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.

How Yoga Helped Me Remodel My Daughter’s Bedroom

I recently renovated my teenage daughter’s bedroom; new flooring, painted walls, and décor. Let me reiterate this is the bedroom of my daughter, who is a teenager, and dislikes everything I like.

Let’s just say there was potential for stress in this scenario.

Add a bit of teen drama to my general lack of flooring know-how and subsequent lack of confidence, and we were faced with real potential for a meltdown here.

My daughter would most likely have a meltdown as well.

I am happy to report that after four days, three trips to the home improvement store, and no more than a mini meltdown (or two), the room is complete. And we both love it. While taking pictures of the new room, I realized that I have yoga to thank for keeping me sane in these situations.

How does yoga help remodel a bedroom?

Please read the rest of my story on using yoga to redecorate my daughters bedroom on Parent.Co

How Yoga Helped Me Remodel My Daughter’s Bedroom

Preparing For Winter On A Budget

I love my house. I stress about paying the mortgage, but I am eternally grateful that despite how horrible my divorce was, my ex-husband agreed the kids needed to stay in their home.

But, my house needs a lot of work. I regularly toy with the idea of selling it and moving out of Tennessee. But I know I won't get full asking price because of the repairs and upgrades it needs.

One of the biggest problems is the old, horrible windows and lack of insulation. In the winter my house is COLD. You can put your hands a good foot away from the windows and door and feel the air coming in.

In the past I have used weather stripping in differing thickness and materials. Last year I used that
plastic stuff that you stick onto the windows with a hair dryer. Both helped, but neither was a solution.

This year after much googling I found a weird but extremely cost effective way to insulate the windows.

Bubble wrap.

Yes, the kind of bubble wrap that you use to pack when you move.

I don't know why, but everything I read said it needs to be the large-size bubbles bubble wrap.

It's a really easy process:

• Measure the window
• Cut the bubble wrap to fit
• Spray the window with plain water
• Spray the bubble side of the bubble wrap
• Stick the bubble wrap to the window

For some reason, just simple water is all it takes to attach the bubble wrap. 

I am testing the bubble wrap method on my bedroom windows first since they are the worst in the house. This morning there was just one little corner of bubble wrap that was coming off the window, but I just resprayed it with water and it went right back up.

We had a really bad storm today, lots of rain and 50mph winds. And I'm happy to report....

It is working!

I couldn't feel any wind coming in through the window.

This weekend I'll do the other windows in the back of the house. And if it works well enough I'll put the bubble wrap up in the front windows too. Even though it might look a little odd. 

It's not very pretty, but who cares as long as it works. And I have thick curtains that are supposed to keep out the heat / cold and when those are closed you don't see the bubble wrap anyway.

 

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.