Chalkboard Paint: The Beginning of an Addiction {Part 2}

Glad I took the plunge :).

Here's the final product{s}:

I did learn some things along the way. The plastic totes in the top picture did good taking the paint, but when I tried writing on them, two of the three different types of plastic had issues. I managed to easily scratch the chalk paint right off (you'll see in additional pics below).

I also had trouble with the big metal tin. The original chalkboard painted tin that I found on a blog was painted over the entire outer surface, whereas I tried to do a small area which I marked off with masking tape. In the final product the green plastic tote peeled off easily and clean, whereas the tin had some grunge/vintage look to it from the paint seeping under the masking tape. Thankfully I sort of like the unfinished look ;)

So what'd I do with all my newly labeled organization?

{sadly I am out of straws to put in my new straw container!}

{You can see where the paint looked great in the first picture before I wrote on them, but then where it chipped when I used the chalk on it. I'm considering, for smaller projects, using chalkboard contact paper sold on amazon.com for $12 for an 18"x6' roll}

INSPIRATION SPURS MOTIVATION!!!

I thought I had a picture of the before hall closet, but I'm sort of thankful now that I don't because it was just...that...unorganized!! I thought it was, but now I'm realizing it was FAR from organized. 

If you put new containers in the closet,

then the rest looks bad...so you have to clean the closet out.

If you clean the closet out, 

then you have to reorganize it with the new space {aka less clutter}.

If you reorganize it, 

you realize it still looks bleh. You wish you could paint the closet, 

...but then you remember you rent and are not allowed to paint.

Then you remember you have half a roll of white contact paper left from another project, so you cover the shelves!

The final, VERY clean, VERY organized, LESS intimidating hall closet:

There are really 3 coolers inside the one big orange one :), and thankful for the saved-in-great-condition Christmas and birthday gift bags!

Well would you look at that-the green tote for $2.64 found a home!!

Even more exciting, the clean closet meant a new shelf for my sewing machine and scrapbooking/sewing tote. The tote used to live downstairs, but I realize that I use stuff from it on a daily basis...now it's quick and easy to get to.

Chalkboard Paint: The Beginning of an Addiction {Part 1}

       i heart chalk     .

Seriously-I've always loved chalk much more than marker boards. I can remember sitting in school and thinking, "When is it MY turn to write the answer on the chalkboard??!?" I never had such gumption to write on the marker boards...perhaps because they wiped so clean and you couldn't see the ghost markings in the background which often made for a cool design? 

Needless to say, I've been wanting to play with chalkboard paint for a while. My dream was to build my own little frame on a wall and use chalkboard paint to create my own chalkboard...this of course was when we lived in Iowa and we owned our home. Now we rent, and I doubt that the landlord would be happy if I did that here. 

So, what do you do when you want to experiment with paint, but are not brave enough? 

1. Find awesome blogs that give how-to's so that you don't feel dumb for not knowing how to 

actually create it ;)

New favorite in the bookmarked blogs: I Heart Organizing

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/03/project-teal-chalk-it-to-me-again.html

{above link shows the how-to for making a chalkboard, the link below shows an awesome idea for storing the chalk on the board. I REALLLY wanted to do this, but alas, my frames were too narrow}

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/06/hmmm-thats-pinteresting.html

2. Take the plunge. 

I've been thinking of buying a piece of plywood and framing and make my own board...but why do that when you can come across these 2 pre-made boards with frames at a garage sale for $1 each?? Add a can of chalk paint for $9.97, a sample can of OOPS! paint for $0.50 {I wanted a fun, vibrant color, but it was $3}, and two brushes for $2...

{Before}

{After...the little guy couldn't wait for mommy to hang it-he insisted on using it immediately! One is for his play area downstairs...

...and one in the kids' bedroom for Mommy's notes, like this one, announcing our coming attraction of 

Miss Abigail Lucy :) }

I was very pleased with the results...so why stop there?? I got addicted to that blog again and decided, after seeing some organized totes, to get a little plastic organizer that Isaac could tote his crayons and coloring stuff in. Sadly, after perusing nearly every aisle in Target, I did not find what I was looking for, but I did find these:

Plastic Tote for organizing clearanced at $2.64 

{...not really sure what to organize in it, but the options are endless!}

Metal basket for $14.99 on clearance for $10!!! It's big enough that I plan on putting it by the door to drop our shoes in {my husband's sandals NEVER make it all the way to our closet, so in my attempt to live in peace, I decided to just make them more organized in their current location}

I taped the area that I wanted to paint, and attempted getting creative with the edges...we'll see how the that worked in Part 2.

Step 1: Put on first coat. ...Realize this is fun and feeling organized, 

grab sugar and flour containers to do the same.

I did notice that the paint took directly to the plastic containers, but the metal was streaky. It actually dried well after an hour (I was nervous that it might not work on metal), and took an easy 2nd coat.

Coat #2 drying nicely. ...Well that's funny. How did another container get in there??

And why stop there? 

I got extra ambitious and cleaned out the medicine containers and first aid container. They need labels too, right? {Not to mention also needed DESPERATELY cleaned out ;)}

Tomorrow I shall post Part 2 and we'll see how they all turned out!!!!

Oh, incase you were wondering what my child was up to while I was painting everything in the house to chalk:

...he was helping Mommy with the more important things on the To-Do list, like dusting :). This kid LOVES to dust!! In a raincoat of course, because, you know, don't wanna get all that dust on you apparently ;)

Hmm...new ideas and inspirations...

I'm on a decorating on a budget kick. A sewing kick. A creative kick.

I was looking for book ideas to check out at the library for Isaac, and randomly this picture came up of shelves to hold books (and then listed a bunch of cool books). I remember telling Alan how it'd be cool to make shelves like that, but shelves are hard to do considering we rent and cannot screw anything to the wall, only nail it. So I gave up on the cool shelf idea...

...until now! I am in a blog mood-I LOVE reading decorating blogs and seeing how amazingly creative women can take a $5 chair from craigslist and make it into something that looks more like $50 or more! I stumbled upon this blog and as I scrolled through old posts, I found the SAME IMAGE of the bookshelf I saw last week!!! This time it had a DIY blog about how to make the shelves, and it looks SO easy!!!

Here's a link to the blog and the shelf idea.

We recently cleaned up an area of the basement for Isaac to play while we're hanging out down there, and I want to make 3 of these shelves, paint them in fun colors and display his books rather than keep them in their current mess with all his other toys.

...Now to break the news to Alan that he gets to make a trip to Menards and help me with this project ;)

Why Some Tunes Just Don't Work :)

I just came across this as I was looking for a song of his I wanted to post, but this caught my attention in a funny yet poignant way.

Kauflin on the {In}Effectiveness of some tunes

Oh, and here's the song I was originally going to post by his son. Love the lyrics. Soak them in. 

Today is a Day of Pretend

I typed this this morning before my piano lesson arrived and emailed it to a friend. She thought it would make for a great, if not very transparent, blog post. So, at the risk of being transparent about my less than stellar mood today, here it is:

Today is a day of pretend.

I am going to pretend that I got 8 blissful hours of sleep last night, and have woken up rejuvenated and refreshed and not think about the mere 3 hours that I really got.

I am going to pretend that I do not have heartburn from too much water or leg cramps left over from said night of sleep, and instead pretend that I ate a delicious meal of shrimp scampi and breadsticks covered in marinara sauce from Olive Garden last night, and that my legs are tired from the marathon that I won yesterday. 

I am going to pretend that my child did not wake me twice last night screaming at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason other than perhaps he too had heartburn, or that they were not in fact night terrors, but instead he just loves me so much that he wanted additional cuddle time in the wee hours of the night.

I am going to pretend that my house is sparkling clean, the dishes all put away, the counters all wiped down, a meal already prepared for the night is tucked safely away in the fridge, right next to the mocha chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert. Towels are clean, clothes are washed, folded, and neatly organized in all drawers and closets, so that I can rest peacefully this afternoon in a blissful nap knowing that my wifely chores are already taken care of for the day.

I am going to pretend that I do not have nausea from forgetting medicine last night, but that I am just having hungry pangs for the above mentioned cheesecake for later today.

I am going to pretend that my child will be a perfect little angel and play nicely by himself all day. He will not have any poopy diapers or tantrum throwing moments, and he will constantly say, "Please," and "Thank you," and "I love you Mommy, you're the bestest" in his own little way.

I am going to pretend that the maintenance crew on the other side of my Venetian blinds are not tearing out and replacing water rotted siding and old gutters, but that instead they are building a beautiful wrap around porch with  white railing, white wicker furniture with bright Martha Stewartesque patio cushions and an oak porch swing, which I will sit on this evening as I watch the fire flies and feel the beautiful and humid-less breeze as I swing and sip my limeade, which will also not give me heartburn ;).   

I am going to pretend that my attitude today is one of a chipper disposition, bordering on a Southern Belle charm....

....ah crud, I'm out of creamer, running late for lessons now, and those darn power tools just starting rearing outside my door...!!!!

Decorating { & Duh! Moments}

And so the creating continues. I've been wanting to make a bulletin board for the kids' room, and thus far have stripped my old one of the fabric that was on it {with the help of a very talented piano student ;)}, yanked out all the old staples {...ok, so maybe the piano student did that part as well}, and spray painted the frame white. I want to get some fun fabric and ribbon for it, and I already have some silver clips instead of push pins...but alas, I am lacking motivation for what to do next. Not sure if I just want it for notes, to display Isaac's drawings, to post verses for him and songs, or what exactly.

And for that very reason, it is now hung in his room...blank. But with a really nice fresh white frame :) 

I will attempt it another day. 

But I did, finally, get motivated to make some pictures for his bathroom. Ever since we switched bedrooms and bathrooms, his has been plain and boring, and I can't blame the kid for wanting to take showers instead of baths anymore for that very reason! Gotta have a fun and bright bathroom!

To start off I found an old black picture frame in the basement-the kind with a collage of frames, and spray painted it white. After searching for ideas on what exactly to do with it, I came across an animal idea. I wanted to tie together boy and girl, and I'm hoping this did the trick:

Loved the final product! But that left me with two more plain walls that begged for attention. While looking at what I had created {all while the kid was playing great by himself-reading, coloring, playing, spilling mommy's cold water on himself, getting caught digging in the trashcan, coloring with his crayon on the glass front of the picture frame, you get the picture}, I decided I'd make another picture that said, "Air, Land, Sea...God Made All 3!" and then I'd also make another frame for above the bath of an ocean scene. 

How'd it turn out? Have a look!

Cute, right? Same colors (thanks to another big bunch of scrapbook paper I found I had and stickers to match!

...Look closer...

I took down the nice "decorative" towel I had hanging in there that we never used to match our bathroom decor. At least now we can add it to our set of towels that seem to be getting lost these days. Now we can hang their little hooded towels there :)

Two walls down, one to go! There was a HUGE blank space by the tub {I say tub because oddly enough considering it's a master bathroom, it has no shower!} so I filled it with another picture:

Ok, so let's back up. Remember the theme for the child bathroom? Well, did you catch my UGH! FAIL! moment? I went in to hang the ocean picture {mind you I did hammer a nail while my child was sleeping in his crib five feet away! Sound sleeper tonight thankfully :)}, and as I took a final picture, I noticed something odd. I called Alan in to see if he noticed it too...and as he graciously gave me a little hug he said, "Ah, Hun. That makes no sense at all."

^ Before. Aka~Mommy's DOH! moment. Really? "Earth, Land, Sea..."??! Perhaps it should read "Earth, Land, Sea...God Made...both?" 'Cause isn't the earth made up of land and sea? Contemplated the need for fixing it or letting it go since I was no exhausted. Decided if I didn't do it now, I never would. 

After. Fixed. Makes more sense now, huh? 

And the entire bathroom decor was free thanks to some old frames and old scrapbooking paper :)

And the kid will never know since he slept through it all :). 

tHe CrEatiVe siDe

With Isaac, my nesting habits involved much, much organization & cleaning.

With a baby girl in the womb, I have become crafty & creative.

PROJECT 1:

Make birdies to hang on carseat & playtime

Step 1.} Gather supplies and make patterns. Then empty bladder.

Step 2.} Set up makeshift ironing table because current ironing table is A. Downstairs where child can get into too much touble, and B. Broken. 

*Note what the ugly counter looks like now with clutter...that is a later project :) *

Birdies :) {it's ok, I totally admit the bottom one looks more like bird meets fish}

Step 3.} Attempt to make stuffed birdie for baby girl. Get frustrated because all my scissors are not sharp enough to cut through fabric. Get frustrated making pattern. Stop to relieve bladder...again.

Step 4ish.} Check on child who is playing a bit too quietly and find him sorting through mommy's make up bag. 

Step 5.} Complete, after much frustration, birdie {approx. 12"w by 6" tall. Be content with size as you originally wanted a bigger one, but forgot to allow for better inseam}

Cost of fabric for little birdies, big bird, and diaper holder: less than $10. I heart Hobby Lobby. I also already had the ribbon, the buttons, flowers and thread, so it was a pretty cheap but fun project!

Project 2:

Get motivated from first set of sewing projects & decide to make a little thing {can't think of an appropriate term} to keep diapers in inside the diaper bag

Happy with finished project, which was done in less than 2 hours, and included making an original pattern, stopping frequently to pee, and much deliberation on whether or not to close it with a button, to which I sewed a fake button and instead will add velcro later ;)

Happy that it turned out, and holds 6 newborn diapers!

Project 3:

Make scapbooks for cousins birthdays :)

The mess that is scrapbooking :)! Note that mommy's table has her laptop {with Pandora}...Note that the little dude decided to get creative as well, and he even brought his laptop ;)

I forgot I had these two albums, and found them in my hope chest as I was putting clean sheets in there. I had been wanting to do something like this for my cousins' birthdays, and was thrilled to find not only the albums hidden away, but also a new set of scrapbook paper and embellishments that I had bought on sale at

 Hobby Lobby about a year ago and not yet used. 

I love these albums because they have the magnetic clasp on front...

...and can be flipped over to display :)

Project 4:

Freshen Up Surroundings {aka de-clutter}

Remember the cluttered countertop? Check it out now :)

I forgot that I had 3 coffee pictures in storage downstairs until I found them a couple months back getting ready for a garage sale. I didn't know what to do with them, so they've been gathering dust on top my fridge just sitting there, waiting to be put somewhere. 

The recipe book stand was actually holding up a 12"x12" tile that I was wanting to add a verse or saying to, but haven't been able to find vinyl letters that I like, so it's been sitting on top my cabinets blankly. I'm sure people have wondered why the crazy lady is displaying random tiles. I re-purposed it tonight to hold recipe books, and in this case, the recipe scrapbook my mom made me of my 

grandmother's handwritten family recipes :)

Oh, and in the process of cleaning out the hall closet and reorganizing it today, I luckily found new night-light bulbs and the tin-star night lights!! Now I can see in the kitchen at night for those midnight cravings without turning on every light along the way :) 

Hmm...really does pay to clean once in a while as you never know what you'll find :)

I hate this backsplash above my sink. That's what you get for renting, folks, ugly green with no way to hang anything. Makes dishwashing boring {not that it isn't already a boring chore}. I've been wanting to hang something there for quite some time, but how does one hang something on tile? 

I came across the chalkboard that I used to use in photosessions, so I put some velcro with sticky back on it to hang it, and {WOOT WOOT!} finally have a non-boring and changeable picture. 

Another coffee picture I found in storage that needed a home in my kitchen. Perhaps you are wondering where the chic little glass bottle full of chalk came from?...

well, here's the before shot...}

(p.s. please ignore the spaghetti sauce splatter on the stove, or the dishes in the sink in the other picture :). Let's just say some chores had to be put on the back burner whilest I decorated :).