Super Cheap Chalkboard!

I had a few questions about the chalkboard that we are using 

for our weekly bump checks...

 I made it and you can too! It was super easy and cheap!

I picked up a frame at a thrift store ($3) and a can of chalkboard paint from Hobby Lobby (~$5).

I read a couple of tutorials about just using the glass as the chalkboard but that made me a little nervous so I took the glass out and replaced it was a scrap piece of wood from my grandpa's garage. I primed the frame and the board with a spray primer.

A couple of coats of chalkboard spray paint on the scrap wood and a couple of coats of regular black spray paint on the frame and it was finished. 

Total: $8! Happy Crafting! 

Free Fall Decorating

My grandma was cleaning up her garden and she had a box full of dried gourds that she was going to trash. They were looking pretty bad but I thought that they had potential.

I scrubbed the dirt off and used some leftover spray paint/acrylic paint to give them new life. 

I was pretty impressed with how well they turned out. They are so fun and festive! 

Yay for free fall decorating! Happy crafting! 

Natalie's Nursery

Meet my friend Liz and her precious daughter Natalie...

Liz and her hubby recently moved and baby Natalie needed her room decorated!

Liz was in love with this Pottery Barn nursery. 

She loved the tissue paper flowers and lanterns in the corner.

It didn't seem to hard so we gave it a shot!

We originally planned to make our own flowers out of tissue paper but when we went to Party City, we found lanterns,  flowers, and fans. It actually turned out to be cheaper just to buy them over making them...cheaper and less time consuming...sold!

Liz spent around $25 for all the supplies and this is what we came up with...

Some of the fans didn't make it through the first night so Liz had to do a little rearranging. This is her updated masterpiece...

So fun! So cute! So bright!

Happy Crafting! 

Frame Redo...

I love going to different craft fairs and browsing. 

I hardly ever buy anything but I love getting ideas.

I recently went to The Red Apron in Liberty and saw some really cute frames and was really inspired. As I was heading home, I stopped by a thrift store and bought this frame for $5!

It was pretty hideous but I loved the shape and and bulk of the frame.

I took the glass and the pic out and primed and

 painted the frame with paint that I had on hand. 

I primed with white primer and then painted the frame with 

candy apple green acrylic paint.

Once it dried, I added a couple of fabric flowers and found a free printable on Pinterest (I printed it at an office store because our printer is not of the best quality but it only cost fifty cents to print in color on cardstock).

The grand total for the project was $5.50.

The frames that I looked at the Red Apron started at $25 so $5.50 was pretty exciting! 

Happy Crafting!

Thankful

A couple of months ago the hubs and I made a bulletin  board to hang in our room. 

It is a place where we can leave notes for each other...things we are thankful for or that we appreciate about each other. I enjoy looking at it everyday not only because of the notes but because we made it together.

To make it, I stopped by a thrift store and bought a picture frame for $5. I thought about just using a bulletin board like this one from Target and then decorating it...

But I couldn't really find one as big as I wanted for a reasonable price. 

So plan B was to find a cheap picture frame and cover the back with cork.

 So once I had secured the frame, I went to JoAnn's and got fabric ($12) and cork ($10) and everything else I had on hand (primer, paint, and spray glue). 

In total it was less than $30 for a custom 2 feet by 4 feet bulletin board!

Here is a before pic with all the supplies...

First step in the process was putting the hubs to work on painting the frame. First, we used a spray primer then the leftover paint from the buffet that I previously painted.

Next, I laid the back of the frame out on the counter and used the spray glue to attach the cork.

Then, I had the hubs iron the fabric (here is a secret about me...I don't iron...I never have and probably never will. Thank goodness the hubs is so willing to iron!).

Once the cork was secure and the fabric was wrinkle free, we just wrapped it around the cork and secured it with hot glue (i forgot to take a pic of this step). It was quick and easy. 

Then we made a little "thankful" pennant and covered a couple of thumb tacks with fabric and then voila'...

What a great reminder to be thankful daily!

Happy Crafting!

Peek-A-Boo

Have you heard of Toms?

 If not, allow me to introduce you by directing you to their website...www.toms.com. 

They have a mission to match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. Not only is their mission pretty incredible, but their shoes are so comfy.

 I love them so much that mine looked like this...

It appears that my big toe was trying to play peek-a-boo! Don't get me wrong, that did not stop me from wearing them but  I thought perhaps I should do something about the hole before my entire toe became visible.

So I went to one of my favorite places...Hobby Lobby and grabbed some iron on patches for jeans, fabric glue, and material and I got to work...or I mean my grandma got to work...she was around and offered to help so how could I say no? She is simply the best! 

First we covered each of the holes with iron on jean patches.  This is just to make sure that once we put the new fabric over the top that my toe is not going to pop right back through.

Then it was as easy as doing a little "nipping and tucking" until we got the fabric just how we wanted it. I pinned the fabric to hold it into place to make sure we had it just the way we wanted it before making it permanent.

Once it was laid out, I took a couple of pins out at a time and just used this glue to glue it down. Then, I replaced the pins to make sure it dried exactly how I wanted it to. 

I let the glue dry overnight and then I took all the pins out and ta-da...

My grandma asked about half way through the project why I was not just buying a new pair if I loved them so much. I told her it was because they cost between $40-60. And she responded, "I thought you just got done explaining to me what a great cause it was. Just think if you get another pair, so will another kid."

 Touche, grandma! I do love these...

Decisions, decisions!

Happy Crafting!