Chalkboard Art

Hello, from snowy, icy Alabama.  I thought I would be escaping the icy cool temps of the North by living in the deep South for 18 months, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  This unusual winter storm has fallen on the most inconvenient day for me. I was so looking forward to a visit from my mom and aunt who were scheduled to fly in from Philly to Birmingham today, but due to this once in 25 year weather phenomenon, their flight was canceled.  I am praying very very hard that they will be able to get here tomorrow.  The strangest thing about all of this is the fact that this past Saturday, I was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops, to a NorthFace and Uggs on a Wednesday to most likely shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops this Saturday with the 71 degree and sunny forecast.  

Since I knew we would be having some visitors while we are here, I wanted to make a multi-purpose room out of one of our spare bedrooms.  The purposes being: A Man Cave and Guest Room. 

While my husband was away for some training over Thanksgiving, I wanted to surprise him with a Man Cave when he came back.  I decided I was going to do this room on the cheap! I really had to get creative with things I already owned to spruce it up. I repainted and reframed pictures, I used cheap Walmart fabric for curtains, and tried to make it cozy, but sophisticated manly at the same time. Cozy for our guests, and manly for the hubs. 

My grandma was getting rid of this huge painting she had picked up at an Estate Sale for around $20. 

I took it off her hands knowing that this would make an awesome chalkboard for the guest room/man cave. 

I picked up some chalkboard paint from Walmart

{Via}

and gold spray paint 

{Via}

I got on a roll with the painting and forgot to snap some pictures along the way.  I sprayed the frame gold, not worrying about getting paint on the actual picture because I knew I would be painting over that with chalkboard paint anyways. 

I gave the frame about 2 coats of paint. Then I simply followed the directions for the chalkboard paint. I made sure to allow the suggested drying time before each coat.  I gave it two coats of paint with a foam roller and small paint brush for the corners and sides.  The hardest part was waiting for it to cure 3 days before writing on it!!! 

Once the 3 days were up, I conditioned my chalkboard.  To do this you take a piece of chalk and cover the entire board.  After you erase it, you are all set  you to write.  The conditioning process is important and ensures that once erased, writing does not appear embedded in the chalkboard.

I made a small template on word of the writing I wanted on the chalkboard to surprise my husband when he came home! 

Here is the finished product all ready for my mom and aunt's visit! (Lord will and Weather permitting!) 

I love being able to customize it if we have guests or add "Man Cave" sayings. 

I really love chalkboards a lot. Here is the one I have hanging in my kitchen that keeps me going when trying new recipes! 

DIY chalkboards are so easy and unique because the frames and shapes can be so different.  I love the little personal touch they add to a home that can be changed out with holiday's or special occasions. 

Have you ever made a chalkboard for your home? What kind of sayings do you like to write on them? 

November Prints!!

I was feeling extra festive last month and decided to add some fun October printables to my kitchen. I simply pulled some Pintrest Printables that I've had pinned for a while and printed them out. (Boy do I love alliteration!)  I recently purchased two clear display frames from Micheal's in hopes of using them for the ever so popular Lucite Trays, but wasn't feeling them as trays.  

(Sorry for the horrid iphone pics. Currently doing my research and saving up for a DSLR camera.) 

So here are a few Prints that I whipped up for November to fill my frames, and I wanted to share them with you! 

Normally, I hate anything deer or antler related due to an intense fear of the animal, but the trend is so hot in design right now I decided to give it a chance! 

Feel free to copy and paste them for personal use if you'd like!  

Contact Paper Wall

Since we moved into our new house, I have slowly been decorating and painting. I've been wanting to do striped walls for two years now. I knew that I could paint them, but since this home is still only a rental, I didn't want to spend all that time painting them, only to have to paint over them when we move. The other issue is that we have textured walls. A lot more goes into painting stripes with textured walls. 

(Here is a tutorial on painting stripes on textured walls.)

So for all you renters out there, or textured wall folks, or people who just aren't up to the task of painting stripes, I give you The Contact Paper Stripe. 

Supplies you will need:

-Contact Paper

(I purchased mine from Walmart but you can find any color or design online. Check out DYW or Amazon) 

-Xacto Knife

-Pencil 

-Scissors 

-Dowel Rod (Optional)
-Painters Tape (Optional)

First pick out your Contact Paper. 

I chose crisp white

18"x24'

I purchased 3 rolls for around $5 each. 

Choose the height of your contact paper. They come in varying heights. This will determine how tall each stripe is and how many you will place on your wall. 

Measure the length of your wall as well. This will determine how many rolls you need. This also depends on how many stripes you will do. I used 3 rolls of contact paper. 

Next measure the height of your wall. Then divide the height of your wall by the height your contact paper. 

I chose to do 5 stripes on my wall with 3 of them being the contact paper. 

 Next use the height of your roll of contact paper to measure and mark on the wall with a pencil where the stripes will be. 

Next just place a piece of painters tape on the wall where you want the contact paper stripe to go. This is just so you don't get confused as to what stripe is the wall and what stripe is contact paper. 

For the next step, simply peel the backing away from the contact paper and stick it to the wall. 

As you roll the contact paper down the wall continue to pull the backing away slowly. 

(Important: Measure as you go! You don't want to have to rip it down because of crooked lines!)

As you come across "obstacles" such as outlets and light switches, simply roll right over them, then go back with the Xacto knife and cut around them.

When you come to doorways or the end of a wall simply use the molding to create a straight line as you cut the Contact Paper with the Xacto knife.

As I added stripes higher up the wall, I found it hard to keep the stripes straight as I pulled the backing away from the contact paper. I used a small curtain rod (or you could use a dowel rod) to use as a stabilizer to hold the roll up as you go along the wall. 

The third and highest stripe was certainly the hardest. My husband kindly assisted me with this last stripe. Being that he is 6'2, he was very helpful. If you plan on doing stripes high up on your wall, I would suggest finding a tall friend to help you.  

I had to go over three doorways. I rolled over the doorway with the contact paper, and went back with scissors and an Xacto knife to cut the excess paper. 

Trim it up, again using the molding as a guide.

Smooth out any wrinkles in your paper. You  may need to pull the paper back in certain areas to get rid of all the air bubbles. 

Last step, because my walls are so textured, I did need to place a few staples in my wall to prevent the paper from peeling off the wall. The contact paper itself is not that sticky so it needed a few staples to make sure it was securely fastened to the wall. You really can't see them, but white out, or a sharpie could probably hide them well.

(You may or may not need to to do this step depending on your walls and how sticky your contact paper is)


The finished product!

Total cost of this project: Under $20
Time: I did this project over a few days but depending on the size of the wall, it could take a few hours with a helper!

I love the statement it makes on an otherwise, pretty long boring wall. So happy I decided to do it!