Thursday, May 16, 2013

Crafty Sisters - Simple Chalkboard




Hello from Crafty Sisters!  We are so excited about working with chalkboards again!
There are so many great ideas of how to use them.  We are happy to have another excuse to play around with them for WYLTC!

We were inspired by Ballard Designs again!
They have some fun and sophisticated chalkboard frames.
They are so simple and classy~and with all the end of school craziness going on~simple sounded perfect!
We first picked up a simple black picture frame from Hobby Lobby.
The guys down at Home Depot were so great to cut our board for us!  Did you know they carry Chalk Board all ready to cut to size?!!  No worries about painting it, it's just good to go!
Plus I love seeing that big saw in action~I don't think we're the only girls with saw envy....:)
Simply tack the chalk board in place with some silicon adhesive or nails.
             
It's that easy, looks that great and it's a wonderful blank canvas for all the great chalkboard prints
that are so popular right now!
Thanks for the great theme this month Wendy!
Can't wait to see what we'll do next month.....




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Herb Garden with Chalkboard Labels- Sassy Sanctuary

Hello everyone!

Its so great to be back with another round of WYLTC!  But I have to admit, this month's theme kinda threw me.  You see, I have a large chalkboard on my broom cabinet in my kitchen, and I just recently finished a white board project. So another chalkboard wasn't really on my list.  So I figured the next best thing would be to do some kind of chalkboard label.  I have been wanting to do a window herb garden FOREVER, so that was it! But then I started browsing Pinterest and fell in love with all the great "faux chalkboard" graphics and printables that are so popular right now.  And ended up with faux chalkboard labels.  Hope that still counts!

Anyway, here is how it turned out.


I totally LOVE it!  Its my new favorite craft of all time.  And if it hadn't been for the chalkboard inspiration I doubt it would have ended up half as cute!

And it was also SUPER easy!

I found the unfinished crate at Joann's,  Its technically a CD rack, but turned on its back.


I painted it blue and then found some 3" wood tiles also at Joann's.  I modge podged the chalkboard print to those. (If you print using a laser printer your prints won't bleed, I let Office Max do my laser printing.)


Then hot glued the labels to the crate, added some potted herbs.  And done.


And I'm even going to share my chalkboard label if anyone wants to use them!

PERSONAL USE ONLY
(Just click on the image to view it large, save it, and print it as an 8x10 and you'll have 3" labels.)

And it really does look cute in my window!


Now if I can just keep them alive.....

Thanks for reading!  Come back tomorrow for more chalkboard goodness!


Monday, May 13, 2013

Pantry Chalkboard from Craft Goodies!

It's Wood You Like to Craft? time again and this month I got to choose the theme.
Oh! What's a girl to do? So many projects on the to-do list...
 
I have been dying to get a bit more organized in my kitchen, particularly in  my pantry so
{selfishly} I opted for CHALKBOARD PAINT PROJECTS for May's theme.
 
I love chalkboard paint, my girls LOVE chalkboard paint, and as I searched for the perfect idea I found that lots of people like chalkboard paint too! My project list only grew as I kept searching.
 But, in the end I found my inspiration and here's what I came up with...
  
I LOVE it!
I adore clocks of all shapes and sizes and adding one to this fun little chalkboard just makes my heart smile.
I started with the intention of building a simple frame and then opened up the closet and found one there, the perfect size, just waiting to be used. So I swapped out the glass for a thin piece of MDF cut to fit the frame.
I used my chalkboard paint on the MDF--probably 4 layers, maybe 5.
{Not sure, I was catching up on Dance Moms while I worked...}
 
Once that was done and drying I turned to the frame. Some white paint there and a bit of sandpaper gave it the look I wanted, and then I re-assembled my frame/chalkboard.
 
On to the clock...I found this little gem at Goodwill, only $2! It was bright red and said "Happy Holidays!". The cashier thought I was crazy for buying it, you should have seen the look she gave me. But it was the perfect size and had all the hardware.
I pulled the hardware off, painted it black and then white, and then sanded it to match the frame. I covered up the holiday greeting with some scrapbook paper, added a few numbers, and then put it all back together again.
 
I added a few small wooden blocks to the frame to help support the clock and then glued it onto the top of the frame. **Be sure to set the clock high enough that you can still get to the battery compartment**
 
And last, I tied a piece of ribbon around the frame and added a few small clothespins to hold pictures, notes, recipes, etc.
Isn't it just SO cute!
Right now, it's still in the "LOOK! Mom put a chalkboard on the pantry for us to color on" stage so grocery/to-do lists might have to wait a few more days. But, once the novelty wears off I will be one step closer to my organized goal.
 
I am thrilled with my project and cannot wait to see what the other WYLTC gals have come up with. Check back all week for some great ideas on how to use your stash of chalkboard paint {cause I know you have some...}
 
Have a great week and as always, happy crafting!