Dry Erase Altered Frame

I am getting in just under the wire to make my post for Wednesday!  I have had a busy day today.  I went to several antique shops and picked up some great little finds (I will post those pictures later).  My son was away for the first half of this summer and he came back today, so I spend some quality time visiting with him.

Anyway, for this post, I decided to take a cheap $5 Wal-Mart frame and see what I could do with it.  I gathered some materials and decided that I would antique the frame and add a piece of scrapbook paper and use the glass as a dry erase board for quick messages.

This thought came to me yesterday when I was erasing a plate that I keep in my kitchen that I use as a dry erase "Menu".   (I will post pictures of that later, too).

Anyway, here are pictures of the process.

I gathered my supplies.  Scrapbook paper for the background, Vaseline (any petroleum jelly should do) and Q-tips for dabbing the frame in certain areas, paint, my handy-dandy paper cutter, twine, embellishments, a paint brush and a sponge brush.

First, I took the glass and the paper out of the frame.  I don't mind if the paint gets on the inside of the frame that no one will see, but I didn't want it on the glass.  I also used the paper inside of the frame to cut the scrapbook paper to the right size.  

I daubed the Vaseline on the frame very strategically in spots where I thought the paint would have chipped if it really was an antique frame.  Then I applied the paint DIRECTLY to my sponge....not to the frame itself, and I daubed the sponge onto the frame (do not wipe it, you will smear the Vaseline).

I put a good coat on and then I waited for it to dry.

If the paint didn't cover some of the cracks, I thought that 

was okay, because it only added to the charm.

After the paint dried, I used a paper towel to GENTLY wipe the frame.  

The areas with the Vaseline underneath the paint wiped off, leaving behind the

frame.  It looks like the paint actually chipped off.

I wiped a line of the Vaseline down the frame on each side, so you can see where the 

dark lines are on the frames (making it look like it was more dimensional).

The frame I got had a little gold on it and I didn't want the gold to show through (because I wanted it to look like a wooden frame), so I used a second color to touch up some of the areas that had gold showing through.  I touched the frame with the blue and then just wiped it a little so it would stand out too much.

I used a small paintbrush so I could control the paint better.

You can see where I added the blue to this corner.

Here is the frame after all of the blue has been added.

It looked a little plain, so I added a little embellishment across the top.

Here it is with the embellishment.

Tell me what you think.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Maybe it will inspire you.

Until next time, be blessed.

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post up to House of Hepworths #108 and The Shabby Nest 

and Funky Junk Interiors.

Chalkboard Decor

Today's post is about the refinishing of a chalkboard craft that I did almost 2 years ago.  When my husband and I got married, we had the song, "Everything" by Michael Buble' at our Reception.  It was one of our favorite songs.  In an effort to keep that romance alive, I took an old picture that I was planning to put in a yard sale and turned it into a chalkboard and wrote some of the lines of the song on the chalkboard.

I put about 3 coats of Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint on the glass (letting it dry in between each coat).

While the glass was out of the frame, I painted the actual frame and rubbed the paint on to give it an aged look.  I wiped paint off in areas so I could see the frame (to make it look like it was chipping off).

After the frame and the glass dried, I put it back together and used real chalk to write on the board.

The problem with using real chalk if you hang your chalkboard in the bathroom, is the steam from the shower.  I happened to hang my piece in the bathroom.  It continued to fade and I would have to retouch it over and over.

Finally, I decided that I would make the "chalk" permanent.  I went to my local craft store to find a chalk pen.  They didn't have one, but they did have a Terra Cotta pen that I thought I could use as a great substitute.

I thought this would work out, but it took forever!!!  I had to keep "pumping" the pen and wiping it off (probably because I had to write on top of the chalk and it was getting "gunked up").

You can see here how I couldn't do one full letter without stopping.

Here is a picture of it halfway completed so you can see the difference.

Here it is completed.  Now when I hang it back up in the bathroom, it shouldn't fade.

No more retouches (hopefully)!

Hope you are inspired to make a "romantic" 

piece of "art" to hang up!

Until next time, be blessed!

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to The Winthrop Chronicles.

Game Themed Entryway

Whew! It has been a busy day!  I started trying to work on some of the Salvation Army finds, but I cannot locate a very special element that I want to add to one of the projects.  I finally had to set that idea to the side and work on something else (other than supper and cleaning house... which I am doing in between projects)!  So, I decided that I would show you some of my favorites as far as my own home decor goes.

Welcome to my hallway!   My family loves to laugh and play.  We have game night at least twice per month.  It is a great family bonding activity, so if you have teenagers or pre-teens, I would like to encourage you to break out your games (make sure they are games that they like) and enjoy family time.

I created this because .... well, because it keeps the games handy ... and because I love the way it looks.
I hope you enjoy it and get some ideas for yourself.  Let me know what you think!

In each of these old Ball jars, I have placed game pieces.  In one jar I have marbles, in another Scrabble pieces and in another chess pieces.  You can see the checker board standing up behind the jars.  I couldn't resist using Scrabble letters to spell out "Game Time".  There is also a minute timer, which is used in most games we play.  

I have to admit, I have a love for numbers and letters, so the Scrabble card lent itself well to my theme and the letter "D" was perfect!  We have 3 kids, so I chose the "3" Uno card (and yellow matched the best).

You can see the dominos laying on the table in front of the cards.

Of course, no game is complete without the tally.  Not that it matters to me, I am really not competitive!

The wire basket holds old pool balls that I found at an antique store and old wooden block letters.  Each of the blocks has our initial on it.  I love the number 7, so I had to get that pool ball!   My son was with me when I purchased them and he loves the number 14, so we got that one.  And the yellow ball was to bring the letter "H" out (otherwise, it would have been the only yellow element in the basket). 

I adore this glass "Tic-Tac-Toe" frame.  I have pictures of my husband and myself in the frame with cute little sayings.  Then I used the glass pieces, (the "X" and "O" 's) on a few pictures and leave the rest on the table to make it look like there is a game in progress!  

I used cute scrapbook paper with chipboard arrows pointing at the photos.

That's the top of the table.  The underneath of the table has a collection of games we love to play (with a few decorative items, like the old football and coach's whistle and the large wooden dice that my sister gave me for Christmas. 

Oh, I forgot to tell you about my old Backgammon set.  

I think it adds a nice touch with the case.

And... I love wire baskets (actually I love almost any kind of basket),

but this wire basket does a nice job of keeping the games organized 

and neat... and the basket looks nice, too. 

This is how it looks down the hall.

I love the pictures on the wall.  I especially love the Bingo card.  I put it

in an oval frame and the Bingo card is sideways.  At first I was going to 

hang it right side up, but it just looked good hanging sideways... kind of quirky!

I also, put one of my all time favorite quotes on the wall that I typed

onto pretty paper and framed.  The quote is by Shel Silverstein.  It is perfect for teaching 

your children that they can accomplish anything that they put their mind to doing.  

 I needed a piece that had typography on it.  I painted this myself

to match what I wanted.  It took a long time because I had to let layers dry in between painting.

It's not perfect, but it's what I wanted.

Finally, I put an old postcard and a skeleton key in a frame and placed it beside another quote that I framed, "Bless this home with laughter and love".  I thought that was quite appropriate! 

So, there it is.  A sneak peek into my home....down my hallway.

I hope you enjoyed it and got some ideas to use for yourself!

Until next time, be blessed!

:-)  Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post up to Vintage Wanna Bee and Creations by Kara.

Sunday

Psalm 122:1

I was glad when they said to me, Let us go unto the house of the Lord.


Have a blessed day!

:-) Tonya

Glass Jar Project

Okay, so today I took the glass jar that I purchased from the Salvation Army (from Thursday's post) and I "fixed it up".  First I washed the jar (that was a must!).  Then I gathered my supplies.  I used spanish moss, a small bird's nest and a couple of plastic eggs, some twigs from my yard, a tiny clothes pin, and some twine.

Here are my step-by-step pictures so you can see how I put it together.

Oh, I forgot to mention my old hymnal that I found at an antique store.  I use this hymnal often 

as it has come in handy for many projects.  I shred a page in the hymnal to add to the project.

I added some spanish moss to the empty jar and then I added the shredded music page.

Then, I placed the nest inside.  See the little feathers inside the nest?  I thought that was cool!

I added twigs to the jar and then I used a small piece of twine 

and tied 2 of the twigs together.  

I wanted to add a little something special, so I typed (Times Roman font)

a flashcard and printed it on cream colored card stock. 

I cut it out and rounded the corners to make it look "authentic".

I clipped it onto one of the twigs with my tiny clothespins.  

Then, I put the lid on and viola!  

I just have to choose the best place for it to rest....

?

Anyway, that's one of my Salvation Army finds that I have made over.

Now to get busy on the others!

Until next time, be blessed!

:-) Tonya 

* P.S. - I linked this post to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party and to Shabby Nest  and Homestead Simple.