How I Made a Chalkboard (Or a Before and After)

This is a not-so-good shot of a large framed print that we had sitting in our garage.  It's a fairly large piece, so it looks quite substantial hanging on the wall, but it's definitely not my taste. I had been dying to paint something with chalkboard paint for quite a long time, and when I found chalkboard spray paint on clearance for $3 (not a huge savings, since the regular price is $4, but just seeing the clearance sticker made me feel good about it), I knew my time had come.

Originally, my plan was to get gold epoxy from Hob Lob and distress this frame, but once I sprayed it with the chalkboard paint, the frame really came into its own. I decided to leave it as-is. How serendipitous. :)

I shamelessly copied the text from a painted canvas that I saw on Etsy. It was all blues and whites and yellows and I loved it, so this is my version. Not too bad for a $3 art project, I thought. And I still have plenty of paint in the can. What to do, what to do....

Linked up to The Shabby Creek Cottage

How I Made a Rosette Necklace

I had someone ask me a while ago for a tutorial on a hot pink rosette necklace that I made...it's taken me a while to get this one up and going, but here it is!

1. I made 5 fabric rosettes.

2. I laid them out in the pattern I wanted on a piece of felt, traced around it, and cut the felt out.

3. I hot-glued the rosettes to the felt backing.

4. I cut two equal lengths of chain (you can buy the chain on a roll like this at Hobby Lobby for around $5...I have made at least four different types of necklaces out of it at this point, and still have plenty left!).

5. To one end of each piece of chain, I attached a jump ring. To one of the jump rings, I attached a lobster claw closure.

6. To attach the chain on each side of the necklace, I pulled the felt backing away from the rosette, put in a drop of hot glue, and sandwiched the chain in between the felt and the fabric.

That's it! See how it looks in an outfit here.

How I Made Thanksgiving Sparkle (Or I Needed a Smile)

Have you ever needed a little extra help putting a smile on your face during the holidays? Let's be honest, sometimes that's just how it is.....I'm thankful for family, but sometimes I'm thankful that we don't have to be all up in each other's business all the time.

This is one of the easiest projects you will ever do!! I think I've said before that if it can't be done in 30 minutes, then I just won't be able to do it. Most days I'm lucky to find 30 consecutive minutes in which I'm not desperately needed by someone.

And that's ok. It just means that my projects must be QUICK. And this one is.

It's cheap, too! I went to the craft department at good ol' Wally World and found this glitzy button for $1.96. The hardest part of the entire project is removing the metal ring from the bottom of the button, which I did with a set of jewelry pliers (I bought the mini jewelry-making kit from Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago, and I think it's paid for itself many times over by now).  I had an adjustable ring pad left over from a stint making wooden button rings, but the ring pads are easy to find at Hobby Lobby or on eBay, too.

Now this is where the picture is a little deceiving. The adhesive shown above had coagulated in the tube and was unusable, so I tried attaching the button to the ring pad using Gorilla Glue. That lasted about an hour; then the button fell off and the glue peeled off in a clump. Aaarrrrgggghhh.

So you know what I did next...I pulled out the Liquid Nails. And that stuff is holding strong. I mean STRONG.

If you decide to try this project, would you please (pretty please!!!) show me how it turned out??? I'd love to see it!

Linked up with Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons The Brassy Apple

How I Made a Rustic Flag

A couple of years ago, when I first discovered blogs (how IS it that I was so late to the party???), of the first blogs that I fell in love with was The Lettered Cottage. I just loved absolutely-stinking-everything about her taste and style. She does the kinds of things that I would think I'd like to do if I had the time, energy, money...okay, if I had the patience and stick-to-it-iveness to tackle projects that take longer than a naptime to finish.

She did a series on decorating mantles for different seasons, and while I didn't (and still don't) have a mantle, this rustic, beach-inspired flag caught my eye instantly.

I had to make something like it for myself, and this is what I came up with.

I bought six picket-fence boards from Lowe's (I think they were around $1.24 apiece), cut them down (by hand!) to a size that I felt would work, and then painted them all red. Then I painted over each one with paint that I already had on hand from other projects, and painted the metal star that had been given to me red as well. I distressed them just by rubbing over the boards with steel wool...the steel wool actually left a little bit of a gray tone behind, which wasn't what I was going for, but worked out well for me! They are fastened together on the underside by two small boards that run from top to bottom (I nailed the fence boards to the small boards).

Linked up to The Brass Apple Mad In Crafts Project Inspire Coastal CharmYesterday on Tuesday

How I Embellished a Tank Top (Or Using Up the Leftovers)

I'm sure you've all seen tutorials for making fabric flowers (if not, you can look here, here, or here). I have made these flowers in a variety of sizes out of calico, felt (here I made a hairbow bouquet for a baby shower)  and -- my favorite -- old t-shirts (here and here).

There are a couple of different ways to cut out the petals; I've cut out circles and I've cut out kind of free-form flowers. I tend to like the circles for little-girl hairbows, since they give more of a pom-pom feel, and the petals for anything that needs to look a little more lady-like.

For this project, I used tan muslin and bright white cotton left over from other projects. I cut out 3 free-form flower templates (small, medium and large).

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the smallest size. I didn't realize until the very end that I was going to need it, sadly.

To make flowers like the one on the tank top, you will need to cut:

8 large petals (4 in tan and 4 in white) --this is the base for the 2 larger flowers
16 medium petals (8 in tan and 8 in white) -- these are the middle section of the large flowers, and make up the smaller one
2 small petals (I did these in white)

The other tutorials say to hot glue the petals together. Since my flowers were going on a shirt, I had to stitch them together and then stitch them on the shirt.

I got the tank on clearance at WalMart for $3...I actually like their tanks for layering because 1) they're inexpensive, 2) they're readily available, and 3) they're longer than some of the other tanks I've found...nobody likes a tank that creeps up, right?

This project took me about an hour to finish, I think; but then, I had two extra kiddos that day, so there was a lot of stopping-and-starting involved. That's just how it goes sometimes...we do what we can, when we can!!!

Linked up to Flour Me With Love Funky Polka-Dot Giraffe Crafty Confessions Mad In Crafts House of Hepworth The Train to Crazy Katie's Nesting Spot Whipperberry I Heart Naptime The Brassy Apple Making the World Cuter

How I Faked an Antique Mirror (Or Making Something Old Look Older)

 

 

A friend of mine gave me this window, and for a long time I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. Then along came Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, and somewhere along the way, I developed what is likely to be an unhealthy fascination with it.

 

Have I mentioned that it is the MOST AMAZING THING EVER??

 

If you want to turn an ordinary piece of glass into a mirror using Looking Glass, one of the most important things to remember is that you must paint the back side of the glass, not the front.

 



This is how the mirror started out. Ignore all the schmutz around it, if you can.

"Creating" an antique mirror is done in the same way as faking mercury glass.

On the back side of the glass, spray a thin coat of Looking Glass.

Next, using a spray bottle filled with equal parts vinegar and water, LIGHTLY mist the newly-painted glass, and then blot with a dry paper towel. Let it dry.

Repeat this process until you get the look you want. I think I did it about 4 times.

This was taken before my hubs got home from work and hung it for me. In other news, it's also one of the very last pictures ever taken of that cream carpet.

Cream, builder-grade carpet was not created for families with children. Especially not for families with 4 children under the age of 6. Cream, builder-grade carpet was the bane of my existence.

It's gone now. Now we're in the process of laying down some laminate flooring.

Living in a mess is the new bane of my existence.

So I'm just going to keep looking at my new "antique" mirror.

At least it's hanging high above the mess.

 

Linked up to Craftionary, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry  Liz Marie Blog Naptime Crafters  Embracing Change

 504 Main My Romantic Home The Vintage Farmhouse The Shabby Nest Jennifer Rizzo

How To Fake Mercury Glass

I have been seeing tutorials for how to DIY mercury glass for about a year and a half, I guess, but had never gotten around to doing it. (I read several tutorials but can't find the exact one that helped me figure out how to do it again!) Do you remember that I told you that after I spray-painted my bedside lamps with Krylon Looking Glass, I wanted to spray everything in sight? It's addictive, that stuff.

Our neighborhood had its semi-annual community-wide yard sale a couple of weeks ago, and I picked up these:

I really wanted the idea of the mercury glass to be realistic, so I put a little thought into the shapes of the glass I was choosing...I didn't want to use mason jars, or soda bottles, or anything like that...I didn't want it to look out of place. Just a personal preference.

First I lightly sprayed the inside of the glass with a light coat of the Looking Glass spray, and then while it was still a bit tacky, I VERY lightly sprayed it again using a spray bottle filled with equal parts of vinegar and water. The acid in the vinegar will help eat through the paint (if you overspray, it will remove the paint altogether, and that's not what you want). Then with a paper towel, I blotted the drops of vinegar/water away. I repeated this process about 3 times...sometimes I would blot, and other times I would rub it just a little.

I think I'm going to need juuuuuuust one more.

 

 

This post is linked up to Twigg Studios!

and at Petite Hermine

at Coastal Charm

at A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

at Mad In Crafts

The Shabby Creek Cottage

 

How I Got New Bedside Lamps

I have been wanting to spray paint some lamps with Krylon's Looking Glass spray for the longest time, and while Mother was here visiting, I finally got up the nerve to try it.

These glass lamps are pretty hideous, right? I guess the orange one isn't so bad, but the blue one just screams "80's country." You can visualize the rose plush sofa that it illuminated. You're picturing that right now, aren't you? And you're probably shuddering.

Krylon Looking Glass is probably the coolest thing ever invented. Ever.

I sprayed in on the blue lamp, and for the first 20 seconds or so, all I could see was a matte silver-ish coating. And then, I kid you not, while I stood there watching it, it started shining right before my eyes.

So I sprayed the orange lamp in a literal fit of excitement, and started looking around for ANYTHING else to spray.  Fortunately, I caught myself before every single glass item in my house became Looking Glass. But just barely.

I thought about removing the flowers on the blue lamp, but then I thought that they might just shine through, and I have to say, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Kind of a happy accident.

 

 

 

Now, I'll grant you, both of the lamps (I realize that I haven't shown you a picture of the other one, but that will come in time) need more modern shades. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy them or try making them. I found a tutorial for making lampshades from scratch, but it seems to me like it's missing a step or two, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

In the meantime, I'll probably be spraying everything I can with Looking Glass.

I might (maybe?) have a problem.

This post is linked to Domestically Speaking.

How We Made a Pallet Coffee Table for $10

I have been trying to talk my husband into making a pallet coffee table for at least a year. I always tease him that he never lets me do what I want to do. I'm only partly joking. He's a hard sell sometimes.

I think the hardest thing about making anything out of pallets is first finding one that looks good and isn't either completely beaten up or painted with ridiculously bright colors. So when I do find one, I'm like a bulldog...I'm gonna get it.

This one was sitting in front of my neighbors' house ready to be taken away to the garbage. Naturally, I (sweetly) asked my husband to go and garbage-pick it for me. Sometimes (always) I like for him to do the dirty work. And pallets are heavy!!

I spent an afternoon sanding it down and then applying stain to it...we already had the stain because our deck needs to be stained, but since it's made of treated wood, and the treated wood has to cure for a couple of months before it will accept stain, the deck is still stain-less. But this pallet isn't.

We also had wood posts left over from making the deck that I wanted to use to make legs for the table. But then, once we (in other words, my husband) got the post cut down to size, the new legs looked all wonky.

ARG. There are few things as frustrating as getting into a project and then realizing you don't have what you need to finish it. But it turned out that we had a board left over from the deck as well...so we (in other words, my husband) cut the board down into 12 4-inch pieces, and then stacked 3 of the pieces together to make each leg.

Then the legs were stained and 3-inch casters attached to the bottom of the legs.

And I love it.

Time will tell if we decide to put a glass top on it. If we do, I'll be sure to let you know.

Cost breakdown:
Pallet: free
Stain: already had for another project
Legs: Scraps from another project
Casters: $6.48 each, but since we had a store credit, we're out $8 out-of-pocket
Also had to buy a pack of washers for $2

Before and After....Estate Sale Mirror

I bought this mirror at my Grandfather's estate auction (yes, if we wanted anything, we had to purchase it), and even though I love the shape of it, the color left something to be desired, I thought. Keep in mind that it's not a valuable antique (it's made of plastic), but it is special because of its origin.

So I found this stuff at Hobby Lobby.

It's just a rub-on wax silverleaf. And it was super-cheap...$3.99 I think!

It really was easy to apply...at first I tried using a receiving blanket that I'd cut up into rags, then realized that it was easier to use my finger. About the time that my finger started to get raw from rubbing the silverleafing into all those tiny grooves, I realized that I could mix it with a little paint thinner and apply it with a sponge brush. Bonus!

I'm so, so, so pleased with the way it turned out! I know that my camera is poo and my camera skills are pretty much poo, too, so you can't see how the gold still kind of shines through the silver, which makes it look even more vintage.

Need another view of the before and after?

Before:

And after:

Copycat Flag

I happen to love, love reading The Lettered Cottage. If you haven't been there yet, you need to go. Really. Just wait till you finish reading this, then hop on over there.

A couple of months ago, I was reading her posts about mantle decor for changing seasons, and I fell in love with her summer design. I really, really wanted a flag like hers.

So I tried making one. Mine definitely doesn't look as refined as hers does, but I think it will do the trick. Since The Big Move is coming up, I haven't hung it in my current house, and I'm hoping that there will be a good spot for it in the new one.

(On a side note: today we got word from the bank that there is another offer on the house that we are trying to get. We have been negotiating with the bank for over a month now, and almost two weeks ago accepted THEIR offer. They, however, had apparently not accepted their OWN offer. Does that make sense? It does not make sense to me. That being said, they can accept anyone else's offer that they choose as long as they have not signed off on ours. Enter anxiety.)

So hopefully we will have a place to live someday.

In the meantime, I will have a cool flag in storage.