Accessorizing around Your Kitchen Sink

First off- Happy Mother's Day! I have so much stuff to post but I never have time, so I had to wait until today to get one in (while hubby dresses the kids for church).

My corner kitchen sink and faucet are looking so beautiful after our remodel I had to redo all my accessories. I never was in love with my accessories before. A vase, a frame and some bottles of pasta was just something that could fill the space. Plus, I have quickly realized that when I hate the space I don't have much motivation to beautify it. But now I have more than motivation, I have inspiration!!!

I had been toying with some ideas for the blank space:

Some Candle Holders. These are from Pottery Barn.
I love this idea but wanted to use the candle holders for my family room on my buffet later.

I love these lanters. I was going to have 1 large lantern, a chunky candle and maybe a framed picture behind my sink. But for some reason I just didn't think this was the way to go (I want to use the lantern somewhere else! haha). PB again.

Adding a POP of color through these cheery flowers seems so fun. Especually by the sink while you do the most mundain job- dishes.

After all the ideas running through my head I headed to Michael's and in 15 minutes put together a perfect combination that works with my style, my budget, and my new kitchen.

I got 3 glass vases, all different sizes (the cheapest ones of course), and took them around the store with me and started filling them with things I loved (and things I could afford):

Green Apples. I LOVE green and I LOVE apples! Apples make me think of the kitchen and cooking and the bright green fills me with energy.

Willows and Marbles:

I had to sneak a pic of my cute daughter on Mother's Day :)

I took a $2 piece of Pussy Willow that my daughter is holding, and cut it up and placed them in the vase with Glass marbles on the bottom. The marbles remind me of water and the willows just, well, look cool and clean!

I had to add some dark rocks in there too. Rocks always remind me of a relaxing river. They are so Zen! Perfect next to the kitchen sink. Plus, I love the contrast of the dark rocks next to my green apples.

I love how it all turned out!
Ps. ignore the tile spacers in the background. The backsplash just needs to be grouted and we are DONE! YIPEEE!!!

The $10, 30 minute, Valance

 Because I am in love with the latest rage- Damask- I thought the perfect place to put the fabric print was over my kitchen sink.
I purchased the fabric from Warehouse Fabrics Inc. and went with Traditions Chocolate/Natural.  I purchased 2 yards (with free shipping) which came to just a tad over $10.

I followed Censational Girl's Valance Tutorial
 Great tutorial!  Easy and cheap as can be :) (again, no sewing needed. Just Stitch Witchery and a Staple Gun)

 I was making 2 valances in a corner window, it was a little more trickier.  I found that I needed to match my pattern or it would look wierd.  I layed my first cut valance right on top of the fabric to make my second cut so it would be exactly identical.

Before stapling my fabric to the wood pieces I layed them side by side to make sure they were perfectly matching.

Hubby hung them... he HATED this part.  He couldn't step on our new granite counters so he had to balance on the window sill.  Ya, he said he will never do that again (I hear that alot lately :) )

Here they are all hung and pretty. I love how they turned out!  You can't beat $10!!

Here is a sneak peak at the new backsplash that is going up!  I am so excited.  I opted against the tumbled travertine (I actually had bought it and had to return it the day before my husband was going to install it) and decided to go with this dark Porcelain tile, subway style.  It is really going to make a statement and add that contemporary flair to my kitchen.  Hopefully next week I can FINALLY show you all my finished kitchen!!! Crossed fingers!!!!!!!!!!!

The "I Can't Sew" Curtain Panel

The moment I stepped onto the Decor Blogger circuit I was introduced to this amazing "tape" that would open up possibilities to people like me: Non-Sewers. I never thought I would be able to make my own custom curtain panels. But now it is possible because of this:

Stitch Witchery is a bonding glue that you apply with the iron. Yes, all you need is an iron, a damp rag, this magic tape and your fabric!!!! I know, if you haven't heard of this before welcome to the land of fabric!

1. First, cut your fabric. I cut mine in a rectangle the dimensions of a curtain panel I woulda purchased (with a couple inches to spare for the magic tape!).

2. Place Stitch Witchery on your fabric, fold the edge on top.

3. Press your iron on a damp towel on top of your folded seem. Count to 10. Move on until you have done the whole thing. Done! (In short, follow the directions on the back of the package.)

Because I was doing curtains for my sliding door, which is really wide, I had to use 2 panels and seem them together. Again, I can't sew, so I used the "magic tape" to seem them together.

In all honesty, my seem didn't turn out the greatest. It was hard to iron 2 pieces of fabric together! But all my edges look amazing. You would never know a Custom Curtain Virgin (CCV, haha) made this:

The fabric was on Sale at Joannes! It is so pretty. I got way lucky because I had my 3 kids with me, I had a total of 10 minutes to run in the store, grab something and leave!

I was having HUGE issues getting the length right, it was just a bit long. Also, it looked so messy. Then I saw how Sarah clipped her curtains, tried it, and it made a WORLD of difference! Clip them from the back. Thanks Sarah!!!

I didn't use any lining. It seems to work great. I am cheap, I didn't want to buy anything more than I had to.

Now lets look at my before and after (you know I gotta do that!)
Before:

Yes, this was taken at Christmas time.... only pic I got!!!

After

I'd say it is a LOT better!! Now just need to accessorize :)

Linking to:

DIY Granite Mini Slabs + Undermount Sink

My dream was to have Granite Slab in my kitchen. But after receiving a couple quotes of $4,000 for my kitchen, I quickly decided to go another route. I didn't have to have granite, I was open to other countertop solutions. But I quickly realized that, yet again, doing it ourselves would give us the biggest bang for our buck (not to mention thousands of dollars saved in our pockets).

I was introduced to "Mini Slabs" by my husband's Aunt and Uncle. They have a store called Interiors Plus Flooring and I was sold the minute I saw the granite. They are 18x26 inch tiles and range from $50-$55/tile. Average $15/sq ft! A STEAL!
** Mini slabs, at the moment, come in limited style choices. But in the end they had what I was looking for and it was worth it to me!

Credit: Oregon Tile and Marble

The "Mini Slabs" are made to cover your average length countertop, with 1 inch extra to cut and bring to the front edge to finish. Grout lines are minimal which gives it more of an appearance of slab. You can't beat that!

Because we saved so much money going with the min slabs, we decided to have Crowley's Tile Edging bullnose all the edges to give it that finished, slab look, and fulfill my dream of having an undermount sink!
TIP: My husband has never in his life installed granite before. He watched hundreds of Youtube videos (just look up "installing granite countertops" or anything along those lines). It does help to be handy and you must be very precise and accurate in your measuring. I am just glad I didn't have to do it, it looked HARD!
Installing the Undermount Sink:

This is how we picked up the tiles, before my husband cut them

Crowley's made the cut-out for the sink and this is how we picked it up (above). It was up to us to cut the tiles and install.

After my husband cut the tiles. It is now looking more like a sink!

Cut the plywood and drop the sink in. We are almost there!

You can't forget to cut the holes for the sink and soap.

Install the plumbing. My husbands LEAST favorite job.

After installing the granite top it's held down by these bad boys.
I can't forget to mention we put weights on top of the countertops to hold the granite down and make it level.

TIP: We put the tiles right on top of 1 layer of Plywood. We opted against the Hardiboard (after it was installed, then we had to tear it off) because the plywood + hardiboard would have been too thick and the 1 inch edge of granite would not have covered it. We also found if we did hardiboard that our stove would not raise high enough and it wouldn't have fit!

See the weights on the left? Gotta keep the countertop level somehow!

Tip: Use Silicone for installing the granite edge.

VIOLA!! The finished product (please ignore our unfinished backsplash):

Here is a shot of the corners with the bullnosed edge. Definantly the way to go

!

This is 2 mini slabs next to the stove. Look at the bullnose again, so pretty

Grout lines are minimal and hide VERY well. I don't even notice them.

This is our island. I bet you can't even tell me how many tiles are on here. (4 tiles)

Project Facts:

• Granite (including Bullnose edge and Undermount Sink)- $1600
• Labor- FREE
• Granite: Gialla Santa Cecilia
• Grout: Non-sanded "Light Smoke"

Total Cost of Granite Countertops: $1600

Linking to:

The Kitchen Island Reveal

Click HERE for a full tutorial on how to turn your basic kitchen island into a stunning custom-looking island.
After almost a month of hard work- sanding, constructing, painting, Graniting (is that a word?)- the island is FINISHED!!!
Lets blast into the past and take a look at what it WAS:

Now lets step back into the present (thank goodness) and look at the gorgeous beauty I have in my kitchen now:)

I changed out the pulls for some sleek sexy ones (Lowes)

We also changed out the island supports for nice pretty ones. I think these add so much.

Oh, I can't forget the AMAZING fruit bowl I picked up at Home Goods! LOVE IT!!!

Because I just LOVE before and afters, lets see a side-by-side for kicks:

All of this for around $100 (not counting the granite)! you certainly can't beat that!

Oh, and our whole kitchen is SOooo CLOSE to being done, except I changed my decision on the Backsplash (I know I am SO indecisive). I am going a completely opposite direction and I am SO excited how it will pull together my style and give our kitchen a more modern edgy look! I can't wait to show you all!!!! YipEE!!!

Linking this to:
The DIY Showoff
Between Naps on the Porch
The Girl Creative