Thursday, May 16, 2013

Lazy Cabinet Painting


CONFESSION: I am a lazy painter.

I will only paint something if it entails maximum of 3 steps.
Yes, you read it right, 3.

Aside from spraying something, the thought of sanding, de-glossing or whatever other step that I need to do before I can splash on the actual color boggles me and makes the task more daunting.

And so, when I did my craft room, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to try on my "Lazy Painting" technique without causing much damage. After all, I am PLANNING to re-paint our laundry cabinets and the entire basement kitchen cabinets. So what better way than to start out small and inconsipicuously with my craft room cabinets!

The materials I used are these...

Along with brushes of course ;-)


1) PRIME, PRIME, PRIME 
I love this product! Covered all the holes and small scratches easily. And the best part about it, I DID NOT NEED TO DE-GLOSS! I actually bought a deglosser for back-up just in case the primer didn't cut it, but IT DID! The de-glosser went back to Lowe's the next day.



I waited about half a day before I applied my actual paint, but really, this primer dried up in an hour!

2) PAINT AWAY



LESSON LEARNED: If your going to paint this 'LAZY way', I should have bought a better brush.
I can see the lines from my Dollar store brush. :-(

3) TAPE 

I did not remove my cabinets from their spot, so I had to tape around the walls and edges in order for me to prime and paint properly.



you can see the streaks from my cheap brush here



We are pleased with the results ( my husband actually wanted to start painting our basement cabinets  right away!)  But I am not sure if the results would be as good if we used a glossier paint finish.
The next cabinet I'm painting is this one...



Yellow maple has got to go

... before we paint MORE cabinets.

I'm painting it black, so I may have to get my primer tinted grey and see.
Anyway, I'll let you know how I do, once I get to it. :-)




Have a Great Weekend & Happy Painting!!!!

 Linking back to these fabulous parties...

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Thankful for friends and shopping

My Mother's day weekend began with a nice morning shopping trip with a girlfriend of mine, Luisa...

This was how my morning began, gorgeous right?


We headed off to  the small town of Cobden, Illinois(1,116 population).

According to WIKEPEDIA,  "The village is named after British politician and free-trade advocate Richard Cobden, who visited the town in 1859.[1] Cobden originated as a farming community (South Pass) known for its apples and peaches. The Illinois Central Railroad still runs through the center of downtown, but once was Cobden's focal point. Cobden's innovative and industrious growers developed packing crates and techniques that kept fruit fresh and undamaged on its freightways to eastern and northern markets. A packaging industry thrived here for decades, and local orchards still thrive. Cobden is host to an annual fall Peach Festival to this day. Today's Cobden is diverse with growers, vineyards, artists, musicians, and shopkeepers leading the old town into a rebirth. A significant number of formerly Mexican citizens, who came here to work the orchards, have become an integral part of the social fabric of the community."

Our first stop was here...


This store was filled to the brim and was in the middle of getting re-organized when we arrived since it was under 'new management'. Here are some of the things that caught my eye...

Gorgeous Framed Fabric art my friend was eyeing

Brass apples galore!

Check out this moroccan tray table...

Posted about this on IG since I don't know if I should buy or not.
I think I will.. ;-)

I'll show you what I actually bought later. 

After this store, we had lunch at a very nice coffee shop called "Yellow Moon Cafe". And true to local bragging, their coffee was superb! My tuna melt was also very delish!

We then went to a local Art & Antique store...

The Anthill Gallery & Village Curiosities

So many things to see.. and buy!
It's a beautiful small store with an art gallery on the back where local southern Illinois artists sell and show off their work. Here's some of the things I saw...

Journals from old book covers - bought one for my son

Natural wood chopping blocks

Bird art

Sculptures

Metal art

Gorgeous Oil Painting

Antique dolls

Crystals & Antique glassware

Small paintings

Beautiful watercolor painting
And here was my stash...



Gorgeous Vintage Sarah Coventry Charm Bracelet-$15
Vintage wool hat -$10

Match Box Container - $3

My Favorite find - $15 Paint by Number painting I'd love to hang in my clinic -$5


4 brass apples -$3-5

Gorgeous Nightie - I think I'm gonna feel like Betty Draper with this one ;-)-$15

Vintage wooden Candy dispenser filled with marbles-$15
But the most wonderful part about this trip, was not the shopping at all.
It was the time spent with this lady..



She's a friend I met ever since we moved to this part of the country and I treasure her company and friendship. I am glad to spend time with her!

She even got me these......



..Given to me weeks ago since she knew how much I love milk glass! 
And I love these all the more than my other pieces because it was given by my friend to me!

I am thankful for this fun day but even more thankful for my wonderful friend!

Have a Nice day!!!

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Where oh where to put the cooktop?

Hope your Mother's Day was super special for and your families!
Anyway, on my continuing "Kitchen Renovation Saga', let's talk about positioning our cooktop.

As you can see in our current kitchen the cooktop is on the island...



My husband suggested moving the island on the opposite wall behind like this...

Looks pretty nice!



This looks nice right?!

And initially I thought it good too. 
However, being the cook in the family, I wanted to mingle and watch things as I cook. 
Also, I did not want to face a wall as I cook - that's just me.  
So we went back to the original lay-out....



Cook-top stays on the island. The big change of course other than a new island, would also be the overhead vent instead of a drop-down one. That way, I can watch movies or videos as I cook and also see what my son's browsing at on the computer (remember this cooktop will be facing the kitchen office)!

The big disadvantage though of having your cooktop on the island? Having splatters or spills going towards whoever's unfortunate enough to sit there!
But, there is a solution, and you'll see it once I show the final Kitchen Island design.

How about you? Are you happy at where you cook now?
Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!

Linking back to these fabulous parties...
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