Embracing Chalk

Flashback: It's Algebra class, sophomore year. At the start of class my cute little nerdy Grandpa teacher would have several members of the class write math problems from the homework on the board. For most, there was anxiety over being given a problem that they'd actually finished, let alone done correctly. For me, there was anxiety over having to hold a piece of chalk. The gritty, rough, powdery surface left my OCD self feeling like I needed to take a shower. I did not like it, not one little bit.

Fast forward to today and the years-long trend now of chalkboard everything and I have had an internal battle. I don't like chalk, but those projects are all so cute!!! I don't want to have to hold chalk in my hand, but I want a cute memo board like that!! I don't want loose powder in the air or grungy erasers or the smell or anything else that goes with chalk, but I want to be able to make cute chalkboard messages that can change on a whim!! When it all comes together, 1 + 1 = I made a chalkboard. 

It's sort of my equivalent of selling out, just on a crafting level. Should I feel bad about that? 

I used this frame, that I have used many times before for my front door. I had to peel off some hot glue from a Valentines "wreath" and replace some scraped off paint from floral wire, but this little can of paint + primer spray paint by Krylon was just the ticket to take care of that.

Since a frame clearly needs something to go in it, I decided to use the glass for the base of the chalkboard. The chalkboard paint can said it should go on a smooth surface, but I was worried the glass was tooo smooth. I sprayed a super light coat of the white as a primer so the chalkboard paint would adhere better.

No need to worry getting perfectly even coverage, it's primer! We're going to cover that baby up.

I already owned a can of the brush on chalkboard paint, so that is the route I went. I think the spray paint would give a better final surface, but if you haven't figured it out yet, I tend to work with what I've got. Using a nice Zibra brush helped get thin, even coats. I love those brushes.

I let it dry, then added two more coats.

I absolutely do not love washing paint brushes, especially when I want to use them again soon, so I slapped that puppy into a sandwich bag between coats so the board would dry but the bristles wouldn't. It works famously. You probably knew that already, but I seriously do this all the time.

Long story short, or short project long, that's it! Then it's just a matter of making sure the paint is fully dry, slipping the glass back into the frame, and replacing the back. It's almost embarrassing how easy this is and how long I've debated making one.

Man, I wish I could paint these doors.

It's only taken two whole months to find chalk, and I finally found it for $0.47/box at Walmart (despite the fact that I've looked there at least a dozen times already). It's kind of frustrating to look for something for so long and then have it be so very cheap. Not that I'm complaining.

Squirt had a great time writing on it and I can't bring myself to erase her note.

 You can see progess is being made!! It's sure not done, but it's so much better.

It's going to live {for now} on Baby Boy's door. I figure it can hold messages like "Baby's Sleeping" or "Last ate at 3:42 a.m." so I actually remember in the morning when the boy had his midnight snacks. Most likely I will slave over making some sort of cute typographic saying, and then freak out when it gets smudged, but that is a topic for another OCD counseling session.

Now that I've sold out to chalkboard-dom, I think I'm rapidly getting addicted. I have more projects in mind with no end in sight. Now if only I could talk myself into not minding the feel of chalk...

Moon Phase Wall Art

This is perhaps one of the simplest things I've ever done and I am completely IN LOVE with it. The nursery is evolving and I'm coming up with a theme gradually. My love of Earth sciences is definitely going to be evident when all is said and done.

Seriously, to do this you need only cardstock or other heavy paper, white craft paint, a fine tipped brush, something small and round (I used the lid to a 1 liter soda bottle), and about fifteen minutes.

I used a quilt cutting mat to guide my placement so I didn't have to draw guidelines, but you can do whatever you like. I honestly just eyeballed it. I was going for slightly imperfect (I think it's charming) or I would have just put it together in illustrator and printed it out. Want to make one? Here's how:

1. Trace two rows of 4 circles each, spacing them how you like. I cut my paper to 5 x 7 first and spaced it how I thought it looked good.

I actually made two in 10-15 minutes because I wasn't sure if I liked the black or grey paper better.

2. After all the circles are traced, use craft paint and an extra-fine paintbrush to trace the circles.

3. Once the outlines are done, freehand the moon phase shapes. If you're not sure what they should be just mimic mine. I've seen other moon art that had them in a different order (most likely to change the black/white balance of the piece) but I wanted mine to be in an accurate sequence.

I left the solid white and solid black moons in corners, but if you follow the shapes around in a rough circle they are in order of how they appear in nature:

No visible moon (solid black) = New Moon

Small crescent illuminated on the right = waxing crescent

Right half of moon illuminated = first quarter moon

Right three-quarters of moon illuminated = waxing gibbous

Whole moon illuminated = Full Moon

Left three-quarters of moon illuminated = waning gibbous

Left half of moon illuminated = third quarter moon

Left crescent illuminated = waning crescent

That's it! Let dry and then slip into a frame and voila! Accurate sequence moon phase art for literally pennies and hardly any time.

I already had this frame that I'm planning on using in baby boys room and although I'm digging the gray one, it didn't look so great next to this color. I think a high contrast color choice would be awesome in a bright white frame, maybe teal and lime green? turquoise and coral? bright white and yellow? The options are endless.

Thrifted Pear Gets a Facelift

On Monday Squirt and I headed out to do a little shopping. I knew I wanted to visit the new Jo-Ann's that just opened a few miles away from us and that right next to it was a Goodwill location I had heard good things about. I didn't really scheme up a wish list since there's no telling how long kids will endure thrift stores on any given trip. As it turns out, she loved it almost as much as I did and came home with a "new" pair of rollerblades she scored for $2.50. While I wandered around I found this little pear I just couldn't live without. 

I love pears. 

Ripe pears of any variety, pear art, and last (but definitely not least) the juicy pear jelly belly of awesomeness. 

At $1.99 I had to have it, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. It had a somewhat endearing rustic appearance but I'm not much of a rustic style girl. When we got home it landed on a shelf in the living room where the hubs asked in a somewhat less than thrilled voice "What IS that thing?" He is so patient with my endless collecting of things to refurbish, but this one he just couldn't envision. I'm sure the fact that it's made of cement contributed to that. 

Looking back at it now I can see his hesitation. It looked to be caked in dirt and though I scrubbed and scrubbed it just wouldn't come off. Which meant it was time for paint. 

I started with FolkArt metallic in Antique Copper, which was an immediate improvement. 

It seemed too flat though so I started mottling different colors from my stash. Don't we all have a stash of little acrylic paints? This is when that decorative effects stuff from the background came in to play. I have LOVED that little bottle of paint. It's leftover from a wall I painted in a house way back in 2002 and there is honestly 2/3 of the bottle left. I may cry when it finally runs out.

What 'cha think? In person there is a little more variation because the different sheens (metallic, matte, gloss) that I dabbed on here and there do nice things with the light. 

I can hardly believe it's the same little pear. It's such a pretty little touch of autumn. Never underestimate the impact of a little paint and patience. 

Naval Striped Dresser Redo

I'm not necessarily a trendy person. Never have been. I'm too cheap, too concerned about comfort and how long things will be useful, and frankly just too detached from what the rest of the world is up to. I don't watch much television and haven't since my daughter was born. Seriously, once kids enter the picture who has much time for that??? I don't read fashion magazines and I spend very little time shopping. Which means that until Pinterest I had no idea what the fashionable people in the world were up to.

Except of course when my awesomely stylish friend Nichole would look amazing (which was every. single. day.). Then I'd see myself in the mirror and cry a little on the inside at my..... basic-ness. The thing about it is that I looked good - just, plain. In the sense that I pretty much always wore the same kind of basic pieces. I bet that any picture that could be found from my teenage years would see me wearing something almost identical to what is in my closet right today. 

Now, however, I am changing somewhat. Part of that I owe to the coming seasons apparent emphasis on stripes, which I happen to love. 

Perhaps it's the Navy brat in me, or the fact that I had this awesome red/white/blue sailor jumpsuit when I was a kid that I would have worn every single day if mom would have let me, but I LOVE STRIPES! And I'm seriously loving that they are "back." So when it came time to spiffy up this little bedside dresser for my girls' room, I turned to stripes. 

There really is nothing too out of the ordinary about the process here - just your basic sanding and repainting. The dresser was something the Hubs brought with him from his previous life. Someone had already painted it (either the ex-wife or the girl that almost took my spot before I came along) and I'm assuming replaced the hardware. Which meant I had the great advantage of not starting from scratch. 

First I sanded the surface of the existing paint. It was chipped in places and I wanted to get an even coat when I painted over it so this was necessary. I tell you what, this is the first time I've been grateful to have crappy industrial carpet with no padding in our apartment. I sanded right in the living room and it all vacuumed up with no problem. 

After wiping the sanded "crumbs" off with at damp cloth, I painted over the whole surface with two coats of white paint. I let this cure for a day or two and then it was time to mark the placement of the stripes. This was actually crazy easy. I started with the drawers. The drawer front has a curved/routed edge that is perfectly straight. I simply lined the edge of the painters tape up with the edge of the drawer and had perfectly even striped marked off. 

From there, I put the drawer back into the dresser and measured where the stripes met the side of the dresser. Using one of Squirt's plastic school rulers, I measured from the top of the dresser to make sure the tape remained level as I continued the stripes around the side.

Few thing ruin a project like this as quickly as paint bleed through. With the stripes all marked off, I took some of the white paint and brushed the edge of the tape. Any bleed through would then match the white and the black paint would be left with a clean edge. The black stripes took three coats of paint to have even coverage.

When I started peeling the tape, I was seriously scared. The idea of re-sanding and re-painted did not appeal to me and I was terrified that I'd goofed on measuring somewhere and would be left with a crooked stripe that would make me as crazy as Monk. Fortunately, that was not the case and I did a giddy little happy dance to see it all coming together!

Look how beautifully the stripes line up from the drawers!!! I could just scream from happiness. 

I left the inside of the dresser the same wood it was before. The first time it had been painted, it was just the visible facade that was done and I just went with that. I actually like how it looks to have the wood inside. I did add felt pads to the back of the drawer corners to help the paint not get so beat up from normal use. I mean, it's going in a kids' room. I'll be glad I took pictures because it may not look this fantastic ever again. 

When we had a non-rainy few hours (80% humidity instead of 100%) I took it all outside and sprayed 3 thin coats of polycrylic over all the painted surfaces. Let that cure some more and then put all the hardware back on. 

I'm seriously enamored with it and am looking for more things to paint. Best part? I did it all for the price of 2 sample tubs of paint from Lowe's. True dat. 

Price breakdown: 

Dresser: $0: already owned

Paint: 2 @ $2.94 = $5.88 (I used Valspar Dove White 7002-7 and Lincoln Cottage Black 4009-2 both in Satin)

Polycrylic: $0: already owned. 

Plus I have 80% of the black paint left and about 1/3 of the white. Which is good, because I have some lumber in our storage unit just screaming to be used up :)

Have you ever given something a new life with a coat of paint? 

Fanciful Owl

Despite the fact that I'm trying to make the girls' room a little bit more grown up, there is still going to be a fair share of whimsy. I can't help it. With all the Hello Kitty that will be going on in there, it is bound to happen whether I do it or not. So I've chosen to embrace it.

Both the girls dig owls. It started with some aprons I made (tutorial to come) and then Munchie did a report on Snowy Owls and built a "model" of one. Squirt gets excited when she sees them too. Plus, I happen to be uber excited about owls - especially since my Aunt gave me some owl tea towels embroidered by my mother somewhere around the mid 70's. I love them. So. Much.

I was meandering through the mall one day and saw this picture at TJ Maxx (or somewhere similar). I took one look at it and said "I can make that!" whipped out my phone to take a picture, and was on my merry little way. Does anyone else take pictures of things at stores simply so they can copy remember the inspiration when they get home?

Well, copy it I did. Or at least I tried to. The rule was no shopping (surprise!) so I only used paint colors I already had on hand. I don't fancy myself to be a painter, but this was pretty fun nonetheless.

I started by making the background, taping off the edges with painters tape, and then having at it! I only ruined one white shirt (my favorite) in the process. If it hadn't been for the shirt, this project would have only cost about $2.35 for the canvas. As is, now I have to spend more to go shopping for a new white shirt. Even if the other one is still wearable.

It's not the same, but it's pretty fun. It will bring a pop of color and whimsy to the kids' room. If I'm tired of it in a week, I can always paint over it!

Love to the Moon

My Squirt is now 9, much to my disbelief. She shares a bedroom with her 5 year old step-sister, albeit only part time. I've been trying to revamp things now that she's getting a little bit older but still keep them okey-dokey for a younger child too. Which means the pink and yellow flag bunting we've had up since Squirt was 3 is now coming down. For years it's been all pink all the time, and while pink is still the color of choice for them both, I'm trying to incorporate other colors and make the overall feel a little older. The project of the moment is an art collage wall.

When I saw this on Pinterest (no link attached, the photo was uploaded by user), I knew it was my first endeavor.

 

See, Squirt and I say this all the time. Only we say it in a one-upping kind of way. She'll often say "I love you to PLUTO and back!" 

As usual, I wanted to re-create the idea but use only supplies on hand. I had purchased a three pack of flat 11x14 canvasses at Walmart for somewhere around 6.98 or so and decided to go that route instead of wood. 

To start with, I painted the canvas black and used the Elmer's glue crackle paint technique circulating Pinterest (tutorial here). The only glue I had on hand was Galaxy Glue - which is more of a gel glue filled with glitter. I smeared that all over the black canvas without diluting it. Then, once the glue was tacky (which was almost right away for the gel glue) I brushed a slightly thinned bright blue Art Deco paint over the whole surface. 

I had no idea if it would work but it did! And the best part? The glitter is totally visible and adds the perfect subtle but amazingly awesome amount of bling. LOVE how that turned out and I completely recommend trying it. 

I played around a graphics program to figure out the size of lettering I wanted and printed out the text outline on cardstock, cut it out with an Xacto knife to create a stencil, and then used my favorite craft tool: the Sharpie. Tracing and coloring the letters went really quick. I had toyed with painting it and then lightly sanding the surface (even on the canvas) but decided I didn't want to mar the glitteriness and crackles. Sharpie was fast and perfect for what I was after. 

Which leaves us with this:

At first I lined the stencils up so the spacing between lines was identical and it bugged me. So I moved them to emphasize the "I Love You" a little more. Time will tell if I think that was a good decision since I'm usually anal about spacing :) 

This project was crazy easy (you can tell I did half of it while babysitting!) and I absolutely love how it turned out. Project art wall is well underway!