St. Patrick's Day Chalkboard

For my St. Patricks Day Chalkboard I wanted a large oval as a border. I didn't trust my free hand skills so I found a large platter that fit onto the board and then used the chalk marker to draw around it. 

 

After the main outside circle was drawn I erased a small part at the top and added a few embellishments and then a larger section at the bottom... added some shamrocks and more swirlies. I had intended to put more words in the circle. I started with the word blessed and had it hugging tightly to the shamrocks so that it would fit all the words, "We are not Lucky, We Are Blessed." Well after many attempts at the whole saying inside my circle I realized it wouldn't fit the way I wanted it to. I reduced the saying just to "We Are Blessed" and that meant that my spacing was a bit off. I almost started completely over, but the kids were gonna be home fro school soon and I had other things to get done... so it stayed.

 

Here's the link on how I made my chalkboard....Click here. 

Halloween Chalkboard

Here's the framed chalkboard that I have in my kitchen. I think chalkboards are so cute. I love all the styles and designs and sayings that I keep seeing. Here's a bunch of ideas for chalkboards.

I've been changing the quote and pictures to inspire the kids and for the holidays.

Here's what I did to make it...

I took a large, white frame that I bought at IKEA.
It is the Virserum Frame that measures 11 ¾x15 ¾".

Next I bought the Chalkboard Contact Paper. It is available on Amazon. 

I took this and covered the wood backing board that came inside the frame. I measure the size that I needed and the pulled off the white grid paper and applied the contact paper. It's kinda like putting vinyl on things... especially when using a large piece. Start in one area and move out slowly to prevent bubbles.

You could also cover the glass if you wanted to, or something else so that you have something to fit inside the frame. The board was right there in the frame, so I used just that and it will make it easy to still use this as a frame if I decide I want to use the mat board and glass at some future point.

Then I reassembled the frame and it was ready to decorate.

I used this chalkboard paint pen from Stampin' Up. These work so well. They go on more smoothly than actual chalk and it is bolder look. Plus if you make a mistake... you just wipe it off with some water and start again.You can buy this pen by clicking here...

Ta Dah! It was done.

Here's another design I did previously.

 

It's been fun playing around with this framed chalkboard!

Plate with Vinyl Saying... Fairy Tale

Bought the plate from Tai Pan Trading.

The vinyl is from my brother Wayne's business.
(He does metal and vinyl projects. Standard or custom.)

Added the vinyl to the plate and Voila... done.

Antiqued Vinyl Sign

Here is a vinyl sign that is also in my living room. The vinyl on this board is not Stampin' Up. I've had this up on my wall above an arch and I have wanted to add something to it. The board had been painted with a cream acrylic paint and then the black vinyl words had been placed on the paint.

I took a DecoArt Gel Stain in the color of Oak and brushed it across the sign, right over the paint and the vinyl. It was just to give the sign a distressed/antiqued look. It gave the sign a bit more depth sitting up there above the high arch.

Vinyl on the wall

I love the new trend in home decor with vinyl. So versatile and so NOT permanent. If I want to change my decor... it is easy and simple. It will all just peel off. These are some vinyl that I put up in my living room. All of these vinyl stickers are made by Stampin' Up and they are fabulous! Great quality and very fun and trendy!

Glittery Ornaments

These were fun to make also. I took plain clear glass bulbs and cleaned them out with a water and vinegar solution. Then I put on some rubber gloves to protect my hands. I used a Real Red Ink Refill from Stampin' Up and sprayed the ink into the glass bulb. I swirled the bulb around until the ink covered every surface. It helped to put my gloved finger over the hole of the bulb and shake it.

Then I placed them upside down in an egg carton to drip out a bit. After most of the excess ink was gone, I took the Silver Glitter that SU sells and poured it into the bulb with a small funnel. Once again, cover the hole with a gloved finger and shake the glitter around the bulb. Finally, place the bulb hanger back in the bulb and voila it is done. Unless you want to add the rub ons.

I added word rub ons to most of my bulbs that are filled with the silver glitter.







These didn't turn out as cute. They are done the exact same way except I used Glittering Diamonds glitter which is a white glitter. They are cute, but I love the sparkle from the silver glitter. These ones I added the strip of flowers and one cute little flower to the bottom. Fun and cute.
I might go back and add some ribbon to the top of the bulb and then they might be fully done.

Recipe Board

Here is another cute gift that was made for Christmas. It is a recipe board made from a wood base and a metal board. The metal is obviously magnetic so I made the chef magnet and an additional rock magnet to hold the recipe card on the board.







Here is my little chef. I stamped him from Stampin' Up's Voila stamp set. Colored him in and then went to Kinko's where I had him laminated. If he is going to be in the kitchen he is going to have to be waterproof, it gets messy in the kitchen, don't cha know. Then after he was laminated I added some black brad buttons to his chef coat. It gave the flat chef some dimension and a little bit of personality.





On the metal board I used my black StazOn Pad and stamped Bon Appetit on the top corner of the metal board.

I painted the wood block with a cream colored acrylic paint. But I didn't want the block to be a totally solid color. I thought it would look good if the grain of the wood showed through so I decided to add some water to the paint and it just white washed the wood. The saying is made out of vinyl and I had a variety of sayings that I put on the blocks ranging from "The Cook Is In" to "Bon Appetit" to "Live Laugh Love" (which can be used as a recipe board or as a photo board).

This is the action shot. The board being used. The recipe that is on there is one that I got from a Bridal shower and it is yummy! Look at that only 5 ingredients.

Sweet Sweet Chilli

1 pound cubed stew meat

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 can chilli beans, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained

less than 1/2 cup of brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or on high for 3-4 hours. (Works well doubled.)

I like this recipe, but I added some diced onions as well and it worked out nicely. Yummy! A great quick recipe that is a twist on the classic type of chilli.