From Canvas to Chalkboard

I currently have 1124 projects pinned to Pinterest. 1124 little bits of inspiration right at my disposal. Armed with the determination to do rather than just pin—and a little inpsiration—I whipped up this cute chalkboard from an old canvas and some leftover chalkboard paint.

(pin here, source here)

At first glance of the inspiration photo, I thought for sure that the original was an artist’s canvas. Which was awesome because I already had the canvas I could use. But, it’s not.
When I read the tutorial I realized it’s actually a wooden plaque. Which I didn’t have. And I was not about to go shopping. So I just stuck with my original plan and used the old canvas I had already. Of course you could use a wooden plaque, or a frame, or anything really that’s flat and can be hung on the wall.

THE CHALKBOARD

STEP ONE: Prime the canvas. You can use regular ol’ brush on primer, but I chose to use Killz Spray Primer so I would have as few brush marks as possible. I gave my canvas 2 coats of primer. Not only does it give you a nice clean surface for the chalkboard paint, but it also stiffens up the fabric of the canvas a bit to help make writing on it easier.

STEP TWO: Once the primer has dried, paint 2 coats of chalkboard paint. Be wary of your brush marks and try to keep everything as smooth as possible. A foam roller would probably be better at that, but a brush and some attention works just as well. Allow to dry.

STEP THREE: Hot glue ribbon around the edges of the canvas. The ribbon gives a nice finished edge.

THE POCKET

Please forgive me for the lack of process photos.
I got caught up in the making and not in the picture taking. Sorry.

STEP ONE: Determine the size of your pocket based on the size of the canvas. For the width, you’ll need the width of the canvas plus an inch or 2 on each side to wrap around to the back. For the height, take the finished size you’d like the pocket and multiply x3. Mine is 7” high finished so I cut my fabric to a height of 21”.

STEP TWO: Lay your fabric out wrong side up. Fold down from the top (so that the right side of the fabric shows) to reach your desired height, for me that’s 7”. Iron a crease. This is the back of the pocket.

STEP THREE: From the bottom (so that the right side of the fabric shows), fold up until the crease meets the edge of the back of the pocket. Iron a crease. Now you have the pocket flap, or the piece that actually holds the chalk in.

STEP FOUR: Determine the height of your pocket flap. Mine is 4” so the tops of the chalk stick out above. Fold down any excess fabric and iron a crease.

STEP FIVE: Use iron on hem tape to secure the hem of the pocket flap.

STEP SIX: Cut a piece of iron on Heat ‘N Bond the size of the back of your pocket. For me that’s 7” tall by the width of the fabric.

STEP EIGHT: Place the Heat ‘N Bond (shiny side down) between the creases on the wrong side of the fabric. Iron until the Heat ‘N Bond has fully adhered to the wrong side of the fabric.

STEP NINE: Allow to cool and then peal off the paper backing. Fold the fabric back down over the Heat ‘N Bond and iron until the fabric has fused together.

ATTACHING THE POCKET

STEP ONE: Apply a bead of hot glue along the bottom edge of the canvas. Aline the fabric pocket so the bottom edge is flush with the bottom of the canvas. Don’t forget to allow enough over hang on each side to wrap the edges around to the back of the canvas.

STEP TWO: Continue to apply hot glue and stick down the back of the pocket. Be careful not to adhere the pocket flap to the back of the pocket!

STEP THREE: To finish it off, wrap the edge around to the back. At this point it would be helpful to use a staple gun, but mine was out of staples. So I just hot glued everything down. Even the flap to the back of the pocket. It’s okay to do that on the back. 😉

STEP FOUR: To finish it off, hot glue a piece of ribbon along the top edge.

THE FLOWERS

STEP ONE: Cut 4 circles from felt. The bigger the circles the bigger your flowers. You can use soup cans or glasses for tracing.

STEP TWO: Cut a smaller circle to act as the base of the flower.

STEP THREE: Cut a couple of leaves from green felt.

STEP FOUR: Fold each of the 4 circles in half and add a dot of hot glue. Just enough to hold it together in the middle. Then fold in half again and add a touch more glue. Now you have a petal. Repeat x 3.

STEP FIVE: Add a bit of glue to each of the petal ends and glue down on circle base.

STEP SIX: For the center, I used coordinating fabric covered buttons. Just follow the directions of the button covering kit and hot glue the finished button to the center. Other center options include regular buttons, felt circles, or a few more petals to fill it out.

STEP SEVEN: Arrange on your canvas and use hot glue to stick the flowers and leaves down.

Note: To get the pom pom effect, just cut slits in the circles before you fold them!

And there you have it! Just slip some chalk, and maybe even a little eraser, in the pocket and you’re good to go! Give these as a gift or just make one for yourself. The possibilities are endless.

We gave this one as a birthday gift (hence, the sweet message written by my girl) and it really seemed to be a crowd-pleaser. Also, with just a little change in fabric, you could easily make one of these for a special boy.

Have you painted anything with chalkboard paint lately? I’m wondering, is there anything that can’t be made into a fun, cute chalkboard?

Rockin’ Tile Coasters

Put a different spin on the tile coaster craze and give them a rock ‘n’ roll edge by using your favorite cd images as art.

Using the same method I blogged about here, I whipped these up for a coworker last night. I asked him to send me the names of his 4 favorite cds and I printed out the cover art. They are definitely not the average coaster and I love them! They’re so personal and unique.

Clockwise from top left: The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow; Tool, Lateralus;
Pretty Lights; Metallica, …And Justice For All

Copy and Paste Onesies

One of my sweet friends is expecting twin boys. They are her first and she’s doing so great! She has about 8 weeks to go, both boys are already over 4 pounds, and she looks like she’s about to pop. But she’s so stinkin’ adorable.

I always try to make gifts whenever possible, but especially when it comes to something as special as a new baby. It just seems so much more meaningful to me. When I was thinking of what to make for her shower, I tried to think of something to give her that was unique and “twinny” but not so matchy-matchy. That’s just not her style. She and her husband are both self proclaimed “computer nerds” and I wanted to give her something that reflected their personalities. I’ve seen these copy and paste onesies on sites like CafePress, but I knew I could make my own version. And, here they are!

These are felt appliques, but since my new sewing machine is still safely tucked away in its box, I used iron on Heat ‘N Bond. Using the Heat ‘N Bond made this project super easy! I was able to finish both onesies in just about an hour and a half.

To make these onesies, or other felt appliques, you’ll need:

1. Heat ‘N Bond (no sew type)

2. Felt

3. Onesies, or similar

4. Iron

5. Scissors

STEP ONE: Decide on the design you’d like to use. For the copy and paste design I chose to use the Mac keystrokes for each command. I used Adobe Illustrator to make the design and then printed it out. I trimmed the design from the copy paper and then traced it onto the paper side of the Heat ‘N Bond. Note: Make sure to reverse the image when you trace it onto the Heat ‘N Bond so when you iron it on, it’s facing the correct way.

STEP TWO: Rough cut the design from the Heat ‘N Bond. You don’t have to cut on the lines at this point, just around them.

STEP THREE: Place the shiny side of the Heat ‘N Bond down on the felt and iron on the highest heat. Note: High heat works well with felt, but you may want to turn the heat down a bit for lighter textiles.

STEP FOUR: Trim the felt along the lines of your design.

STEP FIVE: Peel the protective paper from the Heat ‘N Bond, lay the design down onto your onesie, and iron until all the edges are completely adhered.

These are completely safe to run through the washing machine. Just remember to read the instructions on the Heat ‘N Bond before throwing them in the wash.

Don’t they make the sweetest little gift for a set of twins?

Quick and easy lip balm recipe

I am always trolling the internet looking for new ideas for things to try or make. And now thanks to Pinterest I can keep a visual reminder of everything I find and continually go back for reference. (Which is what makes Pinterest so flipping awesome!) A few months ago I came across this recipe for lip balms on Martha Stewart’s site and immediately pinned it. I thought “I can totally do that!” And there it sat in my pin board waiting for me to come back to it. But 2012 is the year of doing, as opposed to pinning and pining, so I thought I’d give it a go.

I followed Martha’s instructions to the tee for the first batch. But the resulting balm was too stiff for me. I like my lip balm to be soft and smooth, and this one would barely glide over my lips. I probably didn’t do something exactly right. But since I couldn’t ask Martha herself, I just tweaked things and tried different combinations of ingredients until I was happy with the result.

Here’s what you’ll need to make these super quick and easy lip balms:

1. Beeswax pellets

2. Organic soy wax flakes

3. Carrier oil

4. Essential oil

5. Vitamin E capsules

6. Plastic pipettes

7. Heat proof glass container

8. Bamboo skewers

9. Cheapo lipstick (optional)

10. Tubes, tins, jars, etc.

Notes: I ordered a 1 pound bag of beeswax pellets on Amazon for $10. I couldn’t find those at the craft store. The organic soy wax I was able to find at HobbyLobby. I believe it was about $8 for a 1 pound bag. Two pounds of wax will last a really (REALLY) long time. Carrier oil is a food quality oil used to dilute the essential oils, since most essential oils are not food quality. There are various oils that can be used as a carrier, but I chose Sweet Almond Oil because it has a neutral scent and works well with the other essential oils. I ordered the Sweet Almond Oil online, but you can find it, the essential oils, and the Vitamin E capsules at GNC. I couldn’t find plastic pipettes in any store, so those were ordered online as well. Tubes, tins, and jars can all be found for sale online, but I found these tiny little clear jars at Sally’s Beauty Supply. I think they were supposed to be storage for manicurists.

STEP ONE: Grab a small saucepan and add about an inch or 2 of water. Turn the burner on your stove to medium low and let the water just reach a simmer.

STEP TWO: Add 1 tablespoon soy wax, 2 tablespoons carrier oil, and a sprinkle of beeswax (seriously, I just added a very small amount… the more beeswax you add the stiffer the result will be) to my heat proof glass container. I used a mason jar, but you could use a pyrex measuring cup or other glass jar that can be heated safely. Place the jar in the saucepan on the stove.

STEP THREE: Stir the mixture with a bamboo skewer until all of the wax has melted. Once the mixture is completely melted remove the jar carefully from the pan.

STEP FOUR: Work fast, because you don’t want the mixture to cool! Add a few drops of essential oil until you are happy with the scent. Pierce a Vitamin E capsule with a straight pin and squeeze the contents into your mixture. If you want to tint your lip balm, add lipstick shavings and stir until you reach the desired color. Good to know: Essential oils do not have flavors. Instead they are scents that trick your mind into thinking there’s a flavor. There are tons of different oils you could try, but citrus scented oils work great because those scents are already associated with flavors. I used grapefruit oil mostly, but added a couple drops of tea tree oil as well. If you want to sweeten your balm, you can add a touch of honey. For tints, brighter shades of lipstick work best.

STEP FIVE: Now comes the fun part. Line up your containers (tubes, tins, jars) and make sure they are on a level surface. Grab your plastic pipette and fill each container with the still liquid wax mixture. Again, be quick, because the wax cools quickly. Once each of the containers is filled, allow them to cool on a level surface over night.

STEP SIX: Wake up the next morning and your lip balms are ready to use and enjoy!

These are now my favorite, go-to lip balms. I love how soft and smooth they are.
Plus, they make great little happies to give to your friends.