Lori's Kitchen Project-The Big Reveal

After 2 months my Kitchen is finally put back together, you can read my very first post on my Kitchen project here. My Kitchen has come a long way, I can hardly believe that I am done with my project!! I have worked so hard, I have never done a project this big in all my life. I was very scared when I started, I was so afraid that it will turn out ugly. I know that I have shared every step of my project with all of you!! Your kind comments made it so much easier for me to keep going. So now I want to show you my "New Kitchen!"

I will be showing you before and after shots of my kitchen.

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How does my "New Kitchen" compare to my inspiration picture? I cannot tell you how many times I looked at this picture throughout my Kitchen Project! Now I will hang on to it, because new counter tops are in our future!! I think my counter tops are too white, and they are old. The Antique White color that I used could look so much better with counter tops like the picture below has. My white dishwasher will be gone and replaced with a black one, as soon as my Bro-in-law finds time to install the new one!

I hope that you have enjoyed looking at "The Big Reveal," and following me throughout my Kitchen Project. I have enjoyed sharing the process with you!!

My family came over for Dinner and to see our "New Kitchen" they had not seen any progress, so they were quite surprised. I am also excited for the hubby's family to see it, they will be coming over this week.

This is the look of sheer happiness!! Our Kitchen project is done!! Our house is back to normal, but actually a lot better than normal!! We love our new Kitchen, it feels so fresh and clean!!

Today I feel so blessed to be married to a wonderful man, he makes me so happy.

DIY Canvas

I had some fabric leftover from my stool project, so I decided to make 2 canvas' for my office.

Canvas

First of all, I purchased 2 pictures at our local thrift store. I took out the glass, and recycled it.

I then cut my material to size, and realized that my hot glue gun was out of glue stick! So I resorted to duck tape until I can get some more glue sticks!! Yes, it looks pretty bad from the back!!

Not quite as bad though from the front! I would have never know that there is duck tape holding it in place, who knows maybe I will just leave it like it is!!




I wanted to hang these in our office, it has a safari theme. First of all, I needed to put all of my dishes back into my cupboards since they were finally ready!! I got all the dishes put away, and quickly cleaned the office. Here is the before shot...



...and the after!

What do you think? I was happy with them since I only spent $3!


Mail Station






I also have another small project completed, that I hung in our office. I found the piece at our local thrift store (they must love me by now), it was an oak wood color. I was sure I had taken a picture of it, but I cannot find it anywhere! I am so disappointed, because I love to show before and after pictures, it's just easier to visualize the whole process.






I then, painted the inserts with chalkboard paint (just like I did for the mirror), and I painted everything else with black paint. Here is the finished project! I am using it as a mail station, I have no idea if that's what it's meant for or not, but it works for me, especially for under $5!!




Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the projects that I have showed you! I am sure that you could do them yourself!!









Today I feel so blessed that maybe someday this office will be a baby room!!

DIY Chalk Paint and A "New" Stool

I have been so excited to share a few of my smaller projects with you. I have been working on them along with my kitchen project.

Chalkboard

I had a mirror that I didn't really like, it had a wood frame (which I failed to get a picture of). First of all I sanded it down, then I primed and painted it the same color as my kitchen cabinets.

Then I changed my mind about the color, so I put on a few coats of black instead. Here is coat one.

Here is coat 3, the last coat. I like this a lot better!

Then I peeled off the tape, and applied 3 coats of chalkboard paint to the mirror. This was the very first time that I worked with chalkboard paint. I used my small roller, with the roller being for ultra smooth surfaces. It went on really well.

I was so glad that there were no roller lines showing once it dried!


I have read that you should coat the whole surface with chalk before you write on the board, then rub it off with a dry cloth. This is supposed to make it easier to erase your chalkboard. Mine had been erasing wonderfully!! Here is a picture before I wiped off the chalk.

Before I show you the finished picture of the chalkboard I want to share another little project with you.

My New Stool

I spotted this old, ugly, stinky stool at my Dad's shop, and my Dad said I could have it!! I was so happy because my head already had a lot of thoughts about what I could do with this stool!!


First of all, I wanted to get rid of that awful trim that was hanging from the top.



A lot better!!


Next, I sanded and cleaned all the rust off of the legs. Then I spray painted the legs black with a metal spray paint. It took 2 coats. Instant transformation!!

Lastly I bought a yard of material at Joann's for $5. I cut it to fit the seat of the stool. My wonderful hubby brought in our air compressor, which has a staple gun. Let's just say once he taught me how to use that thing, I fell in love!! I applied the new fabric directly over the old fabric. So I didn't need to re-cushion the chair. This was very easy to do!



A hundred staples later....


I was able to find the perfect place for my two projects!!

Later this week I will show you what I did with the remaining fabric from the stool.



Today I feel so blessed to have a hubby who doesn't hold me back from attempting a little bit of everything when it comes to my home!!

Cleaning Tips

This week the topic is Cleaning Tips.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I love to clean. I think the end result drives me to clean a lot!! Here are some rules that I live by!

1. With it being just Kevin and I, it makes it so easy to want your house perfect all the time. With no kids to mess it up, I really get used to it staying clean. But it does get dirty, I usually do a thorough cleaning every two weeks, which includes dusting, sweeping and cleaning the bathroom and kitchen really well. In between my thorough cleanings I will pick up every day. Usually on my work mornings I do not get the whole house picked up. I have noticed the better my house looks before I go to bed, the better my morning goes! It is so refreshing to have a clean/organized home. It makes like so much sweeter!

2. I always wash my sheets in hot water once a week. That is the best night to crawl into bed!

3. I am big on keeping my home organized. Everything in your house has a home. Basically every item in your house should have a designated place, so that when you go through your clean up routine each day it will be very easy. Otherwise, you will not know where to put some items then they will end up staying on "that pile!"I always keep all my counters empty of "odds n ends" that do not belong there! Sometimes on my busy days I do not get my clean up done, but then I will always get to it the next day. Never let it go more than a week without getting your home back into order. I think once it goes on for that long, it is so much harder to get it back into order.

4. I think that if things are picked up and everything has been freshly swept, it really looks so clean. So if you do not have much time, I think those two things make the biggest difference!!!

5. I love cleaner's with bleach, it makes things so much cleaner!

6. I go through and clean out my fridge at least once every 2 weeks, it helps to keep it manageable!

7. When I have one drawer that is bothering me and it needs to be organized, I try to get to it that week. If not they can get out of hand, and it's not as bad to do one at a time than to do them all at once! A little each day makes a world of a difference at the end of a month!!

10 Things I love about cleaning!

1. Freshly washed bathroom rugs laid on a freshly cleaned floor!

2. The smell.

3. How shiny a window looks after its been cleaned.

4. The feeling I get when I walk into that clean room.

5. It is very rewarding.

6. It is a stress reliever for me.

7. Trying new cleaning products.

8. Hearing my hubby say "Wow, the house smells clean."

9. When it gets old, take a break.

10. Getting cleaning tips!

Happy Cleaning!

Bump, Set, Spike

Last weekend I had to "babysit" my sister since my parents were out of town. So on Saturday morning I had to rise at 5am to have my little sister at her junior Olympics volleyball tourney. Luckily my brother's girlfriend came along, I don't know what I would have done if she would not have been there. The gym was very close to the mall, so when my sister's team wasn't playing my brother's girlfriend and I went shopping!!

My sister's team won every game they played that day, and they won first place!! I must say my sister is very impressive out there on that court! They were done with the last game around 4:30 so it was a long day.

Here's all of us after a long day of Volleyball!!

Here is the star herself!

We had such a fun day, the weather was beautiful and the shopping was great!!

Spring Decorations

I have been wanting to join Lianna Knight over at Growing Our Own Garden, she did a post on Easter decor! She inspires me with all her decorating skills!!

My kitchen project is almost completed. So I was able to start decorating, of course I brought out all my spring/Easter decor. It's not much, but I love every piece that I decorate with.

Kitchen Sink

Living Room

Dining Room
Kitchen Table
I am giving you a sneak peak at how the Kitchen will look with the drawers back on, of course with the old hardware on that I spray painted.

I have so much to update you on! My kitchen project was worth all the hard work that I put in. I cannot wait till you see the results!!

I can tell that it's Springtime, because I am busy!! I love the fresh air, and the green grass that is popping up!!!

Today I feel blessed that Spring reminds me of the sacrifice my Lord and Saviour made for me.