DIY Kitchen Remodel!!

Our kitchen needed help.  With only a little budget.  Luckily, we were blessed to buy a home that had already upgraded to granite, and that had excellent stainless appliances.  Why they could afford granite but stuck with these cabinets is beyond me... but here's the before and after:

It's amazing what a little sanding, staining, and new hardware can do!  Now, I'm not going to say it wasn't hard!  Here's a photo of the mess "during"

But it all paid off, and here's more after pics!  We are now super proud of our kitchen, especially with all the work we put into it!  Here's more after photos, plus photos of our finishing touches: drapes, table, and wall accessories:

Check out my cute dogs there :)

SO, bottom line: totally worth the money and time invested!

Antique Furniture Flip

For me, this awesome antique sideboard was a huge steal!  I found it at a local antique store for only $180!  It was in great condition, and has tons of storage!  It had much lighter colors than we have going in our house, so I wanted to stain over the old color.  However, it turns out that the finish was a very thin veneer, and could not be sanded down.  So instead, I painted it!  The sideboard was originally two-toned, so I left the darker color original, and spray painted the lighter color dark.  I think it turned out pretty good!! This piece would easily be over $400 if it was new, so I would say it definitely was a steal!

Cute DIY Skirt

Last week, I decided to get extra crafty and make myself a skirt.  I'm not a huge fan of using patterns, so instead I started researching for ones others had made for inspiration.  I found this great example on Pinterest, and decided to give it a try!  http://vievesscrapbooking.blogspot.com/2010/08/party-skirt-tutorial.html

Here's my version!  The best thing about it is that it was very inexpensive!  I was able to finish it with only one yard of fabric, purchased for $6.49 on sale!  With that being said, the only scrap I had left over after was a little sliver no larger than an inch wide, so I might suggest buying a little more.  Because I ran out of fabric, I had to make my bow a little smaller.  I also used metal clasps on the side instead of a zipper, mostly because I didn't feel like putting in a zipper.  Let me know what you think!

Modern Painted Canvas

As those of you who know me can attest, I am a cheapskate.  Totally willing to admit it.  Therefore, when it comes to accessorizing my home, I go for all the deals I can get.  So, to create a sofa painting, I bought a blank canvas at Hobby Lobby (at 60% off, I might add...) and painted it myself.  For this painting, I painted the entire back orange, then covered it with painter's tape and painted brown on top.  My lines are nowhere near straight, much less perfection, but when an art curator asks me, I will simply say that it symbolizes the organized chaos in my life.  Yeah, right...