Business Cards, Garden Goodies, and New Countertops!

Happy Labor Day weekend!  We are having a good, relaxing weekend.  Hopefully you are too!  We took the opportunity yesterday to go to Toledo to do some shopping and eating.  I wish there was more to do in our town...we get pretty bored here some times, and have to get out and go elsewhere to find things that we need.  We also have a limited restaurant selection here, so we enjoy getting to go places that have more options.  I believe that we are both spoiled by our experiences living elsewhere, so we kind of miss having the choices that we used to have.  But we survive. 

I had to share these: Mini Moo Cards--these are little business/calling cards, that are the length of a regular business card, but half the width.  Moo (the printing company) was offering one hundred free mini card to Etsy sellers (just had to pay $5.00 for shipping) and they printed whatever you wanted on the cards.  And they printed both sides, which is usually an extra charge, so it was a nice bonus.  I had been wanting to order some business cards lately, to include in packages when someone buys something, but couldn't justify the cost, so this deal was perfect (and they gave me a discount code to share, so if you need cards, send me a message and I'll send you the code).  I would certainly recommend them--they were really easy to create, and they got to me quickly!

My cards came in a little box that can be used to keep others' cards in it, too!

A set of my cards.  I was able to select whatever image I wanted for the back, and then create a simple card on the front of each one.  So cool!

 

On the garden front, I am actually getting a few cucumbers.  Nothing major, but considering I thought the garden was beyond saving for the year, it's a small victory.  Here is a picture of my first cucumber from the garden:

Haven't eaten him yet--he's too cute.  I think I shall call him Stub.

 I was also surprised last week, while I was examining my vegetables, to find that I had two more small pumpkins beginning to grow!  I have decided that I can't stand the thought of the mystery creature getting these, so I went out and bought a bottle of Liquid Fence deer and animal repellent and sprayed my whole garden and garden perimeter.  It's food safe, as long as it's not applied right before harvesting.  That stuff smells awful!  But, hopefully it will be successful at repelling critters around my garden.  Not only does it have rotten eggs in the ingredients, but it also has cayenne pepper juice as well.  It works on the odor/taste repellent idea--if it smells bad, and it tastes bad, the animals will leave it alone.  I will have to let you know how it works.  I know I found it particularly repelling!

We took some time today to attempt to replace the two smaller pieces of countertop, and I'm glad to say we were successful!  It was easier than either one of us expected, and now we know what to expect for the long piece that my mother and stepfather will come down and help us replace next weekend.  We are so excited, now that we see what the smaller pieces look like on the counters!  (Insert big cheer sound here.)  I'll show you what we did, in case you decide to take on this project yourself.

First step: Assemble the necessary tools for the job.  For this, we needed a power drill, Philips head bit, a square bit (which we found out later), a utility knife, a putty knife, a dime, a penny, a used Cincinnati Reds ticket stub, and of course, a sandwich and drink from Jimmy John's (the sandwich had been eaten by photo time).  Now, if you don't have all of those items, the first five items will suffice.

Second Step: Determine how your countertops are attached to the base cabinets.  We removed all sliding drawers and took out some cabinet items to make room.  We found that there were screws holding our countertops in place.

Step Three: Remove all of the screws and KEEP THOSE SCREWS.  This is very important.

In case you're wondering, that's my hand.  Yes, I worked the screwdriver.  Like a boss.

Step Four: Using the utility knife, cut through the existing caulk along the backsplash edge.  You can also use a putty knife to scrape it off.  It will take at least a couple of passes with either tool.

Step Five: Lift the old countertops off and set them aside (they should just come off, but if someone glued the backsplash to the wall, you'll need to pry it off with a putty knife).  We plan on giving our old countertops to ReStore.  Set your new pieces on the cabinets to encourage yourself.

Step Six: Wonder why the countertop edges don't line up with the screw holes.  Huh.

Step Seven: Wonder what these pieces of wood are that are the same size as the depth of the countertops. Consult the instructions that give no indication of what to do.

Step Eight: Put two and two together and figure it out on your own.

Attaching wood strips to the bottom of the counter.  Why not just make them like this to begin with?

Step Nine: Once the wood strips are attached, put the countertops on the cabinets.  Use the old screws from the old countertop that I told you to keep.  Screw the countertops to the cabinets using the existing holes.  Sorry, too busy working.  No picture of this step.  Just imagine the picture from step three going backwards.

Step Ten: Use the caulk included in the Installation Kit and caulk the backsplash. 

Step Eleven: Smooth out the caulk and let it dry.  That's it!  You're done!

Well, maybe not completely done.  First, we still need to paint over the caulk and touch it up.  Second, we still have the long piece to install, but like I said earlier, that won't happen until next week.  

Let's compare!  

Countertops before

Countertops after

We are very happy with our new counters!  Just one more picture, that I found funny when we pulled out the stove:

We enjoyed the random napkin that had been hanging on to one of the vents for who knows how long.

Ta-Da!  Have a great weekend!