Kitchen Chalkboard Project

To be a plate rack or not to be ... 

Yet another project from start to finish that took should have taken well less than an hour of active participation. This void used to be a plate rack that rarely was dusted which meant the plates never were used since it would have required washing them before AND after eating off of them. Uhh ... double the work or use different plates ... bingo, the second choice :)

the BEFORE

I had a quart of chalkboard paint leftover from another project and thought it would be fun to have place to use all those cute chalkboard ideas off of pinterest. I love the the idea of chalkboard decor and being able to change it with the seasons or holidays ... although I know this will never happen as often as I intend it to. :)  Jess at 'Mom 4 Real' shares a simple way to make chalkboard paint in any color, can't wait to find an excuse to try this!

wet paint ... do not touch

Since the space was small, the painting itself didn't take long, but with three coats needed and the dry time in between, the start to finish time was a couple hours.

The chalkboard paint needed 2 to 3 days to cure before drawing on it, so it needed a few days before the finishing touch ... which actually turned into at least a month for me... oh life, why must I let you distract me from these fun projects.

the finished project

I'm loving the cute little nook for my cookbook stand, our 'garage-sale-find' change jar, and the much needed napkin holder for our family of six. However, the picture above is very deceiving since I so conveniently cropped out the extremely messy counter. This, my friends, is real life around here more often than I would like to think ... the mess I had to push through (mentally and physically) to get my kitchen chalkboard project completed!

 I would prefer to work in a clean and organized environment which when you have kids usually means - clean first ... then create ... then clean again, ugh! Through a life with kids I have come to realize life will always bring with it distractions, sometimes those distractions need our attention and we need to be interruptible ... other times we need to put on the binders and keep pushing through. 

Homemade Mantle Decor

I should have added home decor to my 2016 To-Do List especially since we have been in our current home for three and a half years and there is definitely a lack of wall decor and miscellaneous accessories throughout most of our home. BUT I am so excited to finally have one home decor project almost completed. The vision of this project has been on my brain for almost 2 years now and we are one step closer to the finished product!

My home decor style has really evolved over the years and I have come to the point I would love for my home to be decorated like a picture in Home and Garden Magazine but I have no desire to spend the money to get it that way. So instead I'm always on the hunt for free projects, sentimental family pieces that can be incorporated, AND the time to do it. 

I love versatile pieces that also hold sentimental value. Our mantle piece was constructed from outdated wood valances from the first house we bought, one side portrays our hands and fingerprints, and the other a tree (with hopefully soon, the silhouette of a pair of lovebirds and their four little hatchlings with a fun saying).

birch tree - with soon to be family of 6 lovebirds and cute saying :)
painted January 2016

Really wishing I had taken a few more pictures of the kiddos helping, as well as the proof that you can create artwork with almost anything you have on hand! The white 'paint' was actually shoe polish similar to this (not even sure where it came from or how long we've had it, but it's worked just fine with a few extra coats) and the black paint was from a box of crafty stuff from one of my grandmas. I wouldn't consider myself a hoarder by any means; however, if it's a crafty item I will find a place out of sight (or in the basement) for it until it can find it's purpose again!  :)

The birch tree effect was really easy to do  thanks to pinterest ... of course! A white background leaving behind horizontal brush strokes. Then using a flat scraper dipped in black paint, start on the the edge of the tree and drag to the center.

kiddos helping

The thing I love most of this homemade piece (besides the sentiment of course), is that it now has two sides. The trees are more fall-inspired and at Christmas I would just turn it around to hang a wreath on the bare wood. I am thinking I will still hang a wreath on the birch tree at Christmas, but will strategically place the additions so it'll still look cute.

the trunks are each of our arms, the branches our hands, the leaves our fingerprints
Completed October 2013

Cost for two-side, sentimental artwork - $0 ... cha-ching :)