Use Chalkboard Paint For An Easy Fix

As I have said before, I look for "projects" when I shop at Goodwill.

So on a recent trip, 

I bought this painted board and this cutting board...

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with them.

But... I had a child's desk that I was painting the top with chalkboard paint. So, while I had the can open, I thought I might as well paint my new finds! 

I added a couple of scrolly elements to this board. It already had a hook on the back so it's ready to hang.

 I loved this cutting board because of the hole in the handle...it doesn't even need a hook. I wrapped some twine around the neck and it's ready to hang up. I think it would be perfect in a kitchen.

The only thing I don't like about chalkboard paint is how long you have to wait between coats. I get impatient. When I start a project, I like to finish it and move on to the next one!

I've got another chalkboard in the works that I am excited about. Stay tuned, that's coming soon! 

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, The Artsy Girl Connection,  Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife,  Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner,  I Gotta Create,  Thrifty 101, Craftionary,

5 Days 5 Ways,  Lamb Around,  Domestically Speaking, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The Kurtz Corner, Fine Craft Guild,  Katies Nesting Spot, Hubby Made Me, The Thriftiness Miss, Homespun Happenings,  Curb Alert,   It's Overflowing, C.R.A.F.T., 

You're A Shining Star Mug

I've been seeing a lot of mugs with designs made using permanent markers.

I have painted a lot of glassware over the years, but I have always used enamel paint.

So, I had to try my hand at using a marker instead.

And, I had the perfect occasion...

my friend, Kimbo's, birthday!

Kimbo loves stars. She often adds a star when she signs her name.

And, if anyone I know is ever going to be a star, it will be Kimbo! She is a fantastic artist, singer, songwriter, poet, play write, & actress.

When I was thinking about what to do on her mug, the Earth, Wind, & Fire song, You're A Shining Star, kept popping in my head.

So, with my Bic Mark It permanent markers, I drew a couple of stars and started writing...

I just went around and around writing the chorus. I didn't care that it wasn't straight...it adds to the whimsy!

I first wrote the letters in orange and then went back over them with brown to give it a little more interest.

I made sure that I put, "To: Kimbo" & the year...

Then I signed it...

Once I finished, I put the mug in a cool oven, turned it to 250, and let it bake for 30 minutes. I turned the oven off and let it cool in the oven. I don't know that this is necessary, but I do that with the enamel paint and old habits die hard, as they say!

Here's another mug I did using markers...

Does that describe you?

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, The Artsy Girl Connection,  Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife,  Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner,  I Gotta Create,  Thrifty 101, Craftionary,

5 Days 5 Ways,  Lamb Around,  Domestically Speaking, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The Kurtz Corner, Fine Craft Guild,  Katies Nesting Spot, Hubby Made Me, The Thriftiness Miss, Homespun Happenings,  Curb Alert,   It's Overflowing, C.R.A.F.T., 

A "Sign" Of Italian Sunshine

When I shop at my local Goodwill, which is at least once a week, I look for items that I can sell in the stores where I rent space, but mostly I look for "projects."
Often times there are great pieces of wood that can be turned into art. For example, not too long ago I posted a sign that I made from a piece of wood I bought at Goodwill. You can see it HERE. 

Last week, I found this...

I paid $3 for it. Someone must have donated it to Goodwill after they were unable to sell it in a garage sale because it had a sticker on it for 99cents.

I painted over the primitive design with black acrylic paint. I looked in Google Translator to find out how to say, "Italian Sunshine" in Italian which I learned is Sole Italiano. Then I painted Sole Italiano Limoncello on the board using yellow, brown, & white acrylic paint that I triple loaded onto my paint brush. I then painted lemons on the board.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded over the whole board to give my sign an aged look.

My plan was to sell it, but it looks so good in my kitchen that I decided to keep it...
for now anyway!

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, The Artsy Girl Connection,  Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife,  Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner,  I Gotta Create,  Thrifty 101, Craftionary,

5 Days 5 Ways,  Lamb Around,  Domestically Speaking, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The Kurtz Corner, Fine Craft Guild,  Katies Nesting Spot, Hubby Made Me, The Thriftiness Miss, Homespun Happenings,  Curb Alert,   It's Overflowing, C.R.A.F.T., 

To Sew With Love Giveaway

Lelanie over at To Sew With Love

is having a great giveaway to celebrate her 30th birthday.

 

Head over there and enter to win a great prize package!

I have included an item from my ETSY shop in the giveaway.

Good Luck!

Happy Birthday Lelanie!!!

FIRMOO.COM Review

I was recently contacted by the online eyeglass company FIRMOO and given an opportunity to try out a pair of their glasses for free. Are you kidding...I love FREE!

They let me pick out anything I wanted. I don't wear prescription glasses, so I picked out a pair of sunglasses. I decided that since I wasn't paying for them, I would step out of my box and try something I normally wouldn't buy. I picked purple sunglasses! Yes, PURPLE!!!

And, I LOVE them! I think purple is my color.

Here they are...

 

 In actuality, the glasses are a little darker than they appear in the picture.

I received the glasses in about a week. They arrived in a nice hard case. They also came with a soft case and microfiber cloth.

 

In case you don't know about FIRMOO.COM,

they are a global online eyeglass store with years of experience. They offer over 300 styles of affordable and stylish frames for you to choose from. They offer a Virtual Try-On System that helps you see how you look with different types of glasses or sunglasses.

You can even use your own photo to try on their eyewear virtually, and you can share your try-on photo on your Facebook wall and Firmoo’s Facebook wall and see what your friends think of the styles you pick.

FIRMOO is introducing Free Eyewear To New Buyers!

They are offering a free pair of glasses to customers who have not yet placed an order with FIRMOO! All you pay is the shipping.

 

Head over HERE and check out what they have to offer!

I was given a free pair of glasses and asked to write a review of FIRMOO.COM, but all opinions of the product are my own.

CORAL!!!

I love the color coral! 

Actually, anything in or near the orange family makes me happy. Even my bridesmaids dresses were a peachy coral color. Don't laugh... it was the 80's!

So, needless to say, I have been thrilled this summer when every magazine I open up has coral as one of the most popular colors in home decorating.

I've wanted to paint a piece of furniture with coral but couldn't find the perfect piece until I spotted this coffee table at Goodwill...

It has a drawer, but I had already taken it out when I snapped the picture.

I paid $7.87 for the table!

I bought a sample size of Valspar paint at Lowe's in a shade of coral. The sample sizes cost $2.45. I added about 2 tablespoons of calcium carbonate and a few drops of water to the paint to make some chalk paint.

I gave the table a couple of coats of the homemade chalk paint and then hand painted a leaf design on top using acrylic paint in cream and brown.

Then I gave it a coat of dark wax...

Would you be bold enough to put a coral coffee table in your house? Wouldn't it be pretty in a sun room?

 Another look at the "before" & the "after"...

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, The Artsy Girl Connection,  Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife,  Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner,  I Gotta Create,  Thrifty 101, Craftionary,

5 Days 5 Ways,  Lamb Around,  Domestically Speaking, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The Kurtz Corner, Fine Craft Guild,  Katies Nesting Spot, Hubby Made Me, The Thriftiness Miss, Homespun Happenings,  Curb Alert,   

Paris In Springtime

A few years ago, I was hired to paint a window for a little girls' room. This is what I did...

 My client called a couple of weeks ago and told me they were changing her daughters' room and wanted another window.

 Her daughter loved the Eiffel Tower that I had painted on the window and wanted to incorporate it into the new window.

Here is the new bedding that she wanted me to use as inspiration...

I painted the Eiffel Tower as if it were in the background with flowers bursting into bloom in the foreground...

 The colors actually matched perfectly but don't appear so in the photos...

My client loved it and I had a lot of fun doing it!

Linking To:

Savvy Southern Style,  Someday Crafts, Sew Much A Do, Yesterday On Tuesday, Fabric Bows & More, Ginger Snap Crafts, Beyond The Picket Fence, Primitive & Proper, Creations By Kara,  Primp, Rae Gun Ramblings, Adventures In Dinner, Ivy & Elephants, The Artsy Girl Connection,  Seven Thirty Three, Southern Lovely, Delightful Order, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Seven Alive,  Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts, Made In A Day, Katherine's Corner, Redoux, Happy Hour Projects, Joyful Stamper, Chic On a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Blissful Bucket List, Ladybird Lane, Simply Sweet Home, One Artsy Mama, The Shabby Nest, Craft Junkie Too, A Little Knick Knack, The Vintage Farmhouse, House of Hepworths, Momnivore's Dilema, Somewhat Simple,   Live Laugh Rowe, Have A Daily Cup Of Mrs Olson, Simply Designing, Truly Lovely, Create Craft Love, The Cottage Market, Country Momma Cooks, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bowdabra, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Young & Crafty, Sassy Sites, Blissful & Domestic, Nap Time Crafters, Love Notes By Lauryn, Cherished Treasures, A Vision To Remember, Craft Envy, Petite Hermine, To Sew With Love, Boogieboard Cottage, Lovely Crafty Home, DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, Etcetorize, DIY Home Sweet Home, Under The Table and Dreaming, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Pinkapotamus, Lines Across, Coastal Charm, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef In Training, The Farmhouse Porch, Nifty Thrifty Things, Cherished Bliss, Natural Mothers Network, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me & My Boys, Mad In Crafts, Alderberry Hill, Flour Me With Love, Not Just A Housewife, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Lil' Luna, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, The Trendy Treehouse, Homework, Kammy's Korner,  I Gotta Create,  Thrifty 101, Craftionary,

5 Days 5 Ways,  Lamb Around,  Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The Kurtz Corner,