Getting Smart With SkillPop

This past week I had the pleasure of taking not one, but two SkillPop classes! SkillPop is new to our area and just started hosting classes in here this August. They started in Charlotte last year. Based on my experience, though, they are off to a great start in the RDU area! Their mission is to provide pop-up classes taught by local professionals in cool places within your community.

This is A.J. She was so sweet and clearly passionate about what she does.

My first class was on photography with A.J. Dunlap at the Glass Box in downtown Raleigh. A.J. is a wedding photographer here in Raleigh and is also a wonderful teacher. She was so patient and clearly wanted to be sure everyone in the class really understood how to use their camera to achieve the style of photo they wanted.

Ta-Da! Barely did any editing to this photo! Shot in manual mode like a beast. 

Having taken that class, I feel much more confident using my camera now and look forward to using manual mode. Isn’t that crazy?! But it’s true. This girl who always kept her camera in “Smart Auto” mode may never do that again. I also left the class with a strong desire to purchase a nice Nikon DSLR. Luckily, A.J. gave us tips on how to do that on a budget as well! 

I took my next class the following evening with Sarah Faucette of Native State Design at Loading Dock. This was a class on branding your business. It was awesome to see so many entrepreneurs in attendance to learn how to brand themselves better! Sarah did a great job explaining the process to us, providing DIY resources, and making a somewhat tedious task more fun. I'm already thinking about re-branding as my business has gone a slightly different direction than I originally thought it would (and I love that!). I feel more confident about the re-branding process having taken this class. Although I may still end up hiring Native State Design to help with the re-branding because they're awesome at what they do. 

A room full of entrepreneurs learning from Sarah!

So far I have loved my experience with SkillPop. I chose these two classes specifically to help me with my business. There are others coming up that look equally beneficial, such as Blogging Basics and Intro To Social Media for Business. But don’t worry, it’s not all work no play with SkillPop! Their first class was on hand lettering and they have a calligraphy class coming up soon! You should check it out! Leave a comment and tell me which class you’re most excited about or what you'd like to see them do next!

DIY Concrete Countertops

I know I said we were going to do butcher block counters, but then I thought about a few things. First being we're paying for a wedding so is paying thousands for new counters really a priority this year? Second being we already have a lot of natural woods in our home and I didn't want to stress about the counter wood matching other décor woods. Then I discovered there's a concrete overlay product you can put right on top of the laminate. Say what?!

Immediately I loved the idea of grey counters with our new white cabinets. Added bonus, this DIY really wasn't too difficult and it came in under $200. In case you forgot, here's what the kitchen looked like before we did anything.

Here's what it looked like after the cabinets were painted. Better but I still hated the counters(and backsplash, that's next).

And here it is with a brand new concrete counters! Ta-Da!

I won't post much of a how-to because we followed Young House Love almost to a tee. Here's there post on how to do it. The only differences are that we used Henry's Feather Finish because we could pick it up at Home Depot and I can get too excited about projects to wait for shipping. Our counters did turn out a bit darker than theirs look and I wonder if the Henry's is darker or if we did something else different.

Pro tip: If you are planning on selling your home soon I highly recommend this project if you need to update your kitchen on a time crunch and on a budget. Worried buyers won't like the concrete look? I get that. But I know more people will like the trendy concrete over the dated laminate.

We also did super small batches and worked slowly to make every layer as smooth as possible. Minimal sanding needed. Roughly one cup of mix and 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. water was just the right amount of concrete mix for us o be able to take our time and still use it all before it hardened in the bucket.

The final difference is that we didn't wait a full 24 hours between coats. I believe the shortest time between layers was six hours and it turned out fine. We were trying to get it all completed before I left for my Cali trip.

We did the sealant just like they did. Honestly this project only takes so long because there's a lot of waiting between coats of concrete and sealant coats. But totally worth it. I can't say I'll never end up with different counters but I can say these new counters are MUCH better than the laminate.

Next on the list, backsplash! Although the tear in our (clearly) cheap laminate flooring means new floors are coming soon too! Careful moving those stoves during these projects, guys! :o 

Updating Your Banister

So the kitchen started this all. I immediately knew I wanted white cabinets. Then I thought we'd get rid of the counters and install butcher block (I love it and it's less expensive than marble). Then I knew we'd need a new backsplash, which will probably end up being glass subway tile. So with that in mind, the oak banister simply would not do. The living room looks into the kitchen and the stairway. I want a cohesive look. 

View from the living room. Just wouldn't do.

What's a girl to do? Oh right, break out that sander! Remember when I said the DIY kitchen cabinet project wasn't for the faint of heart? That's not the case with the banister project. It was super easy. 

You start by sanding down the banister, just like the cabinets. I used a sander to cover most of the area but this could be done with sanding paper if you don't feel like investing in a sander. We got this one down just far enough to take off the glaze. We chose black paint for the banister so we didn't feel the need to sand too much. Using a dark stain is also a great way to update it. All in all this project only took a couple of hours and cost a whopping $13!! 

Cost breakdown: 

• $9 HGTV Showcase pint. It was on sale!
• $4 Krylon matte finishing spray paint

Seriously, though. You can't beat the ROI on this project! Such a great way to update the home whether you're selling and want to appeal to buyers or you just want a change. Interested in those windows turned mirrors? Stay tuned because that DIY project will hit the blog soon! 

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

When we first toured our house, I knew it was going to be our first home. I also knew the kitchen needed a complete make-over. I even said so during that first tour. Who declared orange oak to be THE thing to use in homes anyway?? Plus, our kitchen is in the middle of the downstairs with no windows (we went for a townhouse). It felt dark. An orange-y kind of dark. See? 

After a bit of research, I learned that if you plan on a total kitchen overhaul then you should start with the cabinets. I know a few were hesitant when I told them this because of horror stories where counter installation ruins new cabinets. What I found was that such things rarely happen. I was willing to take that risk and loved the wild abandon that I had while painting my cabinets. I wasn't the least but worried about getting paint on the counter tops because I hate those counter tops.

So I'm going to tell you how we did it. There are probably better ways but this is what suited us. I work M-F like most, and Alvin works T-Sat. This means we only have Sundays together so we knew this would never be a weekend project for us. We took a more casual route and tackled two or three cabinets a week. Sometimes less because we don't have a garage so sanding was completely determined by the weather. It took a long time but it worked for us.

For the doors, we took them down and removed all of the hardware. Then we sanded them down using the Black and Decker mouse until you could no longer see or feel any glossy spots. This normally meant we got it all the way down to natural wood again. Saw dust is hazardous so if you plan on this type of project be sure to get a good face mask! Alvin has Asthma but found that this one worked wonders! 

I then painted it in HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams' Greek Villa. This lighter color needed three coats, front and back. This is more of a cream than a white. I originally picked three white shades and the other two ended up looking blue in our home. This is why it's always good to take those samples home first! Can you imagine painting your entire kitchen "white" only for it to look fluorescent blue?! I also chose to paint it using a flat paint which is purely a personal preference.

After the paint dried I used Krylon Matte finishing spray. Admittedly this product is made for painted furniture and the like, however the Lowe's guy said cabinet sealant can create a yellow tint so I steered clear of that. So far so good with the Krylon stuff but I'll come back and edit this if something goes awry.

After many lackadaisical weeks of cabinet door painting, we finally had a four day weekend together! Woo hoo! We didn't do the fun thing and go to the beach for the 4th but we did get the kitchen finished. :) We started by taping plastic to everything. 

Side story! Obviously we couldn't fix lunch with the kitchen looking like this so we decided to try out Panera's new delivery service. It arrived WAY before the ETA and we were unprepared. By unprepared I mean from our glass door he saw a room covered in plastic. Then a person appear out of that plastic with what looks like a gas mask on and goggles. Poor delivery guy said we scared the sh*t out of him! Whoops! He clearly watches too many horror films. Anyway...back to DIY projects!

After the taping was completed we each took our respective sanders and got to work. I used the B&D Mouse sander to tackle the little groves in the doors we couldn't take off. Alvin used a B&D circular sander to cover the flat surfaces. Between the two of us it took about an hour and a half to sand it all down. Then four hours of painting! Probably could have been less if you have two skilled painters in the house. Poor Alvin can't paint. He has tried many times since we bought the house but he really just isn't good. Thus four hours of painting for Aryn. Totally worth it for this much brighter kitchen though!

As you can see, this DIY project is not for the faint of heart. We were pretty casual about ours, painting a few cabinet doors a week until the final weekend when we completed it all. I also really enjoy painting things so it wasn't too bad for me. Alvin says he'll never do it again. It was totally worth it to me so yes, if I end up in another house with orange cabinets I will do this all over again.

Here are some pros and cons of DIYing your cabinets.

Pros:

1. Cheaper. So much cheaper. If you are planning on selling your home in the next year or two I highly recommend this project! It's not too expensive but will make your kitchen much more appealing to today's buyers. White and bright are in. Here's the total cost:
   • $50 for a gallon of HGTV Showcase paint. It's stain resistant. Key in kitchens.
   • ~$30 sanding pads, give or take. 
   • $30 Black and Decker orbital sander, I'm not including the B&D Mouse sander because I use that for a bunch of projects and already had it.
   • $18 plastic sheets to cover the kitchen
   • $25 3M Paint Project Respirator, times two since we each had one. 
   • Total: $178
2. More control over time frame.
3. Don't need to work out schedules for contractors to be in the home/no need to board any pets.

Cons:

1. It's work. Hard physical labor.
2. Unlikely you could safely do this with children in the house due to saw dust and paint fumes.
3. You lose a weekend of free time, at least.

So there you have it! Stay tuned for our DIY banister project!