Annie Sloan Chalk Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Soooo....I painted our kitchen cabinets. I had done a little preliminary research prior to approaching Michael about making such a drastic change. I knew I wanted to use chalk paint on the cabinets purely for the fact that you do not have to sand or strip the wood prior to painting. After a little persuading, Michael finally agreed. With his "Yes" I tackled this project with full steam. I read as much as I could and watched Annie Sloan tutorials online. After finding a local retailer for the Annie Sloan paint I made the magic happen, the kitchen magic!

Michael and I both felt it was best to do a practice cabinet by painting and waxing the inside of a corner cabinet. So that is what I did. 

Here are the 10 steps I used to transform our kitchen:

1.) I cleaned the cabinet using a "Scrub Daddy Sponge"   Best Cleaning Sponge

2.) After the cabinet was free of grease stains, wetness, or any residue I opened my can of paint.  I opted to add 2 tablespoons of water directly into the paint can and mix it up. This paint is very thick and with the finish I was hoping to achieve I knew it needed to be thinned. 

3.)  I applied my first coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint in "Old White." 

4.) I applied the paint using both sizes of the Annie Sloan Flat Brush *These brushes are not cheap but they are well worth the coast for such a big project. The synthetic fibers really give a smooth finish while painting.

5.) After the first coat dried I applied a second coat, however this time before I brushed the paint on the cabinet, I slightly dipped my brush into a cup of water, then I painted smooth even strokes on the cabinet. Dipping the brush in water really helped to thin the paint enough to give a smoother finish. Here is how Annie says to achieve a smooth finish

Below are photos of the second coat:

6.) After the second coat of paint was dry, I sanded the cabinet. Annie says to sand after you clear wax but I opted to do both. I used a sanding brick to make things easier. 

7.) Then I applied my clear wax using the wax brush. I felt it necessary to wipe the wax again using a kitchen towel. The cabinet should not feel sticky or tacky in any way. 

8.) Once the clear wax had settled a bit I did some deeper sanding. I wanted to bring out the lines in the cabinets so I sanded them down. 

9.) Time to add some dark wax to bring out the wooden bits I just sanded! I used a very small amount of dark wax by dipping another rag into the wax, wiping it on the wood seams, then wiping it off immediately.

10.) Finally time to re-hang the cabinets! 

Here you can see where I sanded the edges of the wood. 

This is the cabinet front after 1 coat. 

This is after the second coat of old white. 

Many of you may be wondering how I completed this task with three little boys at home and the answer is a little help from "Bow-Wow" and "Rihanna"--- I let the boys do their thing while did mine! This project took me a 5 days to complete, 4 cans of paint, 1/2 can of clear wax, and 1/4 can of dark wax. 

 The second half of the cabinets I was able to finish because of my wonderful dad! He came over and picked the boys up on a Friday so I could finish up! He's the best! 

End of the Summer Babysitter Thank You Gifts

Shell says Farewell! Our Shell...she's the BEST! We have had such an amazing summer of fun playing outside, swimming, riding in jeeps, helping tow trucks, selling ice cream, and having tea parties with you! We love you and we are so proud of you! 

To say thank you the boys gave Shell a little bag of goodies to get her excited for her first day of work...

Color Block Bag: This pouch could totally transition day to night as a clutch or it can absolutely be the shiniest pencil case ever! 

Lip Gloss : Donut Lip Gloss! Yes Please! Who wouldn't want to be friends with the new girl at work if she pulled out a donut lip gloss!?!? I think it says 'all good things' about you...

Fun Erasers : Since soccer took over her Wednesday nights and she taught me everything I need to know about the game, these puzzle erasers scream your name!

Super Fun Pens: Queen of the color code...enough said! 

Hopefully... "The Best Travel Activities for Toddler Boys"

***** Update ****

**** Update to this post: My boys absolutely loved the popsicle sticks and Velcro! We were able to play with them while waiting for our flight. 

I have to say the best idea, aside from two video rentals on their Kindles, was little baggies filled with candy...I "hid" four small snack sized baggies in their backpacks so every so often they would find gummy worms or swedish fish or a dum -dum... Also for the flight home I switched their books and I put a new coloring book in each of their bags!  ******

We are headed out of town to visit family and to be perfectly honest, I am a tad nervous... Family of five checking in for a 2.5 hour flight and an additional car trip: Yes Please! Sign Me Up!

My entire family is thrilled to go on a vacation and I know once we are there all will be well in the world (until we have to travel home)...but for now I have scoured the inter -webs to find the best ideas bloggers, moms, and Pintrest has to offer! 

Once home I will do a follow-up post as to what really worked and what was a complete disaster...

So here is what we have: 

The boys bags are packed! We are all carrying - on! These little gems came from Pottery Barn Kids. 

The boys love them because they remind them of Michael's gym bag - so they feel 'cool like daddy.'

I headed to Target and went directly to their $1-$3 aisle. I found these super cute pencil cases and filled them with a pen, a rubber snake, and some connector blocks. I also picked up a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles note book for them to write/draw. 

Over Memorial Day weekend, the boys won these Avengers Velcro wallets so taking the idea from Armelle Blog I made them a "Busy Wallet." I filled it with some play money, a few pictures, and some old gift cards. 

Also inside their backpacks I let the boys pick out a handful of "guys." These are Jack's. He chose all Paw Patrol Pups! 

This has to be my favorite craft we have packed! I really hope this entertains the boys as much as I think it will. 

Desert Chica posted this idea and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make these! Not only do I love this craft for travel but I love it for home. The boys can practice making shapes, patterns, counting, building their imaginations and everything else in between! Because my hardware store only had large velcro circles I ended up cutting them in half. On one side I placed a soft piece and on the flip side at the opposite end I placed a scratchy piece. In the third picture you can see what I'm describing on the two green popsicle sticks. 

In my carry-on I will be bringing applesauce pouches for the boys to eat/drink during the take-off and landing. I also picked up a pack of strawberry juicy fruit gum (but they only get a piece if they are being super good!) I also have crackers, little packs of fruit snacks, flash cards, and a baggie full of large legos...When all else fails I'm going right for the Dum- Dums and the Ninja Turtles crayon/coloring book sets I snagged at Target! 

Botanical Prints Courtesy of Magnolia Homes

This post is a HUGE thank you to Joanna Gaines for posting this DIY Botanical Print blog post! I needed a little help from my amazingly talented sister- in- law Meredith with sizing and enlarging but all in all this was so easy! I even had a few extra 8 x 10 prints made of the Lemon Botanical to use as housewarming gifts...Love Love Love me some botanical prints! 

Thank You Jo and Mer!

Portfolios Complete For Back To School

I know I told you about my favorite way to save the boys art work, well it is time to get things ready for back to school. These are the little things that sneak up on me so I figured why waste time? Today's rain has turned into our coloring day!

Not to be fooled- the boys only really followed directions while coloring at home--the Michael's Arts and Crafts trip was a total disaster. As soon as we walk into any craft store it's like the boys loose all sense of self control. They get noodle arms, the giggles, and their hands become magnetized meaning they must touch EVERYTHING especially glass objects.
Our check out process usually consists of them heckling the costumer behind us...
"Why are you buying that?"
"What's your name?"
"How old are you?"
"Is that expensive?"
"Why did you wear a blue shirt today? I wore a grey shirt."
This is usually when I scramble to keep them all close to my cart, rush through paying, and push them all into the car as soon as possible. Thank goodness for the "Retail Me Not" app on my phone because who has the time to look for coupons!
Home sweet home to wonderful children who color nicely and follow directions! Kids are crazy!
Last Years Portfolio

Updated With Doors

Friends, guess what? THE DOORS ARE FINALLY HERE! It has been a long eight weeks of waiting but yesterday our home received a little reconstructive surgery...

Our house was built in or around 1970 and to this day we still had the original wood doors, painted to match the shutters...green. When Michael and I bought it we knew eventually we would put new doors on the house and paint/replace the shutters...Initially we both thought the front of the house would take priority but as we moved in and became more settled other projects pushed higher on the list.
Now finally the day has come, after two pretty harsh winters front door, back door and kitchen slider needed to be replaced. Aside from how much I love the new look for the front and back doors, I am so excited the sliding door was replaced. During the winter snow would actually come into the kitchen. It was a major source of heat loss in addition to being bulky and heavy.

After price shopping and comparing products ( I had no idea there were so many door options out there) we purchased fiberglass entry doors with energy efficient glass. They have a wood finish on the interior and exterior.

 

For the front door I went with the "Signet Fir Series" craftsman style front door in a "Ginger" stain.

I absolutely love the four light top. In the past I thought I would have gone with a six light but with our door size the six seemed cluttered. Four glass panes gives us the best of the craftsman style world.   Even better- adding a front door with a light is basically like we added another window to our entry.

 For the back door I went with a "Signet Mahogany Series" with contoured four light in "Ginger" stain. Again I went with a four pane detail. I love these large panes. Light Light Light! The interior of both doors was painted white to match the other doors in the house and our white wood trim.
Both doors have antiqued brass vintage styled hardware.

(please excuse the dark photo quality...so rainy...so so rainy) 

For the sliding door I opted- NO- grids! We are working so hard to bring our backyard to life that I do not want anything blocking my "country land" view. Also we have very little natural light, being shaded by so many mature trees, I don't want to filter one ounce of light! Originally we had a three panel sliding door with one stagnate panel. We updated for look and function. We chose a vinyl patio slider in white with two large doors rather than the three panels.



 I snapped these two photos of the old front door and the old storm door. I swear if you look at them it seems like they are saying, "thank you for taking us out of the game Coach, we needed a break." 

Of course this old door is the background of one of my top family photos so I know it will always hold a teeny tiny place in my heart. Oh and just in case you are wondering, of course I kept the original door knocker. I think I am going to hang it in the living room or on the wall behind the new front door.

Now I can not stop looking at doormats! 

Here are few I found yesterday in a preliminary search: 

Personalized Front DoorMat

Magnolia Mat

Scroll Pineapple Mat

Love this one for inside

Catching Up....

Man things have been crazy around here...I feel like every time I sit down something pulls me right back up...
Here is what we have tackled over the past week-
1.) Best thing I did all summer was finally call https://www.mosquitosquad.com. The kids were getting eaten alive outside by the peskiest of pests!
2.) Finally ordered a buffet for the dining room! I have been searching since last spring when we purchased our dining hutch and table for a buffet...I wanted something that did not quite match the woods of the other pieces. For me, trying to match furniture that does not match is so hard....something always looks wrong but I am hopeful that this piece will blend perfectly with our traditional set. I found the buffet on https://www.jossandmain.com. I absolutely love this website! Also I can speak from true testament when I tell you their costumer service is amazing!
3.) On a daly basis I am trying to make a peace treaty between me and the family of deer who keep eating the flower heads off all my plants! They nod as if they will hold up their end of the bargain and only eat the dark green weeds in the back but then every night they seem to get dessert and chomp all the hot pink colored flowers in the front...I feel like Elaine  in Seinfeld when she points here finger, "get out of here..."
4.) My new addiction has to be http://www.theskimm.com. I seriously LOVE this website. I have zero time to catch up on current events...every morning this is in my inbox, I read it within a few minutes and instantly I am caught up on all things happening....YOU NEED THIS
5.) Finally I am trying to find the best deals for back to school clothes...  So far the Polo outlet and Old Navy have been my big winners...