YouTube Tutorials are #FakeDIYNews

My kitchen counters look terrible.

Really, they're bad.  The original counters were installed in 1994 the year the house was built. A couple years ago I decided to believe a Pinterest lie and I painted my counter tops as a cheaper alternative to replacing them.

There actually is no alternative possibility of replacing them. It's just way too out of my nonexistent budget.

I really liked the way the counters looked painted and I was so proud of myself!

For about a week.

Peeling paint over old counter tops

And then the places on the counter tops that got the most use started peeling and flaking. And it got
worse as time went on. And then more worse.

I am honestly embarrassed by the looks of my kitchen counters.

A realtor friend told me about the new trend of self adhesive granite film. It's like old fashioned shelf paper, but more durable and for the counter tops.

At just $10 per roll I figured if it didn't work I wasn't out anything major.

But, of course, I did my due diligence first.

I read the product reviews, watched a couple YouTube tutorials, and followed the pre-cleaning instructions.

And then I opened the first roll. Here is what I learned:

• A 17.71" x 78" roll is not as much as you think it is and does not cover as large an area as you think it will.
• Using a DVD case to push out any air bubbles (as recommended by the YouTube tutorials) actually makes small scratches in the brand new granite-looking paper.
• Which leads me to believe it is, in fact, not more durable than shelf paper.
• I am unable to cut in a straight line.
• Air bubbles are not easy to see when looking down, but are really visible when looking from the side. 
• I think the YouTube lady lied about how easy this would be.

After all that, I'm undecided whether I like the new look or not. Obviously it's better than the old wore out look.  And I will probably like it more once it is complete.

I ran out of paper so there are some patches not covered. I'm going to wait a couple weeks though before buying more just to see how durable it is.

What happens after it gets wet? After someone puts a hot pot on it? Or doesn't use a cutting board? How well is the self adhesive stick? Will the edges start to peel up?

If any of the above isn't good, I'm not sure what to try next.

I think it looks good. I'm a little concerned about the corners
peeling up though.

I'm going to leave it looking messed up for a
couple weeks to see how durable it is before
I finish the project.

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie: The Home Improvement Version

A good friend of mine says home improvement projects are very much like one of my favorite children's books, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.

In my version, it goes a little something like this:

If you help me paint my kitchen, I'm going to want to paint my cabinets.
If I take down my cabinet doors I'll have to scrub them clean.
If I am scrubbing clean the cabinet doors I might as well scrub clean the cabinet frames.
If I am going to repaint the cabinet doors, I need to repaint the handles and other hardware.
If I am going to repaint the walls, cabinets and hardware, I need a new kitchen counter.
If I am going to redo my kitchen counter, I'd really like to retile the floor.
Hey if I am retiling the floor can we tile the back splash behind the sink and stove?
Now that my walls are repainted I need new decor.
My kitchen looks so fresh and new I need a new dining room table.
Since the kitchen redo budget is already blown I'm going to paint my table.
But first I need to scrub it clean and sand it down.
And if I'm going to scrub my table clean, I might as well...
Sit and enjoy a cookie in my nice new pretty kitchen.

As of tonight I've accomplished the first four lines of my story. The only reason I quit for the night is because my dad, who is visiting from out of town, is watching football and keeps asking "what are you doing out there?"

So I decided to call it a night and continue tomorrow.

And then I sat and enjoyed a cookie.