Kitchen Redo

Before and After from the beginning...before we moved in we painted the walls grey and the countertops a darker grey (like dark concrete). The countertops were painted with Rust-Oleum countertop paint ($20)...this stuff is pretty easy and has stood up to a house of 4 for over a year now, but I would definitely recommend it only as a temporary update while you save up to redo the countertops as it will get chipped buy knives very easily. Also, be warned, it smells really bad until it dries! Pretty amazing what a little paint will do! :-)

This update: $30!!

Next up, a tin tile back splash. This was super easy and only $30! I just cut to size and attached to wall. I didn't even have to glue them, they slipped right in under the cabinets. Which will be great if/when I get bored and want a change :-)

OK, so far that's $60 from those two projects. Now to update those cabinets!!

To add some personality and pop I added trim to frame out each door, changed out the drawer pulls to brushed nickel cup pulls, and to make it look cleaner I removed the pulls from the cabinet doors. Oh yeah and a good coating of fresh paint...once again thanks to Rustoleum! (no I'm not being paid lol...I just love how easy and affordable their stuff is!)

Break Down on this project:
Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations = $75
Drawer Pulls $20 for 6 (x2) = $40
1/4" x 1-3/4" x 8' PVC Moulding = $4 (x13) = $52

Total = $167 (actually $127 because the drawer pulls were a gift at my house warming party...no way I'd spend that much on them, you know that!)

So there you have it...a complete kitchen update for under $200!!

Pirate Birthday Party

We had a pirate birthday party for my youngest this past weekend. Since the present I was getting him (a Kindle) was pretty expensive, I needed to keep the price of his party down. Here's how I did it...Food Table...Salty Dogs (hot dogs), Golden Nuggets (tater tots), Fish & Chips (potatoes chips and goldfish crackers), and Pretzel Planks

• Table Cloths - $2
• Plates - $2
• Cups - $2
• Food Signs - $0

Tip: For the tableware buy one or two patterned items (i.e. cups, plates, or napkins) and buy matching solid color tableware. I chose to match the red and white in the cups I found at Target for less than $2. You can get the matching solid color tableware for $1 at the Dollar Store or Walmart. That's 50 cents per place setting, rather than at least $1.30  each if you were to buy all matching themed tableware.  

White cupcakes, vanilla frosting, and crushed graham crackers for sand

Treasure Hunt: Fill a bucket or kiddie pool with a bag of play sand and bury jewels for the kiddos to dig out. This was a lots of fun and the treasure they dig out is theirs to keep.

Bought a pirate hat at the dollar store, some red material at the fabric store,  eye patches came with the swords (the ones in the picture were actually a gift that a party goer brought), and took 2 black scarves from my closet that the boys tied around their waists, so cute!

My main tip is "keep it simple, less really is more". The kids had a blast and we spent less than $50 on everything (including food for everyone)!