Etching Glass At Home

I bought these amazing glass containers for my sugar, flour and sweets to put out on the counter in the kitchen.  I love, love, love my new kitchen.  It makes me smile everyday.  I read several tutorials about etching glass and figured that if they can do it, so can I.  Seems to be my theme lately.

I started out by taping off the outside with painters tape, and then using stickers to mark off the letters.  I was slightly leery about using stickers, but the lady at Michaels insisted they would block the etching cream.  I used Armour Etching Cream for the project, and saved since we had a ton of painters tape from our house remodel readily avaialble.  I put a decent layer of etching cream in the taped off area and waited the five minutes suggested on the container.

I actually waited closer to 10 before I washed off the first container.  The etching cream barely showed on the glass, and I noticed some of the cream got under the letters, making them not as crisp and clear as I wanted.  I added more cream to the two remaining containers and waited another 10 minutes before washing it off.  The second round turned out better, but the cream still leaked under the tape in several places.  I would suggest using a ton of etching cream and waiting at least 20 minutes before washing it off to make the area clear and solid.  This was my final result, which I might need to redo down the road.

From Warm to Bright

Our new house in Minnesota was ready to move-in right away, and there were not many immediate needs to be fixed.  I really love the layout of our place, and the bones are amazing.  There were just several things we wanted to change to really make it our own....okay, so many more than a few.  One of those major changes was the trim.  The trim was all oak, and there was a ton of it.  Here in Minnesota, they love their oak.  We didn't want to offend or make anyone upset, but we decided to paint the oak white so it went with our taste and style, since we plan on being in this house for  along time.  I started with the guest room and guest room bathroom, with a beach theme to remind us of our previous home.

Painting oak trim is a long, tedious process, but we wanted to do it right so it didn't chip or peel off.  The guest room/bathroom started off looking like this.  

We are sanding first, priming then painting three coats.  I sand in between the first and second coats, but not between the last one.  It has turned out really nice.

Now, I get to start trying to find furniture and decorations....Michaels, here I come!