Our AirStone Wall

Many months ago, I shared with you about our first ever DIY project, which was the Giani kit that transformed our 80's peachy leafy kitchen counter top into something that looked a bit more this-century and granite. It was a weekend project that took relatively little time and really enhanced the look of the galley kitchen in our first house. It was still holding up great three years later when we moved out, and I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a kitchen overhaul!

So our huge DIY project at our new house was the stone wall. And today I thought I'd tell you about the good, the bad, and the ugly of that in case you're interested in trying it in your house!

It all started with this pin from Pinterest, which I found months {maybe even years} ago when we were merely dreaming of a new home that might have some sort of open concept transition from kitchen to living room. I tucked it away, and when Ryan and I were dreaming specifically of the changes to make in this house, I casually showed it to him. He was on board with it in about eighteen seconds and started researching companies that made stone to use in such a manner.

If you didn't know this {and I most certainly did not}, you have to be very careful if you use real stone on a wall like this because it is {obviously} heavy and can actually pull down a wall if it's not done properly. Plus, stone is just expensive. And you know expensive is not our love language.

So Ryan found a company called AirStone and did some research, read some reviews, and declared this was the company for us. This product can be used inside or out {though we can only vouch for its inside use} and is 75% lighter than true stone. It really does look like stone and feels that way to the touch - until you pick it up and feel how light it is. You also do not use any kind of mortar or grout that has to be mixed. There's an adhesive that you put on the back {like buttering bread} and that is what keeps it in place. And if you need to cut a stone, you can do it with a hacksaw, so you don't even need any special fancy power tools.

There are two color ensembles to chose from: Autumn Mountain, which is a brown tone, and Spring Creek, which is a blue/gray tone. We used Spring Creek in our house. They sell flat stones, which are the ones that you put on a regular wall surface...natural edge stones, which we used on the end of the wall that did not meet up to another wall...and corner edge stones, which we did not use, but you would use that if you were wrapping around a corner onto another wall you planned to cover with stones. And we used the bucket of putty they sell.

Now, I will say, the online calculator failed us. {And if I had been the one doing the calculating, I would absolutely claim user error because we all know my math skills. But Ryan did it and he's both good at that stuff and accustomed to that stuff, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't his fault.} The calculator recommended two boxes of the flat stone to cover the living room side of our wall, and we needed somewhere between six and seven boxes. {We ordered eight total when it was all done, but that was after we also decided to also do the backsplash in the kitchen.} So I'll just throw that out there for what it's worth. Obviously it did end up being a more expensive project than we planned, given we budgeted for two boxes and had to buy eight {and a second bucket of adhesive}, but we still feel the end result was worth the extra funds, because this is our favorite part of our house.

I absolutely giggle at the cute girl in her white mini skirt and perfect pedicure in the installation videos, because our experience at this process was nowhere near as neat and tidy as this. We had a whole lotta dust, a whole lotta stone fragments hanging around, and a whole lotta adhesive mess, but again, worth it in the end. I would NOT recommend wearing a white mini skirt for installation, however.

Each box of stone comes with multiple sizes and color tints of stones, and Ryan learned, after he got his groove down, that it was good to work two rows at a time and alternate the sizes and colors of each stone. {Some stones, as you can see in the picture, are long and some are short. Some are narrow and some are thick. Some are light and some are dark. You want to puzzle it together so you have a good variety of thicknesses, lengths, and color tone.}

We painted the wall the Autumn Fog color we used in the kitchen, since it coordinated with the stone, and that way if there would happen to be any paint showing through between any stones {which I don't think ended up being the case} it would at least blend in. Ryan "buttered" the stone with the adhesive, which worked really well. It stays soft for about 30 minutes, so if you need to pull a stone down and reposition it, you can. And we haven't had any issues with falling stone since it was installed, so I would say it holds well! Ryan did have to pull a few stones off after the adhesive had "cured" so we could install the counter top, and they did pop off without breaking, but the removal damaged the drywall on the way off. That was totally fine, since we put them right back on after the counter top was in, but I wanted to let you know that if you do this and undo it someday, you'll have some wall repair in front of you. Also - the adhesive has a pretty strong smell, and that's saying something from the girl who wishes Sharpie made a candle. I didn't get a headache or anything, but you'll probably want some good ventilation or a fan going if you're sensitive to smell.

Ryan is a perfectionist, so every stone had to be tested with the level, and now and then - especially when he got started with the bottom row - he had to use shims to hold things in place until the putty hardened. This part of the process slowed us down quite a bit, but I know the end result was worth it, because we didn't get to the top to find the entire thing was not level.

One HUGE frustration he had was that one of the two boxes of edge pieces we purchased was not level. Like every single stone had to be filed down to make them level. That was probably the biggest holdup of the project. I would say that's probably not typical since only one box was that way, and thankfully it was just the edge pieces, which meant a much smaller box. But it did happen and it did cause a slow down, frustration, and a few cuts on his hands!

The stones were easy to cut, but they did leave a dusty mess. Definitely put down towels or tarp if you're going to do this inside!

In the end, I would estimate Ryan put about sixty hours into this wall. But we do love it, we think it makes an incredible statement, and we both feel it was a good investment!

Shellac at Home

I promise I do more than think about doing my nails...even though I realize this post, combined with yesterday's would lead you to believe otherwise. :)

So here's the scoop. Several years ago - like 12 or so years ago - I treated myself to manicures twice a month - as really my only treat in life. I wanted acrylic nails because I thought they were beautiful, but alas...the only small thing on my entire body is my nail beds. Too small for acrylics to fit. So my nail tech, Dee, had to hand-construct acrylic nails for me at every appointment. Bless her heart.

She moved, and I decided I needed to divert those funds elsewhere, so I gave up my appointments. Then about four years ago, I decided I wanted a treat again. So I called up Debbie, who came highly recommended, and told her I'd love to start coming to her regularly - if she could make me some nails. She agreed, but before my first appointment, she called back and said a brand new nail system {her exact words...I feel so official using them} had just come out and she thought it might be the perfect thing for me, if I wanted to try.

And that is how I started getting Shellac manicures. She described them as hybrid gel nails that went on like regular polish, but had a 2 week {or longer} staying power and wouldn't ruin my natural nails like acrylics. AND they were cheaper. OKAY!!

So Debbie did my nails until I had to give up manicures to buy more gas for my commute. And OH how I missed them when I had to quit going. I ended up doing my nails with regular polish about twice a week because they always chipped.

Ryan took pity on me and purchased a Shellac light for me for Christmas, and I used other Christmas money to buy the rest of the goodies, so I could start doing my nails at home.

Some of you have asked how I do it and what I use, so here's the scoop!!!

First...the light. This kind of manicure requires a curing under a UV light and this is the most expensive investment in the process. You can buy lights of all price ranges from all different companies. Ryan did quite a bit of research before making his purchase, and he settled on this one for me:

The great thing about this one is it's wide enough to cure both hands at once if I want...saves time from doing one at a time. And it has a variety of timing options on it as well:

I've been using it for 3 months now and it's working out great!

Now...to the rest of the supplies.

If I have polish on, I start by soaking it off with 100% pure acetone. There are 2 ways to do this. First way is to pour some in a bowl and soak your fingernails in it until the polish peels up and you can scrape it off. Works, but it's SO COLD! My nail tech used to tear apart a cotton ball into about 3 pieces, soak the piece in acetone, place it on top of my nail and then hold it in place by wrapping my fingertip in foil. So that's the method I use. {Removing polish the traditional rub-with-a-cotton-ball way does not work with this stuff.}

After I take off the polish, I cut and file my nails however I want them ,and then I wash my hands really well to get all the filing grit off there.

Then I use this to fully clean the nail the rest of the way:

It dehydrates the nail a bit and helps the polish adhere better.

Then I use this - which is actually by the Gelish company - as another bonding agent:

It brushes on like polish but disappears into the nail immediately, so you don't have to wait for it to dry.

Then it's time to do the base coat, top coat and color. I use CND and Gelish products - depending on whatever I can find that I like. Follow the directions on the bottle to see how long to cure that coat under the lamp:

After the entire base coat/color/top coat part is done, I take a cotton ball and rub a layer of rubbing alcohol over it. This finishes the process so completely that I can stick my fingers down in my purse and dig around as much as I want without chipping or gouging anything. TRULY AMAZING.

I'm really glad Ryan made it possible for me to do this at home; Debbie moved away, so this is the only way I'd get the nails done now! So far I only have two colors, but I'm excited to slowly build my collection. :) And it helps that one of my work buddies has an at-home system too, so she and I swap colors sometimes.

For those of you contemplating it...hope that helps!! :)