Chalkboard Paint: Wooden Boxes

CREATE Stylish & Functional Storage

My fabulous partner in life brought home these beauties from the grocery store (appreciating my love for aged wood, wooden boxes, & remembering that I recently mentioned something about wanting to create with wooden wine boxes)!
The store was selling them for $1.50 & $2!!!

First, sand the side you will paint on to create a more smooth finish. I did not do this & really wish I did.

Tape off the edges.

Roll on the chalkboard paint.

Let them sit out in the sun to dry.

Peel off the tape when completely dry.

Voila! Beautiful! These are just the larger ones.

When you read the directions on the paint can it will give you instructions for "conditioning" the surface.
It takes 3 days before you can really use the chalkboard surface.

So far I have used them for: 

~ organizing our linens in the linen closet

~ storing/carrying towels for the pool

~ storing library books
~ kids "projects"
~ mail
~ storing/organizing plates, napkins, & silverware to put out for parties

Festive Bunting

CREATE a festive bunting!

I love all the cute buntings I see everyone making online!
So I figured it was time for me to make one &, with a little adjusting, I am very happy with the results!

Using fabrics I purchased at Goodwill (see the post here),  I created my template & cut my first piece of fabric.

Then I cut out a set with the same fabric.

Using that first piece I measured & cut all the other pieces of fabric.

This Hawaiian shirt made for some fun fabric!

Here, I laid them out & played with patterns.  I wanted to sew them back to back.
Well, let's just say that I am not a master sewer (yet!).
I think the variety of fabrics & very old machine didn't quite work.
I broke the machine :)

So... PLAN B
I laid them out & clipped them onto a clothes line with clothes pins.
Thank goodness I came up with this pretty quick because it was for a gathering THAT afternoon!

Here are some pics of the final results!

Happy bunting!

Chalk board paint - mason jars

CREATE stylish & functional organization

Use chalkboard paint to create a write-upon label on Mason jars to use as storage!

Mason jars are available in various sizes & can be purchased by the case, making them very affordable.
Find them in your grocery store or here.

Tape off the area you'd like to paint. I wanted to use my blue paint tape as it is so easy to peel off but masking tape worked just as well.

I used a small foam roller available here & chalkboard paint available here.

You can see how they look very transparent after the first coat.  I just let them dry in the sunshine for a few minutes before applying another coat. I think I did a total of 3 or 4 coats.
FYI - The instructions tell you to let them sit for 3 days before conditioning & writing on them. Just keep this in mind if you were planning on giving them as a gift or needed them right away.  Then it's a total of 7 days from when you painted them before you can wipe them with a wet cloth.

Pretty!
I am using them in my cupboards for cereal, crackers, snacks, beans, dog treats, etc.
They really clean up the space & I love that I can easily change them as I change the contents inside the containers.

Sewing Project #2 - cute little bag

Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule in her book, Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures, I chose her pattern for the "Treasure Bag".

Gathering my materials

After cutting several strips of muslin 2"x5", I used the stamps to measure out the space.

To prevent the stamp from getting all goopy with fabric paint, instead of painting the paint directly onto the stamp I decided to use a small paint brush to brush on a small layer of fabric paint onto a plastic lid. 

This allowed a reasonable amount of paint to sit on the stamp.

You can see how clearly the letters came out

I couldn't resist making a few more. I had a feeling I was going to love this little project & want to make more than just one bag.

I just love burlap, don't you? 

I couldn't resist making my first little bag out of it.  Somewhere I had read about a great way to help cut a straight line out of burlap (If I find the link I will post it). 

You find one string of the burlap & pull it out. This will leave a straight line to cut along.

I'll admit, it was a little more of a project than I expected (it doesn't just pull right out), but look at the amazing results! 

A very straight line indeed!

A straight line is created by pulling a thread from the burlap.

I sewed the "read" stamped fabric to a piece of 7"x7" scrap fabric.

Then I sewed this piece to the burlap, folded it - right sides together, & sewed the sides of the burlap.

After turning it right side out again, I added bias tape to the top with a zig-zag stitch.
A couple things here, (1) I have never used bias tape, (2) tricky, hmmm..., (3) I didn't measure correctly so I ended up with a inch on the back of the bag with no bias tape, (4) next time I cut the bias tape only after I was finished adding it :) Much better results!

I used ribbon for the handle. You can see how amateur my zig-zag is - there is no denying that this is a handmade product!

Voila! I love it, my kids love it, and we are all so proud of mama! I love that they got to see their mom through the whole process of setting a goal, getting an idea, learning, & creating a finished product/project!
{f.y.i. - Nearly everyday since I finished this they've been talking about their own "projects", what they are creating next, and the types of materials they need. Love it!}

Onto the next bag! I am making 2 bags out of window screening (Amanda Blake Soule's idea).

Stitching on the stamped muslin piece

Checking the placement of the fabric square prior to stitching it all up

Stitching the fabric to the front of the screen

Here are the finished products! 

On the left we have a bag that will be used to carry our books back & forth to the library. 

On the right we have gift bags.

The "create" bag was filled with artsy-craftsy supplies.

The "play" bag was filled with trucks for the sand box. My hope is that the screen will allow for sand to easily shake out.

Sewing Project #1

I've begun my practice! I've got my manual & I have some scrap fabric.

Project #1: Learn how to do some basic sewing with my machine.

In order to get used to this old beauty I decided I'd just practice with some scrap fabric I had from a project a few years back. Once I began I decided to, at least, try to turn it into something close to real.
 

 Well, I was able to turn out 2 little cloth bags. When I presented them to my kiddos they jumped for joy & told me the bags would become their "Nature Bags", & I got a lot of thank you's & hugs! 

I was so pleasantly surprised because this was not a beautiful piece of work though I got such a nice response! Talk about motivation to keep sewing!

My next project will be 2 small bags for a birthday party we are attending soon!