Paint Party

Paint, a little dab will do you.  Unless you have three painting projects going on, then you might need more than a little dab...you might need a lot of dabs!  Over the past two weeks, I have found that to be true.  There were a few moments where I was alternating between two cans of spray paint and almost sprayed the wrong color on the wrong project.  This time around I will be sharing about my chalkboard painting experience.  I have wanted to paint something with chalkboard paint for a long time, but couldn't commit to a permanent location on the wall.  I thought making a small chalkboard might be enough of a good thing for right now. 
Last summer I found this old frame at a friend's garage sale.  It had a picture of a horse painted on velvet inside (which I left at the sale for someone else to buy).  I have seen a lot of groupings of empty frames and thought that's what I would do.  This frame started my collection for a whopping 50 cents.

Not a great colot, right?  It is off white with gold weathering (if that's even the right word).  It was too traditional and too blugh (I couldn't even think of another kind, appropriate word to put here), so I decided that I would paint it a nice crisp white.  Before painting, I had a few prepping steps which I hate to do, but they really help and save you time from having to do the project all over again.  I started out with a quick sanding job.  Sorry, I didn't pay any attention to the grit I used.  It was handy in the garage so I snatched it up.

Next, I used a microfiber cloth to wipe off all of the dust from sanding to make sure I was painting a clean surface.  I used a microfiber cloth because they are lint free and pick up dust really well.  I got 4 in a pack a Home Goods a while back for $2.99, so I didn't have to pay for those either. 

After I gave the from a good wipe down, it was time to paint.  I chose a white, satin spray paint from Valspar which I purchased at Lowe's.

Here is the frame after two coats of being sprayed.  Also, you can see that I tried to put the obviously too big frame on one of the dog food bags I use for projects and failed miserably at not painting the grass.  It turned out okay though because the grass was short enough that it didn't interfere with painting and once the grass grew out a little the paint got chopped off. 

Okay, now onto the part where I made the actual chalkboard.  I needed the board and also the paint.  I had a list of things to get for several different projects so off to Lowe's I went.  Matt measured the frame so I would know what size board I needed and also the depth of the frame so I wouldn't get something too thick.  In the lumber department they had a section of pre-cut boards that you can purchase, but the were still too big (2'x2') so I had the handy lumber guy cut it down for me.  Even on a small project like this one they will do two cuts for free on any lumber.  It was great because I could have them take care of it for free and not have to ask Matt to drag out his saw for such a small project!  I also grabbed a quart of Valspar's chalkboard paint.  When I got home I spread out in the living room to get started. 

Here is the board after two coats. I let it dry completely before adding the next coat.  I was so excited that I literally watched the paint dry before putting on the second coat and before putting the board into the frame.

I had to wait overnight until the next afternoon to write anything on it.  The can said wait 24 hours, but I thought 12 was enough and I was right!  All was fine.  I won't make you all wait overnight, here is the finished product, hanging in the living room.

I love it.  That's probably not going to be it's permanent spot, but I wanted to see how it looked hanging and I had a free spot there.  I have to say that I really like it and want to paint something else to make a chalkboard.  I was thinking about the door in the kitchen to make lists and family schedule's on.  I also love that I can wipe it off when we want a change, like a different verse, or saying.  I hope everyone is having a happy Wednesday!  Thanks for reading.  

Graduation, Gifts, and Going through the Garbage

The last four days have been a whirlwind of activities and emotions!  My sweet husband graduated Saturday from Miami University and this weekend we hosted family and friends celebrating his accomplishments.  Here we are just after the ceremony. 

 

Matt's parents were in town until today, and yesterday we spent the whole day with some of our closest family and friends.  Everyone ate more food than should be legal, played cornhole, and talked until we collasped.  It was great. 

Speaking of great, besides all of the wonderful gifts Matt got for graduation, my mother-in-law, Cindy bought me a present that I LOVE.  She works at a travel resort in Florida (jealous, I know) and they have returning customers every winter.  Several of the customers are so crafty they make me jealous.  For example, I haven't had to buy kitchen scrubbies in two years because one of their friends crochets them from hand!  I've also been gifted a beautiful cheese plate from a flattened wine bottle, and then yesterday, I got these:

 

This lady makes them from hand and in several different sizes.  Cindy bought me two of the smaller ones, but let's just say that I am thinking about buying a big one when we visit them next.  They have the option to hang, but I'm not just sure where to put them.  For now I have tucked them away on these shelves:

I love them so much, and I may not hang them at all.  We will have to wait and see. 

Also something that we will have to wait and see about is this fabulous find from the garbage.  Don't worry, I didn't crawl through a dumpster looking for it, it was sitting sweetly by the curb waiting to be picked up for the trash.  As my father-in-law nicely put, this isn't my best find, but I think it has amazing potential.  

It may look beyond repair to some of you, but it is sturdy and only has cosmetic issues.  I am going to paint it a bright glossy color (probably blue) and I'll have to bust out the old sewing machine to make a cushion and pillows for it.  I love it...that's all. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I've got a lot of projects to share with you so you'll be hearing from me soon!