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{ Enjoy The Little Things }

August 19, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, chalkboard paint, chalkboard sign, crafts, diy, DIY craft, DIY sign, dollar store craft, easy craft, entry, entryway, shims, simple craft 21 Comments

I recently inherited a gorgeous antique table that has been a part of my family for many years! I placed it in my entry, but it was in dire need of some pretty decor! I had a simple and cheap idea to create an inviting entryway sign!

Here’s what you’re going to need:

  • 11 shims
  • hot glue gun and glue (or wood glue)
  • desired tray
  • chalkboard paint
  • chalk and/or chalk pen
  • burlap or desired ribbon

First, grab your shims, use two on the bottom as your base, laying horizontally, and begin laying others on top vertically. Use a hot glue gun or wood glue to attach them. Next I spray painted mine white, and let dry. I had a ornate looking tray I purchased from the dollar store that had just been sitting around, so I taped off the sides with painters tape, just revealing the center and sprayed it with chalkboard paint. I gave it two even coats and let dry thoroughly. To activate the chalkboard paint, grab a piece of chalk and rub over the surface a few times, and wipe off.

To create support for the back of the sign, I simply cut two shims to size, creating a V shape, and glued into place. This gives the sign even stability with little effort!

I wanted to add a little rustic pizzaz to the sign, so I cut a piece of burlap ribbon I already had to a width similar to one shim. I glued one end of burlap to the back of the tray, the other end I also glued to the back of the sign. I added a simple burlap bow, attaching it with an alligator clip so I can easily remove it and add holiday decor when it comes time!

I use a chalk pen for writing, I find it much easier! And I just added a simple little quote! What I love about this is I can change it at any time and personalize it depending on the occasion!

This project cost me well under $5, how can you beat that?!

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{ Kitchen Picture Update }

April 15, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, chalkboard paint, chalkboard pictures, crafts, diy, DIY crafts, diy project 16 Comments

Since buying our home last Spring, it’s like I want all new decor.. I’m not the only one this happens to right?! We put a good bit of money in our home fixing it up, so my budget for decor is slim to none! Instead of buying new stuff, I’m updating what I have! The pictures in todays project were a pair of pictures I bought when I first moved into my own place! I just wasn’t feeling those dreary old flowers anymore and I knew just what they needed… Chalkboard paint!!

First start by using painters tape to tape off the sides of the pictures. To apply the chalkboard paint, make sure you’re using a well ventilated space. Generously apply chalkboard paint in swiping motions (back and forth) until the entire piece is covered. Let dry. I recommend repeating this step at least three times for even coverage. Allowing the chalkboard paint enough time to dry, is very important!! Once fully dry, take a piece of chalk and lightly brush over the entire piece. This “activates” the chalkboard effect.

What I love most about these pictures is that I can change it up as often and I want! The chalkboard paint makes it super simple to customize for birthdays, holidays, grocery lists, and so much more!

After first coat!
In the process of drying!
Displayed the menu for a birthday celebration that weekend!

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{ Chalkboard Ornaments Pt. 2 }

December 4, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, chalkboard ornaments, Christmas, Christmas ornaments, crafts, DIY crafts, ornaments 32 Comments

The other day I was so excited to share this project with you guys, and please don’t get me wrong, I love them… But, I had a brilliant idea the other day, and I was so excited with how they turned out!

A few weeks back I had bought a 10 pack of Chalkboard cardstock from Hobby Lobby for $1.99. I was super excited to use these for parties, get togethers, etc. Then I decided to use them as ornaments! Want to know how?

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • chalkboard cardstock
  • bakers twine
  • hole punch
  • chalk pen
  • stamps!

With the cardstock already ready to use, grab your stamps and chalk pen. Simply color over the stamp with the chalk pen and press onto the cardstock! You can so easily personalize these ornaments with family member names, favorite Christmas quotes, Bible verses and so much more! I had a set of alphabet letters from Target Dollar Corner and also some stamps I bought from the dollar bins at Michaels too! Hole punch the top of the cardstock to thread you twine through and hang on the tree!

These are so adorable and SO simple!

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Personalized Ornaments

December 3, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: chalkboard, Christmas, Christmas Craft, Christmas ornaments, diy, DIY crafts, ornaments, Personalized ornaments 6 Comments

I headed to Hobby Lobby with a project in mind… I was on the search for small wooden rectangles and a chalk pen. Did you know chalk pens existed? You must go buy one!! Anyways, I found four {4} thin,  wooden rectangles (about 3”x 2”) for $1.47, score! Once I was home, I sprayed the wooden rectangles with chalkboard paint, with two full coats, each side. Let dry completely. My lovely hubby drilled a small hole into the top for the twine I’d be threading through! To “activate” the chalkboard effect, rub chalk over the entire piece and wipe off. I grabbed my new love, the chalk pen and wrote some of my favorite Christmas-y quotes: Joy to the world, Merry & Bright, Peace on Earth and drew a cute snowflake! Previously, I had bought red and white bakers twine at the Target Dollar Corner for $1, so I used this for hanging the ornament on the tree!

How cute are they?! And you can personalize them to say anything you like! Great as gifts or for the kids 🙂

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Up-cyled Play kitchen

September 11, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: Bejamin Moore, chalkboard, diy, fun for kids, furniture, kids play kitchen, paint, Target, upcyle 36 Comments

I’ve just fell in love with the adorable play kitchens I’ve been seeing all over Pinterest this past year. So, I had the itch to make one for my babies ( along with my hubbies help of course!) This is such a great way to up-cyle that unwanted piece of furniture you no longer need. Whether it be a bookshelf, nightstand, armoire, tv stand, etc! In our case, my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law gave us a media stand (he built it in the 90’s by the way!!) and I knew it would be perfect!
We headed to Andersons and bought Benjamin Moore’s paint in Cumulus Cloud. This is such a gorgeous color! It’s a light gray with a hint of brown, which goes with our decor! I opted for a light color so I could make it ‘pop‘ with the accessories!
Here’s what your going to need for this project:
  • Piece of furniture to up-cyle (as suggested above)
  • Preferred paint
  • Chalkboard paint
  • Circular saw
  • Bowl for sink
  • Caulk/Silicon
  • Scrap wood
  • Wood glue
  • Brushed nickel (or chrome) spray paint
  • 4 knobs/handles
  • Scrap fabric
  • Glue gun, fabric glue, velcro
We did not prime our wood because the paint we bought had a primer already in it! This saved us a little bit of time 🙂 Start by removing any doors and hardware and set aside. My husband used a circular saw to cut a whole the size of the bowl we chose for the sink. He used a heavy duty caulking to attach the bowl. I bought all the supplies (bowl, small tins, silverware and chalk from Target dollar corner!). Let the caulk dry completely. We put two thick coats of paint on the entire piece. I couldn’t be more happy with this color!! While the paint was drying, my husband used scrap wood we already had and began to cut two “J’s” for the faucet and a rectangular piece for the faucet to rest on. He glued the “J’s” together with wood glue and and clamped together until dry. I layed out a piece of cardboard and begin to prime all the hardware, faucet and pieces. After the primer was dry, I used Kyrlon’s Satin Nickel spray paint, two even coats on all the pieces.
Once the cabinet piece we were using as the oven was dry we taped it off and begin to spray it with chalkboard paint. I would recommend two or three light coats of this (follow directions on bottle). We grabbed the two cabinet pieces we were using as the refrigerator doors and sprayed the handles with the satin nickel spray paint as well. We let everything dry completely overnight. The next morning we were excited to get this piece finished, and so were the kids!
We began to reassemble all the cabinets and hardware. We had extra knobs from when we moved into our house that we decided to use. The faucet knobs were yellow and white gingham, so cute! We still needed fabric for the “curtain’s” so we headed to Hobby Lobby and I let my son pick out a piece of scrap fabric he liked. We ended finding a super cute, scrolly design in ivory and orange. It was $2.69 for a 1/2 yard. I also picked up a roll of Velcro to attach to the fabric and cabinet. Once we were back home, I cut the fabric and used fabric glue to secure the loose ends. I used the same fabric glue to attach a piece of the Velcro directly to the fabric, and let dry. Heat your glue gun attach the other piece of Velcro together, and glue the backing generously. Attach this directly to the wood of your kitchen, pressing down until dry. There was enough extra fabric to use as a “dish towel” for the kids to play with!
Just add your accessories and your done! I bought two teal tins for $1 each from Target. One holds the chalk and the other holds utensils. I scored a wire rack from goodwill for .34 cents and spray painted it yellow gold. We also had some play food to add to the fridge, but plan to get more!
This was such a fun project to finish! The kids will have a blast playing with it this Fall/Winter!
The total cost for this project was well under $10 for us. Note, we used a lot of things we already had!
                                    
                        
 
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