Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

I have been getting a lot of requests to see the before and after photos of my kitchen cabinet makeover. We still aren't done with the overall kitchen project. We still need to put tile under the cabinets and pick a new paint color. I am leaning towards a darker sage color but I want to pick the tiles first. You might not notice much of a difference in the photos, but let me tell you that in person, it is a world of difference. I never liked the pink tinge of the maple frost cabinets from the day we bought the house. I was hoping that by putting granite counter tops in would help but I still saw the tinge. Now it just seems warmer and more inviting. I also wanted more of an "old world" look on a budget so you will see a lot of trim work that I put up to bring in that feel.

In the before images, the painter had already taken the doors over the refrigerator and under the sink so he could show me samples of what the glazing would look like. I was horrified when he showed me the fisrt sample. The door was glazed over the entire surface and I had only wanted glaze in the grooves. It was just a bit of miscommunication. I told him in this instance, even though I love shabby chic, that was not the look I was going for. The before pictures were taken at night and the after ones during the day, so the lighting is a bit different. You can click on any of the pictures for a closer look.


BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

This was a cabinet we had custom built to match the kitchen cabinets. It is more in the dinning area and I wanted to pull the two room together yet distinguish each of them since it is really one very large area. The carpet is the great room.

AFTER

We added the crown molding at the top and the trim work on both sides.

BEFORE

This cabinet looks odd because the counter was originally in an "L" shape when we bought the house with Formica counter top. We took the "L" shape off and turned the cabinets into the island. We had maple trim made to match so we could "beef" up the island to make it look like it wasn't just a set of cabinets plopped in the middle of the kitchen. This cabinet actually was the corner of the "L" and faced the small rug so you could get at it from the dinning area. We just turned it sideways to become part of the kitchen. Luckily it had a maple frost side.

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

This is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. I love how the glaze took to the emblems we put on the pantry doors and the long drawer. I was a bit worried to add something to the upper two cabinets, thinking it might be too much, but the painter left us the paint and glaze and showed me how to do it if I ever change my mind. The DH and I glued all the ornament pieces and trim on ourselves before the doors were spayed.


BEFORE

AFTER

This is the island after we added a bit more trim work to fancy it up a bit. Everyone thought I was crazy when I said we were painting the cabinets cream and the island black. Even my daughter had to admit "mom was right once again". I just adore it and it looks even better with the pendant lights hanging over it. We added those after the painting was done and pictures had already been taken. I will include those when I reveal the finished makeover.


BEFORE

AFTER (from the other end)

So that's my kitchen so far. I am not in as much of a hurry for the tile and paint only because I am enjoying the transformation that has already taken place. Once this settles in, I will head to the tile store for some more brain aching decisions.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A Forest Fairy

I needed to make some samples of the "Faux Mother of Pearl" background technique for our stamp club this month so I used some of the new paper from Graphic 45. The background technique can be found here.

The paper is from the "Once Upon a Springtime" collection and I also used the stamp set that coordinates with this line. Aren't these fairies the cutest! I would have liked to go a bit darker with the green ink I used for the pearl background but it was my first try and I think lighter colors were suggested.

I wanted to keep it sort of woodsy because we all know that is where you can find the best fairies. I kept the colors in the forest hues and didn't go overboard with the embellishments. I even found a brown flower in my stash. I used a few MS punches for the foliage and the main image was stamped on Labels Fourteen. Graphic 45 has become one of my favorites and I am giddy over the fact that they now have stamps to go along with their papers. I can't wait to make a more "girly" card out of this paper.

Starting to get a nice brown base for my trip to Florida. I know, I know, it isn't healthy for me, but it sure feels good. Especially with all this cold weather we have been having. It is snowing again as I write. Now how can you blame a girl for wanting some artificial sun when we are still getting snow in the middle of April. I guess the dusting we are getting is nothing compared to what my dad got up in the UP- a whopping 6 inches. Just another reason to be happy with what you have and where you are.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A jelly bean Easter card

How about a quick and easy project that could be used for any occassion. For this month's project at our stamp club we are going to make this sweet Easter card with a jelly bean sidekick.

My friend Kay had bought a smaller version of this from a craft show that was the size of a note card with a 3" tube filled with M & Ms. The card was decorated for Christmas and the M & Ms were red and green. Kay brought it over to me and asked if I could replicate it, aka- make a pattern. I did one even better by making it bigger. Her daughter Kelly found these larger 6" tubes at her local stamp store for $1 each. I tinkered around with a pattern until I came up with this. The tube was perfect for filling with jelly beans. Actually you could fill this with just about anything. A few chocolate eggs or Hershey kisses would also look festive. A bit of green grass in the bottom would also be cute.

You could alter this to fill the tube with bath salts for a Get Well card or if you measured it out and included the instructions for the amount to use, you could fill it with hot cocoa powder. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with. If you would like the pattern just send me a comment.

The weather is finally getting warmer. We are expecting mid to high 60's with thunderstorms tomorrow. I just hope the storms come earlier in the evening. Last week we had a doozey in the middle of the night. It was the loudest crash of thunder I have ever heard and immediately followed by the sound of breaking glass. I thought for sure one of the windows had shattered. I got up and went downstairs to investigate but I couldn't find anything broken in the kitchen or great room. I went to my stamping room and there on the floor was one of the old fashioned candy jars that I keep my ribbon in, laying on the floor. It wasn't broke so it must have been the metal lid making all the clatter as the jar was hitting the floor. I guess the way the house shook was enough to knock the jar off the shelf that is at least 5 feet off the floor. Luckily I have carpeting or it would have been quite a mess trying to save all my pretty ribbon from the shards of glass.

Our local stamp store just got in the latest Spellbinders so I have been making quite a few trips in to make my purchases. You are only allowed to use one coupon per day so it will take me awhile to get all the ones on my wish list. Yesterday I took my DH in with me on our way out to dinner so he could get one for me with his own coupon. My son calls him "my coupon mule". I would love to hear his answer if they ever asked him what he is going to make with the things he purchases for me. I doubt very much that we are pulling anything over on the store clerks. They know exactly what we are doing. Once in Michaels, DH was in line behind me and the gentleman at the register asked if he could just put his purchases in the same bag as mine. Quite the astute fellow he was.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Get well...

SORRY ABOUT THE PARAGRAPH SPACING. SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENING IN BLOGGER TODAY. Get well soon my friend. Here is another card with the stamps from Waltzing Mouse that coordinates with the Spellbinders dies. I just fell in love with this "Rescue Remedies" set for the Labels 4. There are some fabulous examples in the gallery at their website so head on over to check them out. The paper is DCWV Botanicals and a MS punch quickly turned this card into a perfect "pick me up" for a sick friend. Of course I couldn't get away without using some seam binding ribbon. The kitchen cabinets are finished and I am in the process of putting the kitchen back together. I had to take down the decorative displays I had up over the top of the cabinets and trying to remember how I had the greenery placed was a bit of a challenge for this old brain of mine. Luckily my DH had taken some "before" pictures so I now had a map. I am sure I could have come up with something different, but I liked what I had and changing it might have meant a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy something new. The cabinets set me back quite a bit and I am now saving my pennies for new tile and having the ceiling and walls painted (which means no new stamps). Actually I talked the guy that did the cabinets down $385 dollars and he will paint the walls and the ceiling for $200. Now that is some serious bargaining. We had an electrician come in to give us an estimate for putting pendant lights up over the island. Wow, can I just say I am in the wrong business. I could buy quite a few stamps with that kind of money. I didn't even try to dicker with that guy. The quote didn't include the patching of the drywall in the ceiling where holes will have to be cut in order to run the wiring through each beam. That was the part that intimidated my DH and to say the least, I wouldn't have even let him attempt it. I have some connections with the construction guys at work and the drywaller said he would come over to do it when we were ready. Five small holes- right! Today we are putting the under cabinet lights back up. Next weekend we may be tackling the running of wire and installation of the lights. Wish us luck, I think we are going to need it. ~Have fun and enjoy!