Tag Archives: DIY project

Lovey-Dovey Chalkboard Art

Love Birds Valentine's Art

The chalkboard bug bit again!

This one was simpler than my Christmas endeavor. Once I knew what I wanted to write, I cut scrapbook paper to size, lightly wrote the words in pencil, and then went over it with white acrylic paint and a fine brush. Easy-peasy.

Love Birds DIY art

Have you tried your hand at chalkboard type?

Update: linking up to these parties:
The Shabby Nest

My New Year’s Wishlist

I’m tabling my usual “Weekly Wishlist” this week in favor of a more broad look at the year to come, and what I hope it brings, from home projects to life in general. Corny? Maybe. Rife with things resembling “resolutions”? Also maybe. Indulge me.

2013 Wishlist

– paint the following spaces: entryway, my office, family room, kitchen, powder room (pretty much our whole first floor); our master bedroom/bathroom, and maybe our “bonus room”

– reorganize the pantry (and get Tom to follow the system!)

– create a better, combined filing system for all our important documents, tax info, etc

– build bookshelves & a window seat for my office

– install crown molding

– install wall molding if we feel like it / have time to get fancy

– pick out a pattern and fabric so my mom can make us a quilt for our bed

– furnish some of our emptier rooms (dining room, bonus room)

– expand the vegetable garden; try growing some fall/winter items this year! (pumpkins???)

– attend Haven Conference in August

– take a trip to the West Coast (Oregon/Washington) to visit family and friends

– start some personal writing projects (that novel ain’t gonna write itself!)

– try to be more patient and get less discouraged when things don’t work out the way I want them to (oh, this applies to so. many. things.)

– try running again. (reminder to self: take it slowly. starting with intervals is okay. everyone has their own pace.)

Whew. Okay. That sure seems like a lot of stuff. But I think it’s doable! And if it’s not, that’s what the “try to be more patient” item is for 😉

What’s on your wishlist for 2013? A special item? A long-awaited project? A personal goal? I’d love to hear what you’re working on in the new year!

Chalk It Up to the Holidays

If you saw my recent Weekly Wishlist, or follow me on Instagram (@onuwriter06), then you know that I’ve got a thing for Chalkboard prints. It’s a recent thing that has come on quite strong, too. And once you’ve fallen head-over-heels for a typographic print, there’s only one thing to do… try to recreate it yourself.

I started off by trying to free-hand my own versions of ones I’ve found online (mostly on Esty), carefully studying how the letters are created, connected and filled out. Here’s one example from my “sketchbook:”

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The next step was to decide on the phrase I wanted to write (so hard! there are sooooo many great Christmas song lyrics), and sketch it out. This way I could decide which words I wanted to emphasize, which would be serif or sans serif, etc. I also had to decide on a color. I didn’t want to do a black background because I wanted the colors to feel a bit more Christmasy. I chose Americana Hauser Light Green Acrylic paint (purchased at Michael’s, and also used on my clay lollipop ornaments. Such versatile paint…). I think the canvas size is 14″x18″, if you’re wondering.

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I prepped the canvas by painting the whole thing with the green paint. I only did one coat, and didn’t worry about making it too perfect or uniform. So some parts are darker/have more coverage than others. One of my friends described it as “rustic.”

Then I used a pencil to lightly sketch out the words “Christmases” and “White” to get the placement where I wanted them. And then it sat on my kitchen table (i.e. crafting space) for a few days while I got up the courage to put paint to paper, err, canvas.

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Here’s an action shot. Lucky for me, Tom was hovering with my iPhone camera on.

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And here’s the finished product:

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Acting Sketchy

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So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not much of an artist or designer. But I still get the itch to draw from time to time. So, I thought I’d share some recent things from my “sketchbook” (read: whatever notebook is closest at hand) that I’ve been playing around with.

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