DIY Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard.  The must have for all crafters and for the little child inside of you that has always wanted your own big blackboard.

I turned an old wooden mirror from something like this:

To this: 

And I used my very own, homemade chalkboard paint!  I am in love with it.  It's seriously my new favorite thing in our home.  I cannot wait for all our nieces and nephews to come over and make a mess of it.  Not to mention all the grown adults who I'm sure will have something to write about (i.e. "Drew was here", etc.).

The How-To:

I started out by priming the mirror with my Krylon white satin spray paint.  Then I went after the frame with this beautiful blue spray, also by Krylon.  I didn't worry about taping it off since I was painting the primed mirror anyway. 

Now the fun part, the chalkboard paint!

Martha Stewart has come up with the perfect way to create your own chalkboard paint in ANY color.  Most of you probably have at least a cup of leftover colored paint lying around your attic that you could use.  I had some black paint left over from our door, so I stuck to the regular 'black board'.

For small areas, such as a door panel, mix 1 cup at a time.

1. Pour 1 cup of paint into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout. Mix with a paint stirrer, carefully breaking up clumps.

2. Apply paint with a roller or a sponge paintbrush to a primed or painted surface. Work in small sections, going over the same spot several times to ensure full, even coverage. Let dry.

3. Smooth area with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe off dust.

4. To condition: Rub the side of a piece of chalk over entire surface. Wipe away residue with a barely damp sponge.

That's it!  You can use ANY color of paint you have.  The possibilites are endless.  I'm already thinking of other items I can paint around here...  But the next stop for chalkboard paint?  My niece's bedroom.  She's doing one whole wall with purple chalkboard paint.  The 13 year old inside of me is super jealous excited for her. 

Another plus, I came home to this the other day.  But on the negative side, there's a brown guy cruising the city with pink chalk fingers.  Ahh, mi amore. 

Try this!  And if you already have, tell me about.  Anything different you used the paint on?  I'm thinking about doing some planters on my kitchen counter.  Risk taker! :p

Love Like Crazy DIY Wall Art

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  It was a super busy one for me.  There were lots of little projects I wanted to complete and like normal, not enough time in the day.  On top of that, my sisters, niece and I had a day trip to visit my parents in Lynchburg planned for today. 

Fortunately, I was able to finish each project by weekend's end with a little elbow grease and a good husband.

The one I'm sharing with you today, is a little lyrical art project.

I love love love this song by Lee Brice "Love Like Crazy".  It's inspiring and a good daily reminder.

What I used:

1/2" Plastic Stencil (on hand)

1" Plastic Stencil (on hand)

Small art paint bush (on hand)

Grey paint we had leftover from our master bath (on hand)

Canvas print from Ben Franklin at 50% off : $7

Total cost of project $7

All I did was exactly what you think.  Sat on my butt for a good while and painted each letter on with a stencil.  I counted the lines I wanted to print ("Be a best friend" = 1, "Tell the truth" = 2), and used painters tape to remind me how much space I had for each line.

I love it and it's a great way to really personalize something in your home.

And the traditional end of the post random shots from our girls day trip to Lynchburg.  First one is the sweet country store we stopped by to check out their antiques.  

The beautiful leaves shot is from a stop in Appomattox. Came out beautifully and I'm hoping to print it for my hallway art collage... You'll hear about that later.  :) Have a great week everyone!



Grow Baby Grow

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!  We got a bit rained out, so our kids-to-candy-ratio was definitely on the candies side this year.  Which means we have way too many treats around our house at this moment.

Tomorrow is our official 6-months-in-the-new-house anniversary and  I'm finally ready to unveil the before and after on the new house color AND the grass.  This is in no means a how-to on painting OR grass growing.  Neither of which I had any part of this time.  Well, besides picking the paint color and painting a half a panel on the back side of the house.  That was my "I want to try!" moment with the paint sprayer.  :)  You gotta at least try, right?


If you recall, we picked Pale Honey from Behr.  Check out that post here if you missed it. 

First up is a picture of the first time Matt cut the grass back in May. 

And now the new do...  You can also see the new tree and the freshly painted walkway.

Here are a few more waaaay before pics to get us started on the house reveal.

First up is a picture from before we even purchased the house.  The bank posted this when they first put it up for sale.

Yikes.

The below shot is from when we first moved in, before any real updates.  Well, besides the-house-has-a-new-owner-update.

And the after. 

New grass, japanese maple, house color, door color, and porch colors.

There's still more to do, as always, but we're taking it slowly and loving most minutes of it.  Can't say every, because c'mon we're only human.  There's the good, the bad and the ugly in beautifying the nest.

Hemi seems to like the smell of the new grass and presents his very own "gifts" as an offering to the seedlings.  Yeah, we're now trying to stray him away from the front yard.  Matt is the new grass nazi as he gently instructed the trick-or-treaters to please go through the driveway.  I can't blame him though.... It's a good lookin' yard, love!  ;)