Meet Est. 2009, Week 14

I'm so excited to be here. This is my first guest blog and I'm so excited (and a little nervous).
First, I'll introduce myself. I work full time as a health educator and spend lots of time crafting. I graduated from Baylor University - Sic 'em Bears! I have a handsome husband of 2 years and two crazy dogs.

We bought our house in October 2009 and we are constantly fixing it up. Our house is a 1000 sq. foot home in the country on 1.5 acres.

We have done some great DIY updates that you can find on my blog but today, I wanted to invite you in for a tour of our kitchen. This is the room I am most proud of because a lot of blood and sweat went into it.

When we moved in, there was a cow border, orange-ish cabinets and blue laminate counters. Take a look.

At first, I was ok with it. It was livable but it just needed a little love.

So, one night (after the Mr. was asleep) I took a leap of faith and decided to paint EVERYTHING-cabinets, walls, and even my COUNTERTOP!!

I started with the cabinets that fateful night and to my surprise, it was actually the easiest part. After taking all the doors down and sanding them I applied three coats of water based basic white paint.

After painting the counters, the blue laminate looked awful so I knew I needed to redo it.
After browsing magazines, blogs, and google, I decided to do a faux granite countertop. I have a more detailed tutorial here but basically, it involves 4 paint colors, plastic bags, polyurethane, and LOTS of patience!

With just under $100.00 I was able to bring my kitchen back to life, and you can too!
I know it's hard to take the leap but my best advice is to do your research. I used a mix of tutorials I found online. And, I practiced on scrap wood first. You can do it! And you will be so proud too!

One more thing: My blog recently began a new series called ROCK the VOTE. In it, I post three options for some area of renovation in the house and you vote on the one you like best. And the best part is, WHATEVER WINS, I MUST DO! So stop by and see how it works! The next vote is in two weeks.

That is a small introduction to my blog. Hope you stop by to say hi.
Tammy, thank you for hosting me!!


Margo, thank you for being a guest, what a great make over!  I would have never know you painted the countertops, they look like the real deal!