new handles, and tada! We have a new dresser! It added just the spunk I was looking for. Oh, I almost forgot. I also lined the droors with white contact paper so it would have a smooth, clean finish.

~Elisa~

How it was done.

Now I wish i would have taken picture of the cans, but I hadn't started my blog yet, when I was experimenting on my freezer! So I will try to remember the details. I may not remember the brands of each item I used, but i will try hard. So, I started out with a primer that could be used outdoors, and that would cover rust and mildew, because I had some stains that needed covering! Then the paint I used was an outdoor paint that could be tinted and the one thing I remember reading on the can was that it could be used on downspouts, and that it adheres to metal (?) but it definately talked about the downspouts. I think I did 2-3 coats of primer to make sure it would stay. Then 3-4 coats of the red, then I bought the rustoleum clear gloss finish. I had painted the words freehand, and then put the gloss coating over that. And that was also 2-3 coats. The reason I had to do so many coats of the red was because it was red. Other colors propably wouldn't take that many coats. Also, you need to use a small foam roller to get a smooth look. A brush would just look like you painted it with a brush, and I don't think you want that. Another paint that would work well is the rustoleum appliance paint. I thought it only came in spray paint, and I didn't want to get red paint all over my garage.

While I was purchasing my clear rustoleum paint, I noticed they also sell the appliance paint in cans, but i don't belive you can tint it. I think you can only use whatever variety of colors the store carries. It was fun, and I have had no problems with the paint coming off. I think it is on for good! I hope that helped and I answered your questions.

~Elisa~

Today I am being featured on Better After. Go on. Take a look, if you haven't already!

~Elisa~

Can you hear the birds?

This is what the girls room looked like back when it had no paint, and was just Addi's room.

To spice it up a bit, we added the brown strip and put up some vinyl circles. And have loved it.

Well, this is an idea of what it looks like now that the girls have slowly reached at and pulled down all the circles. I know, how could they reach that tall? Well, when you can stand on your tiptoes in your crib, you magically grow super tall, and when you get a new big girl bed, you instantly grow really super tall! So I have been stirring up ideas in my head of what to do now. And I have been wanting to freehand something for awhile. So I decided to give it a go, and if I hate it, I can just paint over it. So, after purchasing a few bottles of acrylic paint ($4) I have a fun new border! Addi LOVES the birds and the eggs in the nests. She got to pick out the color for the birds, and insisted they have blue feet. So since it is her room, I let her. Here is one of the during pictures. I should have took picture of each step, but my camera battery died. So here are the ending steps. As you can see, the branches were first painted white. Then I did a few different coats, of "glazing" with my own made up mixture, and it was 2 differnt mixtures, to give the branches depth and texture.It was definately scary and fun at the same time, since I was going off of NOTHING. Just going with the flow, and making it up as I went.

Here is my professional pallet!

Here is the finished project. I think I like it, but I will have to let it set in for awhile before I really make up my mind.

All from a $5 walmart scarf

So last year, I found a few cute scarves at walmart for $5 each. I wish I took a picture of them, but I forgot, and didn't know I was going to use them like I did. I hope they have them again this year, because I will definately be getting other colors if they do. Anyways, last year I made a skirt out of one, and then used the extra fabric to convert an old pair of jeans into a long jean skirt. The girls loved them, and so did I. Then out of the other scarf (they were alot wider than I like to wear them), I made a scarf for myself, and then 2 smaller scarves for the girls. We have enjoyed their use LOTS! Today for church we had fun playing with our homemade goodies! It's fun how just a few accessories can make an outfit completely different!

Dollarstore finds.

I was needing some cute containers for a fall piece on my table. And I have always wanted to try the E-6000 glue I bought at Joannes. So I headed to the Dollartree to see what I could find. I picked up a few glass containers, some candlesticks, and some leaves. I was going to make 3 huricane type pieces, but remembered I need to raise my little dome by my kitchen window. So i decided to use one of the candle sticks on it, and I am glad I did. To use the E-6000 glue, just put it wound the rim of the candlestick, and glue it to the bottom of the container of your choice. I turned it upside down to do the glueing. Let it dry overnight, and you have yourself a hurricane. Also, the glue dries completely clear, so if you do a good job on gluing, you won't be able to see it at all.

On a side note, don't you just love my nest?! I'd tell you how to make one of your own, but it may or may not work. First you have to plant some sort of bush. Then you have to allow for a bird to find it's way there, and make a nest! Then you watch it as it lays it eggs, hatches them, and feeds them, and then flies away. Now you have successfully made yourself and authentic birdsnest! I still have to find some real looking eggs to put in it, but I like it by itself as well.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Here is a yummy, quick, homemade buttermilk pancake recipe. Once you try homemade, you may not be able to eat the mix anymore. At least that is how I feel. There are lots of recipes out there, but this in one of the first ones we tried that we like, and that is super fast. I found it on cooks.com or allrecipes.com, but cant' remember, and just have it on a recipe card for easy use.

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1 1/8 cup buttermilk

2 TBS butter, melted

Mix flour, salt, baking soda in a bowl. Add egg, buttermilk, butte. Stir together lightly, but keep it lumpy. Should look thick, spingy, and puffy.

Canning Tomatoes

In case you ever wanted to try, I thought I would give you a quick rundown on how to can tomatoes. This was my first time doing it, and it was pretty easy. I made 16 quarts with a little less than 40 lbs. of tomatoes. And I decided to pack them in their own juice instead of water. The main difference in the canning time, and I think their flavor may be a little stronger when I go to use them.

First you have to blanch the tomatoes for 30-60 seconds or until the skin cracks.

Then you remove the skin and leave whole, half, or quarter them. I left them whole. When you are canning them in their own juice, you just push the tomatoes down into the jar until their own juice comes up around them. ( before you add the tomatoes prepare the jars and add the other specified ingredients that the recipe call for)

seal the jars, and cook in a hot water bath for 1 hr and 25 min, or use a pressure cooker. (That is my next adventure to try)

Now you have some deliciously canned tomatoes to use in your favorite recipe! HERE is a good one to try.

A fresh Banister

My banister was starting to stick out like a sore thumb to me. It was the orangey oak color that comes in all of these cookie cutter houses (lowest on the line without upgrading). I needed it to be different. Especially since it won't match what I have planned for me stairs, and let me tell you, I hope to wrip the carpet out soon, and get started on my project there. But I kind of have to wait until we decide to afford some new floors. Because I have to have it match, bummer. But it will pay off If I can talk myself into waiting, I just know it! Anyways, All my trim and chair rail and doors are white, and the kitchen cabinets will not be staying the oak color as well. So we decided the Banister needed a makeover. And I really love it. It has a much cleaner look to it!

The scrappy makeover!

Before:

After:

Back in the day (a coulple years ago) when we moved into our house, we pained the walls around the salon white, just to brightrn it up and make it look a little more finished out there, It also had the "extra" decorations I didn't know what to do with. My grandpa had made a beautiful arch to go above the cake table at my wedding, and I have always had it on display somewhere in the places we lived. Even if it was a pillar here and a pillar there. But after I finished the paint job in the main living are of our house, we had leftover chair rail. I also had just painted my freezer red, and bought a tablecloth I fell in love with at goodwill. I loved the bold colors and design and didn't have a use for it at the time, but knew I could think of something for it. That's when I decided I needed to do something to the salon. The white walls just looked dirty and cold all by themselves, and there was too much clutter showing. So I had to buy a couple $'s worth of chair rail to finish it off, and some clearance trim board from the clearance cut bin at home depot, but that was about it. It was basically all ''scraps''. All the paint was from previous projects, and the decorations were just borrowed from other areas. It feels alot cleaer and warmer out there now. And it only cost me $10, and that includes the chair from the post below. It was fun to finally showcase my grandmothers vintage blowdryer, and vintage razor, and some vintage perm rods. They had been shoved in the back of a shelf for YEARS, and I found them as I was dejunking and cleaning stuff out.

D.I Chair

Before:

After:

I purchased this chair at the DI (Deseret Industries Thrift Store) for $3.99. Then I used leftover fabric from the salon, and some leftover paint from another project. Nit bad for a $4 chair! It serves its purpose well as the "Waiting" chair when someoned is getting their hair done.

The Garden

These pictures were actually taken a few weeks ago, and everything has grown quite a bit since then, but the plants are kind of growing out of control again this year. They just get HUGE. I think by now, my tomatoes are at least 6 feet tall. But they have LOTS on them! So I will be making some yummy marinara sauces in the next couple weeks. Can't wait! Anyways, this is the first year I have tried Dahlias. And not just regular dahlias, bu the large blooms, and the dinner size dahlias. I have gotten 1 pink one, and the rest are purple and yellow. I planted white, but every flower I had planted this year white has turned yellow. I don't understand it! I even bought a white snapdragon that was in bloom when I purchased it, so I could see it was white. Then after it's first bloom, the second bloom grew back yellow! If you have any ideas of what could have caused this please let me know! Anyways, I love yellow, so I wasn't too dissapointed, but I would have liked to have a couple white ones. My spring Gladiolas came up white, but everything else yellow. Since Dahlias are a fall blooming flower, I am sure I will be getting some more pink as well. And don't you just love my thrift store vases? I LOVE them almost as much as I Love my dahlias, and I LOVE flowers!