White Board to Chalk Board ~ Inspiration Cafe #11

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend.  Crazy, busy, fun weekend here for me and my family.  Time to sit and enjoy some creativity with Danni from Silo Hill Farm.  Danni, take it away!

Welcome to the

For those of you that follow my blog, you know that most of my projects are pretty quick, fairly versatile and very inexpensive. 
With summer winding down, and a busy fall season just around the corner, I decided to make a small white board I could put on my fridge to remind me of some upcoming events that I'm looking forward to, like.....

 I started out thinking I was going to cute up this little whiteboard that I got from our bank when they had a grand opening for their new building.

Unfortunately, the pen was not a whiteboard marker.  Don't know what that was about, but anyway, I needed a change of plan.  I had a chalk marker and a piece of adhesive chalkboard vinyl that a friend gave me, so I figured it was time for my first chalkboard project.
Now I love Freedom Bank, but their logo just doesn't match my decor, so I got out my scissors, cut off the logo, trimmed down the chalkboard vinyl to fit, removed the pen holder, then got out my washi tape and trimmed the edges out.

Now it's looking a little cuter and I haven't spent a dime on this project.  I used a strip of magnetic tape that I cut in half and fastened on the marker to make it stick to my fridge so it will always be handy.

 You can see that I have some fun things coming up on my schedule.  I've decided to use it for only the fun things.  That way when I'm feeling overwhelmed, all I have to do is look at it and I'll be cheered up!  
Thanks for stopping by the Inspiration Cafe today and don't forget to come by again next Monday to see what Sherry from Pondered Primed Perfected {P3} has been doing.  You can bet it will be something special.

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Welcome to our new pantry space

 

IT'S FINALLY DONE...

And organized.  Aaaahhhh.  Now that feels nice!

Scott created the built-ins with wood we had hanging about.  We painted the shelving white and I painted the back wall a soft green color.  Nothing fancy.  Just practical.  ;)

 

I added wicker bins and baskets so I could organize things by category:  meal components, crackers & chips, snacks & treats, and the one at the very bottom holds our paper plates, plastic utensils, napkins and baggies.  The very top shelf holds baking supplies.

 

After the first built-in was done we realized we needed more space, so Scott added the second built in to go further into the angle of the closet.  There was only so much we could purge without tossing things we'll need.

I brought in a wire rolling cart for all the miscellaneous and canned foods.  It's very narrow so it fits perfectly against the wall.

I used up a good portion of my wicker to organize this space.  The tote at the end holds all of the extra paper shopping bags. 



I put up one of our new handmade chalkboards.  This one I jazzed up a bit with some jute strung across the top and attached with upholstery nails.  AND Seven little clothespins ~ one for each day of the week.  I went to BHG.com and printed up a bunch of labels with our favorite main course meals on them.  It was easy...go HERE if you want to make your own. 

I didn't worry about sides or desserts.  Maybe I'll add those later.  I like this chalkboard here ~ I can jot down the ingredients I will need as I plan my weeks menus.  When we use the last of something, we can write it on the board as a reminder.

Alex helped make these tags.  Next time I think I will print the labels on sticky address labels so we can just peel and stick them.  That would have been so much quicker.

I love these mini clothespins.  I wrote the days of the week on them with a fine tip marker.  I'm not looking for anything extravagant...I like utilitarian...especially in this type of space.

Big Improvement, huh!

More to come tomorrow when I reveal the LAUNDRY ROOM

Previous posts about this space:

http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/good-day-2012-nice-to-finally-make-your.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/storage-under-stairs.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/well-stocked-pantry-p3-style.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take_23.html


We are so glad you've stopped by and we hope you've enjoyed your time here. We would LOVE IT if you wanted to follow along with us. You can follow by clicking Google Friend Connect on the sidebar or typing in your email address. You can even friend Pondered Primed Perfected on Facebook and Pinterest.

We love making new friends!!!

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Rustic HomeMade Chalkboard

We are the last minute gift making King and Queen!!!

We have been working on this chalkboard for awhile now so it wasn't completely last minute. It took some trial and error. We wanted to make our own chalkboard paint as we had heard about it working well for others.

I did an Internet search and found that there were a couple of different "recipes" out there.

1. Paint and Plaster of Paris

     or

2. Paint and Unsanded Grout (one cup paint and 2 TBSP grout)

We already had paint and unsanded grout on hand so that was our recipe of choice.

We mixed our ingredients well (or so I thought), taped off our surface and started painting.


It was a bit chunky even after all of the mixing and squishing that I had done. I really had nothing to compare it to so I trudged on. 
Maybe it takes an electric mixer to get this concoction to smooth out?

Maybe it will settle down once it has been applied to the surface and dries?

After the first coat dried it was still rough and some of the little chunky areas would "burst" and have a spot of whitish grout showing through.  

Grrrrr. Really? Will this work after all...or will we be down at True Value buying a can of spray chalkboard paint?

My Calm and Collected Partner sanded it down again and we started over. (This man really balances me. You don't even know.)

He put some grout into an empty spice container.  Then he brushed the paint onto the surface, sprinkled the grout over the wet paint, and brushed the surface again. Wallah!

Once we had the chalkboard surface figured out, I stained the "frame" of the chalkboard.  This was done with a small piece of towel that had been saved in our rag bin and some Minwax stain.

Then we added some simple hooks for keys and a bucket to store chalk and an eraser in...or whatever little things need to be stored.  I added the personalization by printing our friends last name and wedding year with my trusty white Pen-Touch paint pen. 

Scott poly'd the frame and we called it good.  This was meant to appear somewhat rustic and home-made.  We don't really want our projects to look "perfect" or appear to be factory machined and finished.  There is something to be said for well-aged, patinae'd, or distressed looking items.  Whether they have achieved that look naturally through age, or by someones hand.  It adds personality and character if you ask me.  :)

Our finished chalkboard was created using only the items we had on hand (including:  unfinished wood cabinet door, black semi-gloss paint, unsanded grout, Minwax wood stain, painters tape, empty spice jar, towel remnant, paintbrush, sandpaper, drill, mini hooks, silver metal bucket, and a metal hanger for back).

Here she is:

And if your last name is Johnson, and you are Treasured Friends of ours, then this is your official unveiling.  Merry Christmas!!!  Come by and get your chalkboard today...we love you!

All Our Love and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and Superb 2012!!!

Scott and Sherry

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Upcycled Radio Cabinet

Is it Happy Hour yet?

Just kidding!  I shouldn't drink when I'm DIYing!

But check this out...

This old 1930's Sears Roebuck, AM Radio Console was sitting in some guys shop, just rotting away.  His lease on the shop was ending that day and he had to clear everything out pronto ~ that's how we became the lucky new owners of this beauty.  The radio workings were pretty much trashed and pieces were dropping and hanging off of it.  That didn't matter, because we could see the hidden potential it contained.  Mr. Clean cleaned out the old, broken radio parts.  And dust and spiderwebs and bug skeletons.  Eeeek!  Then he got out his handy little hand sander and went to town.  Right there in the middle of my craft room!!!

Taking his time and going with the grain of the wood.  He really does nice work...just wish it wasn't inside the house!

  

At the very first sun break he was sent packing to the back deck, because somebody was getting a bit tired of all the sawdust on every surface in the house.  Don't worry about him out there...he needed some fresh air ( and probably a break from my constant chatter and helpful suggestions )!

He had to get out some special scrapers to get into all of the little grooves and detailed wooden pieces on the front.  I always leave those kinds of details to him.  ;)  He's better at details than I am.

He wears that mask well, doesn't he?

Some of the wood trim was lifting up, but he had a fix for that too.  A touch of wood glue and some heavy objects to hold it down where the clamps couldn't reach.

They really did some gorgeous woodworking back in the day.  Fine AMERICAN craftsmanship.  This baby was built to last.

Gonn Iggulden's  'Dangerous Book For Boys'  was utilized for this tough task.  We knew that book would come in handy when it showed up under the Christmas tree a couple years ago.

Some scrap pieces of wood were cut to fit inside to create some shelving.   

(And here's a wonderfully blurry picture just in case you wanted to feel dizzy.)

More trim was added for specialty storage (you'll see).

He added back some of the vintage charm with the old knobs and the cracking, buckling radio dial.  Oh, how I wish the radio components could have been salvaged.  Some things are just not meant to be. 
Sigh...

Here she is in her restored glory ~

Sporting some of her new friends...

Showing off her sexy curves and classy lines.  Her hardware giving off that well-aged, but still hot, vibe.  Oh yeah.

And when she turns around ~ you see what she really has to offer!!!

Cocktail Anyone???

Built in stemware hangers, wine bottle storage and plenty of room for all of the extra bar accessories and beverages.

Sadly, the front panel with the radio dials broke.  It was old, brittle and cracked already so it didn't take much.   That left Scott with a little challenge ~ trying to figure out how to fill the void that was left behind.  He finally decided on a little chalkboard for personal messages.  Makes it more fun and gives it some personality.  It could say "WELCOME" if you are having an open house, or "FREE REFILLS" for a girls night..."HELP YOURSELF" would be kinda nice at an intimate gathering of friends or family.  Maybe "WINE TASTING HERE" for a cheese and wine party.  The possibilities are endless. 

I thought this message was kinda fun myself:

Please take a moment to leave us some comment love.  My Handy Man would be especially thrilled to hear from you since this is his first solo project here on P3 ~ so leave a few words of encouragement for him if you have time.  And Thank You for stopping by to check out what we've been up to.  It really means a lot ~ to both of us.  :)

Don't forget to click on that follow button on the left sidebar and like us on Facebook so you can see all of our upcycles, makeovers, DIY projects and tutorials (if you can call them that). 

Goodnight Friends!

Sherry

This project has been featured at:

Also Sharing At:

http://www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com/im-crafty-no-49-upcycling/

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