The kitchen's pictures after finished!

Somehow I never posted the "after" (you know the ones that everything is clean and spiffy looking) pictures of the kitchen!  So here on this Friday afternoon, I took a break, snapped a couple of pictures and made a post!  Then I am off to clean some more in preparation for some weekend company!  Happy Labor Day Weekend!

And

if you are new here (or just want to peek again)  if you want to see what it looked like before you can go here or here! 

Lots of Work and a Little Relaxation!

So if you aren't bored with my kitchen pictures you will be!  ;~)  BUT it looks soooooo good!  I worked my hind end off last week, but it was so worth it although I was worn out when our company came and that wasn't good!  BUT we did have a great visit!!!  We went to the Zoo on Saturday and met some family for a get together!

But here is what we accomplished....

*  Painted and coated counter tops
*  Patiently waited 5 days before putting anything on top of the countertops  (with the second coat of
    Envirotex Lite it took a little longer)
*  Installed a new range hood (I love it)
*  Installed a new sink it is the coolest thing
*  Installed new faucets
*  Installed Ceiling Tin Backsplash from this place m-boss
*  Installed an  under the counter water filter
*  Installed a new garbage disposal

SEE I told you one thing leads to another!

I have purchased under the cabinet lighting and will soon get those put in also!  Oh and you will notice there are NO outlet covers on because why YES we are replacing the outlets too!

I love how this is looking!!!!!

Sink with the little sink and colander in place (it also has an awesome cutting board)

And a picture without the accessories that go in the sink!

Mark and his Mother feeding birds (he was a magnet to them)

Little Miss Smiley Pants!

We even got to feed the giraffes!  Would you look at that tongue?

And of course the dinosaur 

Papa Barr holding Caitlyn

Team effort up the hill

Caitlyn,  Jill and Mike

Christian and Mimi

Kevin and Megan

Mark and I (oh yeah I went and got my hair whacked off....it is spikey in the back... umm I cried... but getting used to it)

AND there you have it we had a busy week but yet a great weekend!  Nancy

Yep, I did it.... redid the Kitchen Counter tops!

If you recall...... soon to be two years ago I painted our kitchen countertops with a Gianni Countertop Kit... I did it in a Black Granite look.... well I was never REALLY happy with the outcome although I would have happily lived with it... but because the sealant they provided was a polyacrylic it just didn't last!  About 9 months ago the paint around the kitchen sink started chipping away until in front of the sink was pretty much bare.... yes, I should of taken pictures of that!

SO in the mean time I have done some investigating on other blogs to see what people were doing for a top coat... in doing so I came to this conclusion .... it doesn't matter what you paint onto the counter tops, if they are not properly sealed it doesn't really matter cause honey it is gonna come off!  In saying that I have seen people put a base coat down of anything from a primer that has been tinted to just sponging layers of acrylic paint!

HERE is what I did!  I didn't bother taking any of the old painted surface off that was already on there other than to sand the areas that my old paint job had come off of!

I painted a base coat of a tinted Rustoleum (around $20. buckaroos) counter top paint I added in some Valspar silver glitter (very fine)  ., I then had to decide whether I could live with a plain color.... nope not me...... the glitter was not showing up a whole lot.... so here is what I did, I took a container of Modge Podge and added two different glitters, one was a coppery color and the other a brownish color... and used a sea sponge and sponged away!  No that wasn't enough either so I had some light chocolate brown latex sample paint and sponged that on all over!  I used Envirotex Lite pour on High Gloss sealant, we ended up putting two coats on and am thankful my sweet husband helped me!

Words of advice if you decide to do this no you do not have to replace your sink like I am doing but it would be quite helpful to lift the sink up an inch or so ...I am told you can do this without hurting the plumbing.... put plastic all around under the lip of your counter top this stuff WILL drip!  Make sure you protect your floors! AND make sure that if you use glitter you sand down any rough edges BEFORE putting on the Envirotex Epoxy sealer!  That is why we had to put a second coat on! (oh and by the way we waited a day and a half between coats, and wiped the counters down with rubbing alcohol before we put the second coat on and if you have any areas that need sanding lightly this would be the time to do it!)  We just spent the last 3 1/2 hours doing this... you also need a blow torch for any bubbles that may (WILL) appear!  have a large squeegee to help spread the top coat around plus a wide sponge brush to help on the upper back of counter top plus to get the drips along the edges! And don't do it all at once, do an area and get it done before you head onto the next section of countertop!

So we ended up using 10 kits.... they each cover 8 square feet and were $18.98 each I got mine at Menards, but am told you can get them at Hobby Lobby and you can use coupons!

Can I say LOVE IT?????  I cannot wait to get the backsplash up and the new sink in and also the new exhaust fan!!! (you know one thing leads to another!!!) shhhhhh don't tell my husband!!


So WHAT do you think?


Nancy

****edited to say that I woke up at 4 am and decided I needed to check the drip areas on the edges and I used a paring knife on the underside of the counter edges to cut them off, yes it took a little patience to do that... but an hour later I was done and the counter tops are dry to touch this morning but need to cure for up to 72 hours before setting anything back on the counters, and oh by the way we have a cute little gnat that got stuck.... ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!  oh well..... ;~)  nwb

A Wedding for Amber

A few years back my daughter Amber was a High School Counselor, in a small town High School.  During her time as a counselor she encountered a young woman who her heart went out to and her name was Amber also, the younger Amber had lost both of her parents at a young age and was being raised by her elderly grandmother who was doing the best she could.  On the last day of school my Amber gave this young lady her phone number and told her if she ever needed anything to call her... Well young Amber did make a call one day and needed some assistance.... In doing so she has become a part of our family.  She is generally at each birthday party and at each holiday event that Amber and Dan have.  Amber and her husband Dan have helped to nurture this young lady and show her the love  of Christ, in doing so, she has looked to them for guidance in so many ways.  Amber and Dan have done this while raising their own family.  The two of them  have a heart bigger than you can possibly imagine! In saying all of this the younger Amber has found someone to love and to cherish.  She and Roger got married this past weekend and I attended the wedding.  My son in law gave her away, and my grandchildren were in the wedding.  Best wishes to the two of them for a life full of wedded bliss!

Congratulation Roger and Amber!

Nancy