Creating a splash!

A back splash, that is. When we pulled this beauty out of the kitchen,

We found an unfinished wall like this:

You see, the Caloric Microwave/Oven combo covered the wall from floor to ceiling, leaving a back splash or any kind of wall covering unnecessary for the previous owners. With our new appliances being delivered tomorrow (YES TOMORROW!!), we needed a solution for the open space that would be created by our new-aged, non-connected microwave and range.

One day a few weeks ago, I was showing my mom the mosaic tile we bought for the bathroom wall. We happened to be looking at it right next to that big gaping hole in the cabinets. She asked why not use the same tile for the back splash. Genius I tell you. Genius (don't tell her I said that, I'll never live it down). The tile coordinates perfectly with the cabinets, walls, floors and just about everything. So this tile was going to be our back splash:

 

It's a recycled glass mosaic from home depot. We decided to learn to tile a little sooner than we had planned. We went back to home depot for the 4th time that week and picked up more tile. We also checked with one of the employees as to what they recommended we use to lay the tile. Unfortunately we were at the Absecon Home Depot, where Bill swears they hire anyone. So we were pretty much on our own.

Side note: Once we asked one of the employees about a certain floor tile for the bathroom. The tile was on the other side of the store, so the guy walked with us over to it. Bill asked him questions about the tile the whole way there (I know, Bill talking, shocking). When we got to the tile display, the guy said "This is floor tile. Is there anything else I can help you with?," and walked away. We left there and drove out to the EHT Home Depot.

We started by cutting out the half pieces of white back splash tile they had on the wall. It was so nice of Bill to buy his dad a tool that cuts tile for Christmas.

Of course, we're all about the proper attire. (It's all about style...)

We measured and measured and measured again (BTW I totally used this project as an example for area and square footage in class this week). We marked exactly where we wanted the 12 x 12 squares, then started applying the adhesive.

Then we started applying the tile:

And then we started grouting:

Of course, I had to give it a whirl. (How many of you think Home Alone when you hear "Give it a whirl?")

Then we waited and waited and waited... and ended up with this...

We are beyond thrilled with the way it turned out! We can't wait to see the finished product tomorrow with our appliances in place! We are about to have our first complete "Before and After!!!" Check back for the big reveal!